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Charter Revision Commission Scroll down or click the bookmarks to see all the submitted minutes for meetings held in April
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APRIL 17, 2008 MEETING MINUTES CHARTER REVISION COMMITTEE EAST LYME TOWN HALL
Members Present: Ron Rando Carole H. Green Steve McCue Leonard Goldberg Tony Attanasio Lawrence White Christopher Sandford James Anderson Michael Foley Robert Tobin
Members Excused: Greg Massad
Also Present: Jack Hogan, Ex-Officio Ed O’Connell, Town Attorney Paul Formica, First Selectman
Mr. Formica convened the meeting of the Charter Revision Committee at 7:00 p.m.
Mr. Formica thanked all of the members for serving on the Charter Revision Committee; he introduced Jack Hogan as the ex-officio from the Board of Selectmen. He pointed out that they were given a list of questions from the Board of Selectmen that they would like them to consider, but he wanted to remind them that everything is on the table as far as what they would like to revise in the Charter. He also wanted to add to the agenda the election of a vice-chairman and a secretary.
Motion (1) James Anderson moved to add the election of the vice-chairman and the secretary under Item 2a and Item 2b respectively. Seconded by Ron Rando. There was no discussion. Motion approved 10-0
Motion (2) Robert Tobin moved to appoint James Anderson as Chairman of the Charter Revision Committee. There was no second
Michael Foley asked what the Chairman would be doing.
Mr. Formica stated the Chairman would be a voting member of the Committee, and would facilitate the meetings.
Michael Foley stated that it seems premature to appoint a Chairman now, and he suggested they have a rotating temporary Chairman, and as the weeks go on they will see who presents themselves as a leader, and then they could appoint a permanent Chairman.
Mr. Formica stated he would have no problem with that if that were how they want to proceed.
Motion (3) Ron Rando moved to appoint Leonard Goldberg as Chairman of the Charter Revision Committee.
Mr. Formica asked if anyone had any thoughts on this.
Robert Tobin asked if the chairman’s role is limited and if they have any special power.
Leonard Goldberg stated the chairman’s role is just as a facilitator and they would make sure what needs to take place takes places, they also would set the agenda for the meeting, and would make sure that their business moves along.
Jack Hogan stated that the last time a Charter Revision Commission was formed they appointed a chairman from the beginning to get things moving along.
Mr. Formica stated he would feel more comfortable with that, and he asked how everyone feels about that.
Christopher Sandford asked if they could have two nominations and let them talk for a minute or two to see what they would bring to the role.
Mr. Formica stated he doesn’t want to get bogged down with this discussion and we should continue with the nominations.
Carole Green seconded the motion by Mr. Rando to appoint Leonard Goldberg as Chairman of the Charter Revision Committee.
There was no further discussion Motion Approved 9-0Members Abstained: Leonard Goldberg
Chairman Goldberg thanked everyone for that appointment and he would do his best to fulfil their expectations. He would like their input on everything so this committee can be very open and transparent to the public.
2A. ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRMAN
Motion (4) James Anderson moved to nominate Robert Tobin as Vice-Chairman of the Charter Revision Committee. Seconded by Tony Attanasio. There was no discussion. Motion Approved 9-0 Members Abstained: Robert Tobin
2B. ELECTION OF SECRETARY
Motion (5) Christopher Sandford moved to nominate Tony Attanasio as Secretary of the Charter Revision Committee. Seconded by Ron Rando. There was no discussion. Motion Approved 9-0 Members Abstained: Tony Attanasio
Ron Rando stated he was involved in the last two or three charter revisions, he wasn’t on the committees but he went to all of the meetings. He feels that they need to discuss everything in the Charter seriously, this is very important and they need to look at everything that is brought to them.
Chairman Goldberg stated he hopes at the end they have the best product for the people of this town, their work needs to be complete by July 1, 2009 and they have a lot of work to do.
Mr. Formica stated the Board of Selectmen are concerned with voting on the budget, and the Board of Finance alternate. Also the issue of having 15 days for the newly installed first selectman to appoint the members of all boards and officers would be good to change since when he was installed on December 3rd the Board of Selectmen was meeting 16 days later, and by changing it to 30 days that would work into the Board of Selectmen’s first meeting in January. Also the Sanitarian has been replaced by Ledge Light Health District. There will be other opportunities created by developing efficiencies within the Town. The report needs to be to the Board of Selectmen by July 1, 2009 and they will review it and they can accept it or reject it. The results will be on the ballot in November 2009. If they have any questions they can ask Jack Hogan for the Board of Selectmen. He also wanted to note that there is a new conference room downstairs that is empty most of the time.
Chairman Goldberg asked if anyone had any thoughts on how often they should meet.
Christopher Sandford asked Jack Hogan what they did on the last charter revision.
Jack Hogan stated at first they met twice a month and then toward the end they met once of week. They broke up into sub-committees, and he suggested as they develop items they break into sub-committees and then report back to the whole committee.
