Proposed changes to the Town Charter were made on the agenda at a public hearing on June 26, with two dozen residents showing up to Town Hall to hear the Charter Revision Commission’s (CRC) ideas for two revised charters.

The first proposed charter would retain the current form of town government, but includes significant changes, such as prohibiting someone from serving on two elected positions concurrently, increasing the Board of Finance (BOF) from its current six members to seven, allowing departments heads to transfer up to $500 in their budgets with approval from finance director; and specifying that special appropriations of $250,000 or more, excluding emergency situations, be sent to referendum.

There are “some real changes that are long overdue,” said CRC Chairman Dennis Donovan.

A Town Manager Form of Government

The second proposed charter includes a change to a town manager form of government. Under this system, a professional, accredited town manager would be answerable to seven-member town council, acting as the town’s chief executive and taking on many of the duties handled by the current first selectman. The town council would hire or fire the town manager, a position that comes with a starting salary of $126,000, Donovan estimated.

In this form of government, the town council would be comprised of the four candidates with the highest number of votes in an election elected to a four-year term, with the remaining three candidates elected to a two-year term. Donovan explained that this arrangement prevents the entire council from being voted out each election. No more than four members of one party would be elected to the council. The hiring or firing of the town manager would need to be done by at least a 5-2 vote of the town council.

Under the town manager form of government, the Board of Finance (BOF) would be eliminated. Instead, the town manager would work with the finance director and department heads to propose a budget. The proposed budget would be presented to the town council, which would need to approve it before sending the proposed budget to referendum. Donovan said that the town would still vote on a town and education budget separately.

Selectman Phil Sengle, who made it clear he was speaking for himself and not on behalf of the Board of Selectman (BOS), said he likes this method of government because of the accountability that comes with the town manager position.

“You really know who is responsible,” Sengle said. He added that he felt that certain tough situations in the past have been kicked from one board to another, but a town manager would be forced to make a decision and then face the positive or negative feedback.

The Next Steps

Donovan said that the CRC would meet one more time, then present its changes to the BOS for its consideration. The BOS can recommend changes to the CRC, which then, in turn, would submit any further changes the BOS again. The BOS could then put the proposed changes to a vote by the people.

Donovan said the goal is for the final proposed changes to be on the ballot at the November election, with an effective date of 2019.

This is the second consecutive year potential changes to the charter are a subject of community debate. In 2017, the strange saga of the proposed changes to the charter was a source of confusion and frustration for many residents. The 2017 charter revision proposal also called for a change to a town manager style of government and other recommended changes, however the previous BOS voted not to send the proposed charter change to the ballot, citing concerns about the lack of oversight of the new town manager.

In response, the Clinton Charter Reform Coalition was formed and over the summer undertook a successful petition drive that forced the town to have a referendum on the proposed changes.

In a surprise move, and days after four of the five BOS members lost in a primary vote, the BOS voted to put the proposed changes to the charter on the November ballot after previously being against that move. Due to an oversight in which the proposed charter didn’t name a date by which it would go into effect, if residents voted in favor of the creation of a town manager position, the town would have been required to make that switch within 30 days of the vote. That condition led to the same coalition that campaigned to have the changes on the ballot then encouraging voters to vote “No” on three charter-related changes. All proposals were voted down on election day.