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11/22/2022 11:56 AMWhen voters turned out at the polls on Nov. 8, they didn’t just select their State Senator and Representative, they also cast two important ballots regarding revisions to the Town Charter. The election saw residents approving both measures, which will have impacts on how Town government operates — most notably to the term length for members of the Board of Selectmen (BOS). Starting with the 2023 election, selectmen will now serve for four years rather than two.
Current First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons said the revision approval was not surprising, but the margin of passage was encouraging. She said the results indicated that voters understood the nuances of what the Charter revision encompasses.
“It was good to see that both the referendum questions passed handily,” Lyons said. “That was positive that residents understood the benefits and wanted to move forward. The purpose of the general revisions was to update and modernize, and the term limit was really to allow greater continuity in town management and to also align with the other elected boards, including the Board of Education and the Board of Finance, which are four-year terms. A lot of towns are moving in this direction and I think we’ll see more of that moving forward.”
Lyons said that as the first selectwoman, she had direct experience with how difficult the shorter two-year terms were. According to Lyons, short terms for town leadership can delay and impede a number of governmental processes and their overall effectiveness. The new term lengths will be in place for next year’s municipal elections in November 2023.
“I think having a longer-term vision and having the time necessary to do things without election times looming, it makes the whole business of governing easier. We have the time to cross the “T’s” and dot the “I’s” and go through that public process for that,“ Lyons said. ”And we have done that, but sometimes when there is an issue and an election is only a month away it can stall important actions. So, this allows business to continue at a more reasonable pace.“
Lyons added that the term-length increase will also benefit incoming officials, giving them comfort in knowing that they will have time to follow through on lengthier projects and to adjust to the learning curve for the positions.
"It’s good for any incoming selectman with a four-year run, knowing that they will have the time to usher things through appropriately. And also for things that are already put in motion, they can continue on," Lyons said. "It can take a long time for town projects, and this change will certainly ensure more continuity, and for anyone who is coming in newly elected, it will allow a bit more time to get the lay of the land. There is a learning curve needed for this job, and many times we elect people without government experience so this will help with that process.”
According to Lyons, there are several other revisions to the general Charter that she expects will improve government function and assist in streamlining a number of board and committee processes.
In particular, the changes to how and when to initiate the necessity for the calling of a Town Meeting will drastically reduce the need to send out notices and publicize these meetings, which are rarely attended by residents because of their mandated and perfunctory, saving staff time and funds.
“I think the quorum changes are an important revision. We send out these alerts to residents every other month or so now, 'Town Meeting!, Town Meeting!', and it’s kind of meaningless to everyone because they are so frequent. By changing the appropriation threshold, that will eliminate those more bureaucratic town meetings that no one paid attention to so that when they now get an alert for a Town Meeting it is something more significant. They will know that it is important, and that will be helpful.,” Lyons said. “By going to a Town Meeting it extended the time needed to accomplish goals and get stuff underway and move something forward, the public notices in the papers, and the staff needed to show up. We’d hold a meeting, no one would show up, but we’d have to have all these staff members and stand around and wait and no one from the public would show up. From an administrative standpoint, this will be a big improvement.”
Another minor change is that in the previous Charter, any incoming elected selectpeople would have to start their term the Monday immediately following the election, making for potentially rushed transitions. The new Charter moves the start date of any elected selectman’s tenure until the Monday after Thanksgiving.
“You really need that transition time. As it was, it was really a rushed process and a very quick turnaround. Especially now with a four-year term, you really do need that, and the staff needs it too. That extra two weeks will allow for a much smoother transition.
“The budget cycle referendum is typically very late in May, and that can be a little nerve-racking because that budget sets the mil rate which we have to send out by the second or third week of June with the tax bills. So, that doesn’t leave a lot of wriggle room.,” Lyons said. “The new budget referendum timeline now means it will allow us to hold a budget referendum in early May or at the end of April. It gives more flexibility so that we can hold this a month earlier. That is a positive thing.”
Some of the other changes Lyons cited as important benefits to taxpayers include the addition of another member to the Board of Finance, increasing the board from six to seven members. Lyons said that change will help with the gridlock that can be created by an even number of members.
“That is a change that I think everyone agreed with and makes a lot of sense,” Lyons said.
According to Lyons, the changes and revisions will be a featured agenda item at the BOS’s December meeting, when they hope to discuss the ramifications of the revisions and the nuances of their implementation.
BOS member Bruce Wilson said he thinks the approval is a sound change that Madison residents can get behind. Overall, Wilson said, the revisions are ones that will have positive benefits for the town.
“In general, the Charter Review Commission did a really good job of going through the document and suggesting updates and modernizations…they made our job very easy,” said Wilson. “I think the four-year term was controversial, but even that passed by a 2 to 1 majority, so I think it says pretty clearly, especially with the turnout we had, that residents are ready for their Selectman to be serving a longer term. Maybe they are saying they are tired of us campaigning every two years.”
According to Wilson, there will still be a process in place to “counter and balance” the office of Selectman.
“We have a Board of Finance and four other selectmen in place that can, and should, function as a check and balance to the power of the First Selectman’s office,” said Wilson.