The Charter Revision Commission wants to hear from you!

What do YOU think? Should members of Town Planning and Zoning and Board of Finance be elected? Should the number of Selectmen be increased to five, or remain at the current level, three? And how about term limits for appointed offices? Should the number of terms be limited to three, four or five?

The New Canaan Charter Revision Commission is actively seeking resident comments on those questions and others as it works toward submitting a first draft of its report by May 4. As of early February, the commission has heard from 250 respondents. The commission is comprised of 11 members, chaired by Kathleen Corbet. Angela Jameson serves as secretary.

Corbet and Jameson encouraged residents to submit comments at any of the commission’s frequent meetings, or online here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8QXBNNK

Without prejudging the issues being considered, Kathleen Corbet noted that towns with five selectmen tend to operate without a town council. Some towns, such as Greenwich and Westport, operate with a Representative Town Meeting structure, which can vote on large expenditures, the overall town budget and other key municipal decisions.

Increasing the number of selectmen to five raises a corollary issue as to what number would constitute minority representation. Would it be as many as four, or three, and how would that affect the open meeting notice requirements under the Freedom of Information Act?

Angela Jameson noted that the focus on whether to elect Planning and Zoning has been a prevalent topic, because it affects so many residents directly. The commentary so far has explored the pros and cons of having an elected P&Z and Board of Finance. “We’re still in listening mode,” she said.

Some residents contend that having an elected P&Z would make the commission more accountable to voters; but, on the flip side, others contend that would result in the commission having members that lack the requisite expertise in areas such as environmental and urban planning.

First adopted in 1935, the Charter Revision undergoes a review every 10 years, the last having been in 2016. The 10-year review, Corbet said, gives the town the opportunity to align town policies with any changes in state statutes and policies that may have come into place.

She noted that the town has the ability to quickly adopt changes to town policies through the ordinance procedure. 

The Charter Revision Commission schedule and agendas are available on the town’s website. The other Democrats on the commission are Todd Lampert, Chris LeBris and Karen Willett who can also accept comments.