Selectmen Scratch Four-Year Term Proposal

Immediately following a public hearing intended to illicit comments and suggestions from the community on proposed changes to the town charter, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) convened at a special meeting of their own and decided to forgo the idea of a four-year term for the BOS and first selectmen.

Of the 50 or so folks who attended the public hearing August 22, not one person rose to speak in favor of the four-year term of office for the BOS.

The public hearing was held to discuss the following proposed changes to the charter.  The Board of Selectmen reviewed the Charter Revision Commission’s list of proposed changes and recommended the following changes. Those in bold were voted on and approved by the selectmen to return to the Charter Revision Commission:

• Page 9 - Section 3-2 (A), to remove “or until the next regular Town election, plus fourteen (14) days, whichever shall first occur.” 
• Page 9 - Section 3-3, to remove “At each regular town election there shall be elected a five (5) member Board of Selectmen consisting of a First Selectman and four (4) Selectmen.” and replace the sentence with “The Board of Selectmen shall consist of five (5) members, each whom shall be elected for a four (4) year term consisting of a First Selectman and four (4) Selectmen.”   -  this one is not being forwarded to the Charter Revision Commission.
  
• Restore page 10 - Section 3-7 Board of Finance Alternates. 
• Page 13 - Section 4-5 (A1), Page 18 - Section 5-7H and Page 32 - Section 10-4B from “fifty thousand ($50,000)” as recommended by the Charter Revision Commission to “twenty thousand ($20,000)”. 
• Restore page 32 - Section 10-4, the word “shall” in place of “may”.

Here are a few of the comments by the public on the four-year term proposal:

Vince Cimino said that "the public has been adamant all along that they haven't wanted this. If an elected official is doing a good job, they'll get re-elected."

Ron Diezma, who said his taxes have increased 50 percent in six years, said the suggestion of a four-year term will "maintain an ingrained political system and extend it."

Pam Fritz said a two year term gives the voters an opportunity to judge an elected person's performance.

All other suggested charter changes remain as is, as voted on by the BOS.

Now, the proposed changes return to the Charter Revision Commission, who as First Selectman Willie Fritz pointed out, have the final say of what is selected for the November ballot vote and how they are presented on the ballot (one question or separate).

The final say goes to the voters who will vote to approve or deny the proposed changes to the town charter on Election Day, November 6 at town hall.

The town charter is available for viewing on the town's website, at www.clintonct.org.