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Aniskovich Asserts Right to Speak for Town Council

In an attempt to clarify the issue for the public, the roles that the town manager and Town Council chairman are supposed to play was discussed at the Town Council’s July 1 virtual meeting.

Town Council Chairman Chris Aniskovich said he’s aware that some people in town believe that Town Manager Karl Kilduff should be the one making public statements as opposed to Aniskovich. Aniskovich said that per the charter, that’s not the case.

“It’s new for everyone. We get it. Instead of making comments, how about learn?” Aniskovich said.

At the meeting, Kilduff explained his perspective.

“The chairman is the voice of the council and should be speaking from policy perspective and the town manager responds to administrative functions of the town,” Kilduff said.

The charter outlines that the town manager functions as the chief administrator of the town. The manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the town and serves as the personnel director for town employees.

Kilduff attends the biweekly council meetings and makes reports on town activities, but he cannot vote on matters. Unlike under the previous style of government that used boards of selectman and finance, Kilduff monitors the financial status of the town and informs the council of the town’ finances at the meetings.

Aniskovich said compared the role of the town manager to that of a CEO.

“They aren’t out in the public eye making comments,” said Aniskovich.

Similar to other boards and commissions, the Town Council elected its chairperson and a vice chairperson at its first meeting. Aniskovich was voted chairman and Carol Walter was elected vice chairperson. As chairman, Aniskovich is the chief elected official and ceremonial leader in town. Under this role, Aniskovich has so far taken the lead on making statements on behalf of the council or town about town policies and goals.

Aniskovich said that whenever a statement is made, he sends the remarks to the other council members or relevant department heads as well so that they are kept in the loop.

“We think it’s good to keep the public informed,” said Aniskovich.

In 2018, Clinton residents voted to change the town’s form of government from the centuries-old board of selectman style of government to the current town manager form of government which went into effect on Nov. 19, 2019. While the change was perceived as radical shift by some, the town manager form of government is the most common form of government in the United States, though it is less common in New England.

Proponents of the move the argued that having a hired town manager would bring a degree of professionalism and continuity to town leadership instead of the old model in which an entire new board of selectmen—most of whom were volunteers—could potentially be voted into office every two years. Those in favor of the move felt that by time a new first selectman was done getting the hang of the office, it was time for that person to run again, which they said contributed to the town not running smoothly.

A complete copy of the new charter is available on the Clinton town website at clintonct.org.