ANSONIA – Members of a charter revision commission missed a Sept. 20 deadline to get possible charter changes on the November ballot because they never met to discuss the issue.
In June, the Aldermen appointed a six-member charter revision commission in order to “explore revisions that modernize the budget process.”
In particular, that commission was meant to consider removing a series of budget deadlines in the charter that Mayor David Cassetti’s administration implemented but has not followed for nine years.
Ansonia Corporation Counsel John Marini said the commission hasn’t met because the Aldermen have been busy.
“The Board of Aldermen and other officials have been very occupied by some other big initiatives, including the (water pollution control authority) sewer treatment plant sale,” Marini told The Valley Indy.
This is the third time the Cassetti administration has created a charter revision commission without sending any revisions to voters. However, it’s the first time a commission was formed, never met, and missed the ballot deadline.
Marini said that it’s possible the commission could still meet and go through the process to get charter revision on a future ballot.
Marini said the same thing about another charter revision commission in 2018, but it didn’t end up happening.
Background
The Ansonia City Charter is the blueprint for city government. It dictates everything from the mayor’s powers to the length of elected terms.
In 2014, the Cassetti administration – through a charter revision commission – asked voters to approve adding a budget schedule with deadlines to the city charter. Marini penned the changes.
Voters said yes, but the administration hasn’t followed the schedule it created in nearly a decade. The Cassetti administration says the deadlines are too early because state aid funding isn’t known until later.
In February, Alderman Steve Adamowski raised concerns that adopting budget timelines that violate the charter may also violate the Aldermen’s oaths of office.
“Suffice it to say that for myself, I don’t like being in a position where I take an oath of office to support the charter and ordinances in December and end up violating it several months later,” Adamowski said in an Aldermen meeting that month.
After The Valley Indy reported that the budget process violates the city charter Marini emailed The Valley Indy a section of Connecticut state law that allows Aldermen to alter charter deadlines without public input.
While the administration has been violating its charter for nine years, this was the first time elected officials pointed to the state law for justification.
The charter revision commission formed in June was supposed to consider removing the budget deadlines created by the Cassetti administration. Click here for a list of members.
Previous Work
There have been four charter revision commissions formed since Mayor Cassetti was elected in 2013.
The first went all the way through the process – meetings, public hearings, getting on the ballot in 2014 – and instituted a number of changes, including the deadlines the administration now wants to erase.
A 2015 commission considered several reforms to the city’s financials, including eliminating the position of city treasurer. The 2018 commission considered adopting a referendum process for the city’s budget and a change in term lengths. Both the 2015 and 2018 commissions met to talk about the issues and held public hearings, but ultimately didn’t get suggestions on a ballot.
Ansonia Democratic Town Committee Chair Dave Hannon said he didn’t understand the point of the current charter revision commission. He said the city should stick to what’s in the charter instead of changing it.
“They should stick to the process that’s in the charter. That’s what they should do instead of changing the charter,” Hannon said.
Marini has previously said that the Aldermen are free to disregard sections of the charter, as long as they’re not violating state or federal laws.
The Valley Indy left voicemails for two members of the commission but did not hear back by deadline.
