Seymour residents will vote on a number of proposed changes to the town’s charter in Tuesday’s election.
A question-by-question rundown of the charter change proposals is below.
The proposed revisions are broken down into four yes or no questions:
QUESTION 1: Shall the Seymour Town Charter be amended as follows: (1) to change the powers and duties of various boards.
- All boards must meet before Dec. 31.
- The chairman must conduct orientation sessions for new board members.
- Boards shall provide input, when requested by the First Selectman or Human Resources Manager, as to whether the department is meeting its goals.
- Board of Library Directors Reduced from nine to seven members.
- The head librarian must have a masters of library science degree.
- Future police chiefs, captains, and lieutenants will be required to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice or a related field.
- The Board of Police Commissioners shall have jurisdiction over parking.
- No person shall serve on more than one of the following boards: planning and zoning, zoning board of appeals, inland wetlands, or conservation commission. However, if one is already serving on more than one of those boards, they shall be allowed to serve until their term expires.
- There will be two alternates on the Inland Wetlands Commission which will be administrative appointments for two years.
- The Parks Commission will give preference to the Board of Education in allocating fields.
- The Recreation Commission shall have oversight of the general management, operation, and supervision of the Recreation Department.
- The Board of Public Works will be responsible for the general management and supervision of the Public Works Department, approve its yearly budget proposal, and submit a five-year capital plan.
- Members of the Water Pollution Control Authority shall submit an annual operating budget to the Board of Finance covering the same fiscal year as the town’s general fund.
- The Commission on Aging shall have oversight of the general management, operation, and supervision of the Senior Center. They shall establish and maintain a record of member ship annual dues/fees and submit all proceeds to the Finance Department.
- No regular member of the Board of Finance shall be employed by the town or serve on any other elected or permanent appointed board, although they may serve on a temporary appointed committee.
(2) to change the time within which vacancies in elected offices are to be filled. - Vacancies will now be filled in 30 days instead of 45 days.
(3) to change the nature and manner of certain appointments to boards and offices - Clarifies that members of the Economic Development Commission are administrative appointments.
- No member of the Sewer Use Rate board may also be a member of the Water Pollution Control Authority.
- Clearly states that the appointment of an administrative assistant and town counsel are appointments solely of the First Selectman.
(4) to create a Culture and Arts Commission - Adds seven-member Culture and Arts Commission responsible for providing affordable and no-cost entertainment to town residents and have oversight of the Strand Theater.
(5) to define the duties of the Human Resources Manager? - A Human Resources manager will be responsible for the personnel oversight of the town’s work force.
- Responsible for attracting, training, and assessing town employees.
QUESTION TWO: Shall the Seymour Town Charter be amended to clarify the annual Town Meeting and budget process, including quorum requirements and the provision for adoption of a budget following referendum?
- There must be a quorum of 50 people at the annual town meeting to refer a budget to referendum. If a quorum is not present, the meeting may be adjourned to the Board of Selectmen, where a majority may forward the budget to referendum.
- Budget request forms must now be sent to departments by the first Tuesday of December, and must be returned by the third Tuesday of January.
- Notice of the Board of Finance public hearing shall be listed on the town’s website.
- The finance director and the chief financial officer of the Seymour school system shall supply by the Board of Finance with their specific legal obligations by the third Tuesday of January.
- Once budgets have been reduced to the point of meeting debt service and legal obligations, the budgets shall be adopted.
QUESTION THREE: Shall the Seymour Town Charter be amended to change the Board of Planning and Zoning regular members from an appointed to an elected board?
- Will change the Planning and Zoning Commission to an elected board, but two alternates will remain as appointed positions.
- No regular or alternate member may be a paid employee of the town or be a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
- The board is required to annually prepare and revise a five-year public improvements plan, with cost estimates, and submit it to the Board of Selectmen.
QUESTION FOUR: Shall the Seymour Town Charter be amended to correct grammar, spelling, terminology, statutory references, and outdated provisions in the Town Charter, and to make other technical changes as recommended by the Charter Revision Commission?
- Errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar corrected throughout the charter.
- Dates referring to past events removed.
- All references to Justice of the Peace, now defined by state statute, have been removed.
- Board resignations will now go to the Town Clerk with a copy to the First Selectman, who will distribute copies to the board chairman.
- Sections on animal control, building official removed because they are now defined by state statute.
In addition to the first four questions, there are also two non-binding advisory questions:
- Shall the next Charter Revision Commission consider a town manager form of government?
- Shall the next Charter Revision Commission consider the return to a single vote process for approval of the General Town and Education budgets?
The information gained from the two non-binding questions will help future charter revision commissions.
Click the play buttons on the videos below to see the final meeting of the town’s Charter Revision Commission.
An explanatory text on the changes published by the town is embedded below.