The Board of Selectmen appointed six members to a Charter Revision Commission Wednesday.
The commission is charged to review 12 areas of the charter over the next 16 months.
A charter is a set of rules that dictate how a local government works.
First Selectwoman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers said the charter, last revised in 2006, has recently created tension between residents and the town.
She hopes the commission can clarify those issues.
Some of the areas include the usual town charter revision stuff, such as clarifying legalese and correcting spelling errors.
But, Drayton-Rogers said the newly-formed commission will also look at meatier issues, such as whether to expand the number of people on the Board of Selectmen.
The commission will also look at whether to extend Selectmen terms from two years to as much as four years.
Read the embedded document for a list of areas the commission will address. Article continues after the document.
In addition, the Charter Revision Commission will examine the Board of Finance, which has been at odds in recent weeks with the First Selectwoman.
The finance board recently attempted to add money to the town’s proposed budget. The finance board wanted to have cash available, if needed, for lawyers and consultants.
“The charter needs to be representative of a growing town to avoid any legal questions and misunderstandings,” Drayton-Rogers said.
The people appointed to the commission Wednesday are:
- Mary Androsky (unaffiliated)
- Don Crumley (unaffiliated)
- Robert Deluca (Democrat)
- Janice Hardy (Republican)
- Brett Olbrys (Republican)
- Margaret West (Democrat)
They were appointed by Drayton-Rogers and Selectman Dave McKane. Both are Democrats. Republican Selectman David Yish was not in attendance.
Olbrys, who served as vice chairman of the 2006 Charter Revision Commission, said he hopes the group will strengthen the charter and do what is right for the town.
“We will be open to suggestions and public input to weigh the positives and negatives to make the best choices,” he said.
Revisions to the charter would be presented at a future public hearing and voted on at a town meeting before they are approved.
Drayton-Rogers said a seventh commission member would be appointed at the board’s next regular meeting on May 11.
The commission is scheduled to have an organizational meeting on May 17 at Oxford Town Hall.