CHESTER

After about five months of meetings, reviews, and discussions, the Chester Charter Commission will present a progress briefing at a public meeting on Thursday, Oct. 26, at town hall.

The commission has prepared its preliminary draft charter, the first version of what could be the official legal document outlining a new town government structure for Chester. At the meeting, the commission will walk attendees through an overview of the 11 articles that make up the draft while providing information on the differences between a charter government and Chester’s current state statute-style government.

The draft includes Key Charter Provisions for restructuring and consolidating multiple town boards and commissions to create a more efficient and effective government. Key provisions “expands the Board of Selectmen [BOS] to seven members with four-year terms; provides shared legislative authority between the Town Meeting and the Board of Selectmen; aligns the Town’s fiscal authorities with the responsibility to support and achieve Town policy and initiatives; addresses challenge in finding citizens to serve on Boards and Commissions.”

Commission Chair Richard Strauss said an expanded BOS would exercise fiscal authority and maintain its current executive and legislative authority, effectively merging them with the Board of Finance (BOF).

“The hope is that that will encourage bipartisan cooperation and decision-making,” said Strauss. “If you had three members of the Board of Selectmen, you have a very limited group, and typically, you’ll have two people from one party and one person from another party. So you don’t have a lot of diversity of opinion. With an expanded BOS, then you have more diversity of opinion and reaching consensus.”

Strauss said merging the BOS and BOF would increase accountability, especially considering the fiscal side of governance.

“What you’re essentially doing is you’re taking the Board of Selectmen who proposed the budget to meet what they perceive to be the needs of the town based upon a variety of factors, and now hold them accountable for the financial management of the town.

The draft also calls for establishing a Fiscal Policy Committee. Members would include the first selectman as chair, a finance director, and a town manager, in addition to chairs or designees from the Board of Education, Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Economic Development Commission.

“By making the changes, one in appointed positions [or] officers, and also in a point of boards and commissions rather than elected, what you’re doing is consolidating the government a little bit, removing the significant diffused nature, and the finance side is one of those.”

Following Oct. 26 presentation, the commission will continue working on the draft with public feedback before finalizing a document for approval or rejection from the BOS.

“The expectation is that we’ll get input from residents and also town officials on this preliminary draft, and then we have time to modify it and get it finalized for the consideration of the Board of Selectmen,” said Strauss.

The commission must submit a finalized draft to the town clerk by April 1, 2024. The clerk will then send the document to the BOS to schedule a public hearing. A finalized charter would then require approval from voters at a referendum on Election Day 2024.