LEGAL NOTICE
TOWN OF GUILFORD
PUBLIC HEARING
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2007
7:30 P.M. - COMMUNITY CENTER
This is to give notice that the Guilford Board of Selectmen, pursuant to Section 7-191(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes, shall conduct a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on December 19, 2007, on the November 16, 2007, Draft Report of the Guilford Charter Revision Commission. The Draft Report is set forth in its entirety as follows:
CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION
DRAFT REPORT
I. INTRODUCTION
The Town of Guilford Charter Revision Commission (“Commission”) was formed by action taken by the Guilford Board of Selectmen with a recommendation the Commission consider;
(a) Various forms of local government available to the Town of Guilford under the laws of the State of Connecticut;
(b) Simplification and streamlining of the current budget-making process; and
(c) Such other changes, improvement, or corrections in other current provisions of the Charter as the Charter Revision Commission finds to be warranted.
After a series of Commission meetings and two public hearings, the Commission hereby submits this draft report to the Guilford Town Clerk, pursuant to the direction of the Board of Selectmen and §~7-191(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes. This report is filed with a copy of the proposed changes to the Town Charter. The Commission has taken commentary at each of its sessions from the public at large. In addition the Commission met with elected officials from the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, The Town Treasurer, the Director and Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Department, Town Engineer. In an effort to review the roles of the various boards and Commissions under consideration, this Commission met with representatives from other municipalities including the
Moderator of the Westport RTM where mechanics of the Westport RTM was discussed at length. We believe the Westport RTM model is one that should be adopted by The Town of Guilford and any of the proposed changes in the Guilford Charter are adapted from the Westport document. Finally the Commission met with a representative from the Town of Clinton Public Works Commission.
II. FORM OF GOVERNMENT
The Commission unanimously recommends that, effective with the first municipal election following the successful passage of the Charter amendments, the Town of Guilford be governed by a non-partisan legislative Body consisting of a Representative Town Meeting (“RTM”). The RTM would constitute the legislative body of the Town and, subject to the other provisions of the Charter, exercise all of the powers and functions formerly granted to the Town Meeting pursuant to the Connecticut General Statutes or any other statutory or common law or any regulation.
The powers of the Representative Town Meeting shall include but not be limited to the authority to enact, amend or repeal ordinances consistent with and in accordance with Section 7-4 of this Charter; to exercise general investigatory power; to create or abolish by ordinance, boards, Commissions, committees, departments, agencies, and offices not established by this Charter; to delegate any of its powers to any board, Commission, committee, department, agency or office and to amend and revoke such delegation; to regulate the borrowing of money, approve a budget for each fiscal year for submission to machine vote by the Town’s electors, and provide for the issuance of bonds, notes or other debt obligations (except notes in anticipation of tax collections payable within the fiscal year) and to provide
for the preservation of order, peace, safety, health and welfare of the town and its inhabitants.
The Representative Town Meeting shall be the appropriating authority of the Town and shall have the residual authority of a legislative body not specifically delegated by this Charter or the state statutes to other town boards, Commissions, committees, or offices. The Representative Town Meeting may not, on its own, make appropriations without the request and recommendation of the Board of Selectmen or Board of Education, as applicable, and the approval of the Board of Finance.
The members of the RTM would be elected on a district basis with representation from each of the five (5) Voting Districts previously established by the legislative body of Guilford in accordance with §9-169 of the Connecticut General Statutes and §2-2 of the Charter. Each district would be assigned five (5) representatives and each would be elected to a two-year term of office.
Nomination of a candidate for Representative Town Meeting member to be elected under this Charter shall be made by petition, signed in ink on forms approved and provided by the Town Clerk beginning with the 15th Tuesday before such election. The form, which shall bear no political designation, shall be signed by no less than fifty electors of the voting district in which the candidate resides and shall be filed with the Town Clerk no later than the 2nd Tuesday in September before said election.
The RTM is intended to have all of the power and authority granted to “Town Meetings” by the Connecticut General Statues or any other statutory or common law or any regulation. Members of the RTM would take office on the first Monday of December following the regular Town election. The RTM would elect a Moderator and a Clerk from among its membership and both would have full voting rights. Members of the Board of Selectmen would be ex-Officio members of the RTM with full rights and privileges, except the right to vote on the RTM. The RTM would meet not less frequently than one time per month and the agendas for each meeting shall
provide for public commentary.
