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Chester Charter Commission Begins Work

The time has come to reexamine the municipal structure of Chester as the newly formed Chester Charter Commission held its first meeting on May 31.

The Board of Selectmen (BOS) unanimously approved the appointment of the Charter Commission by a resolution on April 12 and appointed its seven members. They include Mark Borton, Brian Daley, Lol Fearon, Pat Holloway, Jesse Janazzo, Ian McLachlan, and Richard Strauss.

First Selectman Charlene Janecek prepared a statement on the purpose of the newly mustered group and the resolution that officiated its formation. Her statement, read by Jon Joslow, summarized the task of the body.

“The Charter Commission convenes today to propose an alternative structure of governance to lead and manage our town through many of the same challenges that face all cities and towns. You are here to recommend a charter to address our most significant issues,” said Janecek’s statement.

Joslow is the former chair of the Governance Study Committee, which published a meticulously researched “Governance Study Committee Report” on the state of Chester’s government and the potential steps forward for establishing a charter government in February.

The study outlines Janecek’s request more specifically for the Commission, stating its purpose to “identify and analyze alternative governance structures for the purpose of improving the town’s ability to proactively plan and manage its affairs.”

According to the study and mentioned in Janecek’s statement, its committee found in its research that Chester shared multiple municipal challenges with other Connecticut municipalities. These include “diffused executive governance authority,” “difficulty recruiting and maintaining professional staff,” and “finding volunteers to fill vacancies on boards and commissions, as well as the broader “increased complexity of municipal government.”

The study acknowledges comments from residents over the past several years regarding a lack of public awareness of vacancies on town boards and commissions and ensuing problems because of that dearth of personnel. The resolution has identified several potentials solution to this issue from the executive level down.

Chester currently stands as a non-charter municipality, which is required to operate under state home rules outlined in the Connecticut Constitution. The traditional New England Selectman-Town Meeting form of government is required for policy implementation.

To address the issues related to the increased complexity of Chester’s government and difficulties maintaining town personnel, the Charter resolution establishes several considerations to restructure the town executive, legislative, and fiscal authorities that would fit according to the charter model.

To address vacancies on executive boards and commissions, the high turnover rate of its members, and overall “diffused executive governance authority,” the resolution considers expanding the number of Board of Selectmen beyond three members and would have staggered terms.

Executive authority under a charter government can still be exercised by a first selectman, but it may also be a town manager appointed by a select board.

According to the study, a charter government would swap the town meeting model as the legislative method for deciding on policies for a vote by a body such as a town council or board of aldermen. Town meetings open to residents would still be held.

Concerning fiscal authority, Chester currently has the non-charter model of a board of finance. Under a charter government, “fiscal authority is established by charter provisions enabling the municipality the opportunity to design a financial policy and administration structure to meet its needs,” according to the study.

If Chester were to ultimately switch to a charter municipality and adopt these new considerations, it would draft its own constitution to codify them. The document would specify how Chester will operate and give it the right to customize its structure and operations to manage its municipal affairs appropriately.

The formal adoption of a charter would require the approval of electors via a municipal election. Adoption can also be positioned as a referendum on the ballot during a special election, requiring an affirmative ‘yes’ vote of 15% by electors.

Town Attorney Richard Roberts informed Commission members and the audience of citizens that some municipalities have attempted to hold a charter revision vote “out of sync with the general elections” and instead on the ballot for a special election. This wound up seeing the failure of a revision vote passing for the towns due to low voter turnout.

The Commission agreed to schedule a public hearing to go into greater detail on the drafting of a charter. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 21, at the town hall. Throughout its drafting process, Strauss said the Commission would be open to speaking with charter experts and other municipalities in Connecticut to expand their knowledge on charters and how to offer public education on their purpose and objective.

The Commission commented on the turnout of the audience at the meeting. While only six people made up the audience of citizens, they were surprised that citizens were present, one of whom expressed optimism about the commission’s objective.

“Today is a historical day for Chester,” they said.

For more information about the Charter Commission, visit www.chesterct.org/charter-commission.