Derby Elected Officials Nix New Charter Revision Commission

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Derby City Hall.

Last week a slim majority of the Derby Board of Aldermen threw cold water on plans to form a charter revision commission.

A city charter is the blue print for how a local government works. A charter revision commission suggests changes to the document.

The commission, according to a resolution, could have explored:

  • Whether to change the term of office for elected officials from two years to four years
  • Add language that the position of Mayor be recognized as a full-time position with a pension and benefits upon retirement
  • To update and modernize the section of the charter about the Derby Police Department
  • Any other matters the commission wanted to examine

But the motion to create the commission was defeated by a 5 – 4 vote.

Barbara L. DeGennaro, Thomas Donofrio, Bev Moran, Joe DiMartino and Ron Sill all voted no.

Evelyn Browning, Louis Oliwa and Charles Sampson voted yes.

The Aldermen and Alderwomen who voted against the measure did not say they took issue with the would-be commission’s mission.

Instead First Ward Alderman Donofrio took issue with the timing of the commission’s birth, which would’ve happened as a municipal election approaches in November.

I don’t think there’s enough time to do a proper charter revision without rushing through it,” Donofrio said. The Alderman suggested his fellow legislators wait until after the November election.

You going to maybe have new Aldermen, maybe a new mayor. We’re going to vote on something they’re going to have to deal with,” Donofrio said.

First Ward Alderwoman Bev Moran was appointed to a previous Charter Revision Commission. She said it was very hard to hold meetings in the summer because everyone goes on vacation.

But Third Ward Alderman Charles Sampson said the commission would not be rushed — they were to be given 18 months before coming back to the Aldermen with suggestions.

Sampson said the commission was needed to correct things in the charter, such as the hiring process within the Derby Police Department. The city charter says anyone hired as a Derby police officer must first work as a supernumerary (part-time) officer.

The police department, like most modern departments, uses a testing system. Yet the language is still in the Derby City Charter. 

This is long overdue. Our charter is outdated,” Sampson, the president of the Board of Aldermen, said. 

The City of Derby last formed a charter revision commission under Mayor Anita Dugatto. In 2016 voters approved a measure that allowed city officials to make copy editing changes to the charter, such as changing the name of the Board of Aldermen to the Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen.”

But Derby votes rejected a move that would have loosened dual office holding” rules in the city. Dual office holding” prevents city employees from taking elected office without getting a waiver from the full Board of Aldermen. 

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