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10/24/2017 12:00 AMThe strange saga of the Clinton Town Charter has taken yet another twist. The members of the Clinton Charter Reform Coalition (CCRC), who petitioned to have the proposed charter changes on the ballot, are now urging citizens to vote “No” on the Nov. 7 ballot that asks voters if they want to switch to a town manager style of government.
The CCRC had scheduled three informational sessions to educate the public on what the proposed changes meant, so voters could make an informed decision. However, now that the CCRC is devoting efforts to informing the public why the CCRC thinks the voters should vote “No,” Allen said at press time it was undecided if the meeting scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 26 will proceed.
Some CCRC members said they changed their minds because, if the ballot measure succeeds, the change to a town-manager form of government would have to be made within 30 days, due to an oversight in the drafting of the proposal language. The original goal of the CCRC was to have the change take effect in 2019, if it passed at referendum, so that the town had the enough time to fill the position.
If the proposed changes meet with the approval of voters, a professional town manager would be hired to handle many of the current day-to-day duties of the first selectman, such as handling town finances and managing town employees. The town manager would report to the Board of Selectmen (BOS).
After the BOS voted not to send any recommended changes to the ballot in July, the CCRC was formed. Its successful petition drive, which garnered more than 1,000 signatures meant the charter changes would go to a public vote. After the Sept. 12 primary, which saw four of the five sitting selectmen lose their party’s nomination to challengers, the BOS then voted 3-2 to put the charter changes on the ballot, despite the 30-day window.
On a post on its Facebook page, the CCRC stated in part “We still support charter reform and the town manager form of government. But, the actions of the current BOS, particularly since the Sept. 12 primary, have convinced us that it’s simply too risky to allow the process to go forward until we have new elected officials in place—people we trust not to undermine the implementation of the new charter.”
“The 30-day window is not enough time to do the work needed,” said Lynn Hidek, who was a member of the original commission that drafted the charter.
Hidek said that it is possible that a new charter commission could be convened next year, with a new BOS, and that commission could clear up any mistakes in a new proposed charter.
John Allen, a member of the CCRC, said that candidates for First Selectmen Democrat Christine Goupil and Republican Kirk Carr had both said they were in favor of not of the proposed changes passing on election day. “Kirk and Christine both were uncomfortable with the timeline,” Allen said.
Carr confirmed he was not in favor of passing the town manager vote this year. Carr said he’d think about bringing back a new commission in 2018 if he wins in November.
Goupil said she’d “promptly reconvene a new bipartisan Charter Revision Commission,” and shared her concern that the current proposal’s elimination of the Board of Finance eliminates an important opportunity for “checks and balances.”