For the first time in more than 15 years, Madison’s Town Charter is getting a few revisions.

Following its Aug. 22 regular meeting and a public information session, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted to send the proposed cahnges presented by the Charter Review Commission (CRC) to a referendum vote on the ballot for the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Of the charter changes proposed, many are updates to language and editing including Commission member pronoun usage and title terms, but other revisions call for more complex changes including increasing the term for all members of the BOS from two to four years.

The CRC has been meeting since January of 2021 to review the current Charter which has not been updated since 2006, according to town officials. After several rounds of discussions and further work with the Board of Selectmen, the BOS passed the revisions at a special meeting on July 28.

The measure will now be left to voters to decide on whether the changes should be implemented and adopted.

According to Lauren Rhines, staff liason for the CRC, there will two separate items concerning the revisions that voters will be asked to weigh. One will be what Town officials are describing as the biggest change: the proposal to increase the term of all Selectmen offices from two years to four years. The second question will be on the passage of the entire Charter revision itself. Essentially room has been made for a line-item veto for voters, if they want the revisions, but don’t want the term change included.

“We decided to do two questions because the Board of selectmen felt that two items were appropriate,” said Rhines. “The reason why we did this is because if the vote on term limit changes is ’no’ and rejected, the original language from 2006 stays the same on that item and nothing changes in regard to that, but it still leaves room to pass the rest of the proposed changes. I think the Board felt that the item that would have the strongest reaction is the term limits, but there are other big changes that residents should be aware of including the quorum for the calling for a town meeting.”

This other proposed revision, town meeting criteria, will affect how and when a town meeting is mandated to be called. The threshold for mandated town meeting will increase from 75 citizen signatures to 150 signatures, and the dollar amount required for a mandatory meeting will increase from $50,000 to $250,000.

“The big reason we did that was the fact that times have changed since 2006 when the language was written. $50,000 is a small number in regard to budget items and appropriations. That number may have been appropriate 20 to 25 years ago, but with the rising costs towns are facing we have to modernize the charter,” said Rhines.

Selectman Bruce Wilson said the BOS was in full agreement with the CRC that updating of the Charter was necessary and that the specific item regarding the change to term limits was something voters needed to weigh in on.

“It’s really interesting. I know that as an elected person, it is really hard to run every two years, but as a taxpayer I really like that we have a chance to clean house every two years if we need to, but in the end, why the Board, with the Commission’s recommendations, came to this consensus is that in the end…this will give better representation to the residents of Madison,” Wilson said. “The Board did not just rubber stamp what the Commission brought to us. As a group of five, the Board of Selectmen, really spent a lot of time talking back and forth and had some interesting conversations. In the end, the voters should feel very comfortable that this document is well vetted and well thought out.”

Several town officials commented on how difficult it is for elected officials, especially new and first timers, to adjust and learn their positions in just two years. All other elected town officers including the Board of Finance and Board of Education are currentlu elected to four-year terms, according to town voting records.

First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons said the Commission took on a difficult task and came to the BOS with many well researched proposals, including the term limit revision.

“Government has definitely gotten a lot more complicated, and it takes a long time to move on initiatives,” said Lyons. “I think that the Commission and the Board’s reasoning for this is that it really can take time to shepherd these things through town government and learn the process. It really takes persistence, and the thought was there would be more continuity with a longer term. At the same time, some people feel the need to rise up and remove a bad official, and the two years gives them a chance to do that, but that’s why we thought it would be important to have a separate question on that item. If people choose differently on that, we will still function well…and continue to move forward.”

Rhines, Lyons, and Wilson all praised the CRC and its ability to simply focus on the task of revision, with all three commenting on the lack of partisanship, and high level of cooperation displayed by the CRC.

“The Commission itself were so respectful of each other. They were very cooperative with one another and respectful of one another. They had thoughtful and engaging conversations,” said Rhines. “It was a very, very well-run Commission. They were fantastic. This document was a true consensus.”

Lyons added, “They did an absolutely phenomenal job. They were thoughtful and deliberative. They listened to all sides. I think there was an overall view that the priority was to elevate the charter and clean it up. They were really focused in making it clear and concise so that no matter who is sitting in this office, or on any board or Commission knows and is clear what their responsibilities are. I think they heard from a lot of voices so they listened to many perspectives and took a hard look at the charter. It was a really great effort by the Commission and the Chair.”

The Charter Review Commission did a really great job this time around,” said Wilson. “We had a great group of people. We have some new voices, some old voices-people who could really bring some perspectives to how town government works, and also some folks new to the community, or new to this type of work, and boy did they do a great job.”

Rhines urged all residents with questions concerning the referendum to call Town Hall or her office for answers.

The Source printed a legal notice in the Aug.11 issue of the paper that delineates the proposed changes. There are also documents on the town site that show the final draft of the proposed revisions, along with another document with red-line changes marked within it so that residents can clearly see the proposed changes.

To see the final revised charter proposal, click here. To see the redline version, click here.

Madison Charter Revision.pdfMadison Charter Redline version.pdf