Council Approves Charter Changes For Referendum On November 8th Ballot

Dem Leader Criticizes Condensing Four Major Revisions Into Two Questions

Staff Reports

The City Council approved changes to the City Charter at its June 22nd meeting for referendum approval this year that would elect the 15-member Council by wards without at large seats, create a chief administrative officer for the city and make the Tax Collector and Town and City Clerk positions appointive instead of elective offices.

Ald. Aram Ayalon (D-3), the Democratic leader on the Council, criticized the decision because the referendum questions adopted by the Council did not follow guidance of the Charter Commission to ask four separate questions on major changes to the city’s governing document that would make them transparent in the voting booth. Several other Councillors voiced objections as well but agreed to send the changes to the voters.

The most significant change to the City Charter, the city’s governing document, approved by the Council would change the way the Council, itself, is elected. Under the proposed change, the number of Council membered elected from each of the city’s five Council districts, commonly called “wards”, would be increased from two to three.

Voters would continue to be able to vote for up to two candidates for Council in each ward, as they do now, but three would be elected. The election system would create elections in which each major party run slates of two candidates each, but winners would include candidates of more than one party or independent slate.

All fifteen members of the Council would be elected by district. Under the current Charter provision, five of the fifteen are elected citywide.

Other Charter changes approved by the Council include the creation of a “Chief Administrative Officer” position appointed by the Mayor, changing the Town Clerk and Tax Collector positions from elected to appointed, merging the Board of Water Commissioners and Board of Public Works, making Charter provisions more gender-neutral, changing references to “Director of the Water Department” to “Deputy Director of the Public Works Utility Division” and requiring that a Charter Revision Commission be appointed at least once every five years.

The changes were proposed by the Charter Revision Commission appointed by the City Council in January. Members appointed were Justin Dorsey, Sharon Beloin-Saavedra, Daniel Salerno, Neil Conners, Carmelo Rodriguez, John Buckley and Nate Amos. 

The Council had the option to propose changes to the recommendations of the Council, but instead chose to approve the Commission’s recommendations as is. That sends the proposed changes to a referendum on November 8th ballots when voters will elect the Governor, members of Congress, constitutional officers and state legislators.

In opposing a “vague” question two for the ballot, however, Ald. Ayalon told supporters that it is an attempt, “to try to deceive the public by creating only two questions on the November ballot by consolidating their questions – creating a city manager, making clerk and tax collector appointed, and additional minor or ‘housekeeping’ changes.” Ayalon also said the commission was not appointed in a bipartisan way. Mayor Stewart’s Chief of Staff, Justin Dorsey, countered that both the Democratic and Republican Town Committees were contacted about appointments.

The first question approved by the Council is the same as the version proposed by the Commission, asking voters to consider,

Shall the Common Council be comprised of fifteen (15) members, consisting of three (3) members elected from each of the five (5) Common Council Districts, with the minority party requirements of the Connecticut General Statutes applying to each of the five (5) Common Council Districts separately?

But the second question says,

Shall the remainder of the changes to the City Charter, as recommended by the Charter Revision Commission, be approved?

That appears to consolidate three separate ballot questions proposed by the Commission, including,

2) Shall the positions of Revenue Collector and the Town and City Clerk be changed from elected to civil service, appointed positions?

3) Shall an appointed Chief Operations Officer, who shall report directly to the Mayor, be responsible for the daily management of certain City functions?

4) Shall the remainder of the changes to the Charter as recommended by the Charter Revision Commission be approved, which changes include a provision requiring periodic Charter review every five years at a minimum?

On November 8th the city’s voters will have the chance to approve the proposed changes as part of the Charter, or vote them down.

A city or town’s charter is its main governing document, similar to the federal or a state constitution, but only concerning the management of the local government. The charter is above ordinances (local laws) approved by the Council, which must follow the charter. The City Charter is still subordinate to the state Constitution and laws.