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09/05/2018 08:40 AMOn Aug. 28 the Charter Revision Commission (CRC) formally turned in two proposed charters to the town clerk, which puts the ball in the court of the Board of Selectmen (BOS) to determine how any questions concerning charter revisions that change the way the town is governed will appear on the November ballot.
The questions would ask residents to vote for or against a change to town manager style of government, keeping the current style of government with modest charter changes, or making no changes to the town charter. Proposed changes to the charter would go into effect in November 2019.
At a BOS meeting on Aug. 29, CRC Chairman Dennis Donovan suggested that the questions’ phrasing be simple, and if possible one question, so as not to confuse voters. The BOS committed to check with town attorneys and with the state to get suggestions on the proper wording for the ballot.
Earlier in 2018, the CRC presented two proposed charter revisions to the town. One proposed charter would retain the current form of town government, but included changes such as prohibiting someone from serving on two elected positions concurrently, increasing the Board of Finance (BOF) to seven members (it is currently a six-member board), allowing departments heads to transfer money up to a certain amount within their budgets with approval from finance director, and requiring that special appropriations of $300,000 or more, excluding emergency situations, be sent to referendum.
The second proposed charter was similar, but includes a change to a town manager form of government. Under a town manager form of government, a professional, accredited town manager answerable to a seven-member town council would act as the town’s chief executive, taking on many of the duties handled by the current first selectman. The elected town council would hire or fire the town manager. The CRC estimated that the town manager salary would start at around $126,000.
In this form of government, the town council would be composed of the four candidates who get the highest number of votes in an election elected to a four-year term, and the next three highest vote-getting candidates elected to a two-year term for the initial town council elected in November 2019. After that election, all town council members would serve four-year terms. The hiring or firing of the town manager would require at least a 5-2 majority vote by the town council.
Under the town manager form of government, the BOF would be eliminated. Instead, the town manager would work with the finance director and department heads to propose a budget. The proposed budget would be presented to the town council, which would need to approve the proposed budget before sending it to referendum.
Copies of the charter are available on the town website www.clintonct.org.
At public hearings on the proposed charter changes, some members of the public expressed a fear of the town manager form of government, citing the power that the position gives the person chosen for the job.
By hiring a professional town manager, however, First Selectman Christine Goupil noted that the town could widen its candidate pool to people outside of Clinton. Under the current system, the town’s top spot is open only to town residents willing to serve full-time as first selectman.
In August, Goupil said that the goal is to get the charter changes on the November ballot with an effective date of 2019.
For the charter change proposals to be included on the November ballot (which traditionally has a relatively high voter turnout), the questions voters would see on the ballot need to be submitted to the town clerk by Thursday, Sept. 6. If the BOS were to schedule a separate vote on just the charter changes, the changes would need to pass with a 15 percent majority of registered voters.