Should the Public Works board get more authority over the department?
Should any future police chief be required to have a bachelors degree?
Seymour residents will have a chance to weigh in on these proposed charter changes, among others, at a public hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday June 18 at Seymour Town Hall.
The town’s Charter Revision Commission has been reviewing proposed changes to the charter since February. (Click play on the Frank Loda video above to see a previous public hearing on the charter revision.)
The goal is to get the proposals on the ballot during the November presidential election.
After the public weighs in on the proposed changes at the public hearing, the Board of Selectmen will weigh in — deciding whether to make any changes, or keep the proposal as-is.
If the Board of Selectmen wants to see the proposed changes revised, they will send the document back to the Charter Revision Commission.
If not, it will go directly to the ballot.
Here are some of the items currently proposed:
- Change the Planning and Zoning Commission to be an elected board, instead of an appointed board.
- Change the Water Pollution Control Authority to an elected board, instead of an appointed board.
- Change the Library Board to a seven-person board instead of a nine-person board
- Expand and clarify the authority of the Board of Public Works and the Commission on Aging
- Require the chief of police to hold a minimum of a bachelors degree to be named to the position.
- Clarify language in the town meeting section of the charter.
The proposals were approved in theory at a Charter Revision Commission meeting last week. The commission is scheduled to meet Monday evening to draft the official wording of the proposals, for the public to review.
The full list of proposals is embedded below.
