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07/04/2017 01:02 PMThe Charter Revision Commission (CRC) presented its final recommended changes to the Town Charter to the Board of Selectmen on June 28, recommending that a town manager, appointed and supervised by the Board of Selectmen, be the town’s chief executive officer, rather than having the first selectman remain as the chief executive officer.
The Board of Selectmen (BOS) planned to meet Wednesday, July 5 to mull the proposed changes to the charter in a meeting called to accommodate a requirement that the meeting be held within a specific period of time after the CRC recommendations are made, town officials said.
At the meeting on June 28 First Selectman Bruce Farmer expressed concerns about the specific wording of the CRC’s proposal. Selectman Lynn Pinder said she had some reservations and pointed to the larger issue of what she says is lagging economic development in town. Selectman John A. Giannotti said he was inclined to let the proposal go to voters to decide. Selectman Carol D. Walter said she saw some merit in the town manager proposal. Selectman Willie Fritz was not in attendance at the meeting.
Starting Salary $130,000
The CRC last month presented an earlier draft of their proposal, one that also recommended the creation of a town manager position, responsible for running the town finances, and filling jobs for town employees. Farmer said at the time that the ideal candidate would have a master’s degree in public administration, a background in finance, and experience in human resources. The minimum starting salary would be $130,000 with some of that funded by a reduction in the first selectman’s salary to reflect the reduction in the first selectman’s administrative duties.
At that time, some members of the BOS expressed concerns about specifics in the CRC proposal, and recommended that the CRC go back and make a clearer distinction as to the duties and responsibilities the town manager would have, and how that would affect the responsibilities of the first selectman. It was noted at that time by the board that the first selectman still had too many powers and responsibilities that should instead be taken care of by the town manager position.
Regardless of how the specific duties are allocated, the selectmen said the BOS would retain the power to hire or fire the town manager if the board felt he or she was not acting in the best interests of the town.
Before giving his remarks on the new version of the proposed charter submitted by the CRC to the BOS on June 28, Farmer said “I’ve read it about ten times and every time I do I find something else.”
Seeking Sufficient Safeguards
Farmer also added that he understood and appreciated how hard the CRC worked at their task. Farmer said he was still not satisfied by the description of duties the proposed town manager would have, noting that some of the checks and balances on the position from the board of selectmen were removed.
“You don’t have sufficient safeguard for good sound town governance. I feel like checks and balances are just not there,” he said.
Pinder also expressed her reservations about the creation of a town manager position. “I don’t think a town manager is the solution to the problems in Clinton,” Pinder said. When asked to identify the problems in Clinton, she listed economic development, land use, and planning and zoning issues.
In addition to the creation of the town manager position, the charter proposed by the CRC also allows for the town to hire a full-time town planner to oversee development in the town. Currently Clinton has a part-time town planner. Farmer said he’s heard from the current town planner that he doesn’t “have a full plate right now.” However, Farmer did agree that planning and zoning in town was an issue. “They just don’t move things forward down there,” said Farmer, referring to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Walter noted the “great support for the town manager position” she had heard around town. Last month the town held a public hearing where twelve members of the public spoke in unanimous support of the town manager position. “I just don’t see what we’re doing here today working,” said Walter, expressing specific concerns about economic development in town and empty storefronts.