III. BUDGET PROCESS
We recommend that the budget process remain essentially unchanged, except that the RTM would exercise a role presently carried out by the Town Meeting. The Board of Selectmen would continue its function of gathering estimates of expenses and revenues from all departments and agencies and preparing a proposed general town budget for submission to the Board of Finance. The Board of Education would likewise submit its proposed budget to the Board of Finance.
The Board of Finance would follow the procedures set forth in the present Charter provisions for presentation of a budget, which essentially follow those called for by Sections 7-344 and 7-388 of the General Statutes. The budget would be presented to the RTM at an Annual Budget Meeting, The RTM would have authority to debate and vote on the budget. No recommended appropriation or item in a recommended appropriation could be increased by the RTM, nor could any appropriation be made for a purpose not recommended by the Board of Finance. However, any proposed appropriation could be reduced by the RTM to a sum less than recommended by the Board of Finance, with the Board of Education budget being considered a single appropriation item. Upon approval of a budget by a majority vote of
the RTM, the annual budget shall be submitted to a “yes” or “no” vote on the voting machines at a date set by the RTM not less than seven(7) nor more than fourteen (14) days after RTM action on the budget, utilizing the post-meeting procedures for such a voted set forth in Section 7-7 of the Connecticut General Statutes. Persons eligible to vote in such annual budget machine vote shall be those eligible to vote in town meetings by virtue of Section 7-6 of the General Statues.
The RTM would have the authority to issue bonds or notes including notes in anticipation of taxes to be paid within the fiscal year in which issued. However, bond issues involving items in excess of 5% of the total Town Budget shall be submitted to a “yes” or “no” vote on the voting machines at a date set by the RTM not less than seven (7) nor more than fourteen (14) days after RTM approval. Again, the post-meeting procedures of Section 7-7 of the Connecticut General Statues would be utilized and persons eligible under Section 7-6 of the General Statutes would be eligible to vote.
Except in the case of an attempted ordinance override or the annual budget or the issuance of bonds involving amounts in excess of $5 million, there shall be no referendum or voting machine procedures available under the Charter or the State Statues for any item considered or action taken by the RTM or the Town.
IV. PUBLIC WORKS
After careful review and consideration by the members of this Commission we recommend the establishment of Public Works Commission comprised of five (5) regular members and two (2) alternate members, empowered with oversight and review not unlike the Boards of Fire and Police Commissioners.
V. TOWN TREASURER
We recommend in Section 6-3 the deletion of the office of Town Treasurer with a transfer of those ministerial functions being conferred upon the Finance Director. This decision was made after careful review of the function the Office of Town Treasurer and upon recommendation of the current Treasurer, current Finance Director and recommendation of members of the Board of Selectmen
VI. BOARD OF SELECTMEN
The Board of Selectmen including the First Selectman would remain as presently constituted, but with the terms of office increased to four (4) years. The Board of Selectmen would be the administrative branch of the Town Supervising the administration of the affairs of the Town, and generally exercising the powers delegated to Boards of Selectmen by the Connecticut General Statutes.
VII. VACANCIES
The Commission reviewed the concerns surrounding the creation of a vacancy in an elected office. With respect to a vacancy on the RTM the provisions dictate that those elected members of a district experiencing a vacancy confer and select a replacement with the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes considered to fill the vacancy seat provided he or she received at least 45 percent of the vote received by the highest elected representative from that particular district.
VIII. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
The Commission identified and corrected various formatting and stylistic matters which are of a non-technical nature.
VIX. CONCLUSION
The Guilford Charter Revision Commission requests that the Board of Selectmen adopt the aforesaid recommendations.
Respectfully submitted,
the Guilford Charter Revision Commission
Frederick J. Trotta, SR,
Its Chairman
The Charter Amendments proposed by the Charter Revision Commission necessary to implement the recommendations of the Draft Report are on file for review in the Office of the Town Clerk, 31 Park Street, Guilford, CT
Public comments at the hearing on both the Draft Report and the Proposed Charter Amendments will be received
Dated at Guilford, Connecticut this 3rd day of December, 2007.
_____________________________
Carl A. Balestracci, Jr.
_____________________________
Veronica C. Wallace
_____________________________
Salvatore R. Catardi
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Joseph A. Mazza
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Cynthia M. Cartier
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TOWN OF GUILFORD
I hereby certify that on the 4th day of December, 2007, I posted within warning upon the
signpost of the Town of Guilford and on the 13th day of December, 2007 , caused the
same to be published in the Guilford Courier, a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Guilford.
_________________________
Carl A. Balestracci, Jr.
First Selectman
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