Robert Tobin asked how many charges they had.
Jack Hogan stated they had about 7 or 8 and that was expanded to 12.
James Anderson stated by Statute they are required to hold a public hearing prior to any substantial work. They should set the public hearing as a target for now. He suggested it take place a week or so after the Town Meeting, that would be ideal since they could maximize the public interest in what they are doing. That is approximately a month from now, and they will have time for meetings prior to that also.
Mr. Formica stated if they need the upstairs room for taping they could coordinate that through his office.
Michael Foley asked how much time they need for a public hearing notice.
Ed O’Connell stated there are no statutory requirements, but the general rule is 5 days.
Jack Hogan suggested they go home and look at the Charter, and pick out areas that each individual wants to look at and that they come to the next meeting with that information. That is a good starting point, and then at the public hearing they can find out what the public wants them to look at.
Ron Rando stated the meetings should be taped to maximize public interest.
Chairman Goldberg stated they should set the date for the next meeting and then at that meeting they can set their meeting schedule. As Mr. Rando suggested he would like to maximize the public interest and have the greatest amount of transparency.
Carole Green asked if Mondays are good for everyone.
Ron Rando stated that we should schedule it and then decide how often to meet.
James Anderson stated more often the better at this stage, and he proposed next Monday the 21st.
Michael Foley asked if they would have to televise that first meeting.
James Anderson stated he scanned the minutes from the last Charter Revision Commission, and he has put them on a CD, and he also has some information from the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), and he would be happy to pass out both to everyone, the minutes are very helpful, and he thinks it would be very worthwhile for everyone to read those.
Christopher Sandford asked if this Committee has a budget and if the town attorney would be at all of their meetings.
Mr. Formica stated there has been money put aside for the recording secretary, and any requirements beyond that. The town attorney would not be at every meeting.
Ed O’Connell stated if there are any legal questions the Chairman would ask him for advice, and he would answer their questions if needed.
Robert Tobin stated it would be a good idea to get everyone’s email address, and phone number. He asked if the CCM information and website is available to everyone.
Mr. Formica stated that yes this town is a member.
James Anderson stated you just have to go to their website and create an account.
Carole Green asked if they want to meet on the 21st at 7:00 or should they set an earlier time.
All members stated 7:00 was good for them.
Christopher Sandford asked if everyone would be sitting at one table.
Jack Hogan stated in the past they used the back of the conference room and would have the tables set up for everyone to work around.
Chairman Goldberg stated the next meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. on April 21st and he would like to get together with the Vice-Chair and Secretary after this meeting.
Ed O’Connell stated due to Freedom of Information the public has a right to observe any meetings and any official records. They should adopt a pattern as to how they do their notice of meetings, and the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman would prepare the agenda. The minutes are available from each of the past Charter Revisions and they had gone over many questions in detail. It is amazing how many times certain issues come up. They should keep very detailed minutes, as it will be a great help to future Charter Revision Committees. The Charter was originally adopted in 1965, since then there have been 6 or 7 revisions, it is a very resilient document, as it hasn’t been amended substantially since then. There are certain time limits they must follow. There are certain time constraints in order to get the issues on the ballot by November of 2009. The Town Clerk needs to get the wording for the ballots and have them printed and that needs to be reviewed by the Secretary of State. Only powers that are granted by the State Legislature we are able to discuss. As long as the Charter doesn’t conflict with any State laws then a municipality is free to operate them. CCM will also be a good resource to them.
James Anderson asked what constitutes a meeting of this committee.
Ed O’Connell stated they would have to have a quorum, and they should be careful with email as it may have Freedom of Information consequences so you don’t want more than a quorum involved. They need to be aware of that.
Robert Tobin asked if the transmittal of the information the Town Clerk handed out could be construed as business.
Ed O’Connell stated as long it is properly labeled for informational purposes and it was not designed to solicit dialogue it would be fine.
Robert Tobin asked how they would comply with FOI requirements for the meeting on April 21st.
Ed O’Connell stated the Chairman or Vice-Chairman would need to prepare the agenda and would have to file it with the Town Clerk at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
Chairman Goldberg asked if anyone would object to having the next meeting on April 28th.
Jack Hogan stated that would give them more time to review the information they have been provided.
Carole Green asked if they would need to put notice of the meetings in the newspaper.
Robert Tobin asked if there was a standard form for an agenda.
Jack Hogan stated they could use other Boards as a model.
Christopher Sandford asked if they would have public delegations at public hearings or at every meeting.
Ed O’Connell stated that is something they would need to decide whether they would have delegations at every meeting, and if they would have them at the beginning of the meeting or at the end.
Ron Rando stated they should set it up like the Board of Selectmen’s meetings.
Chairman Goldberg stated that would make sense in some manner to run their meetings and set their agendas the same as the Board of Selectmen.
Lawrence White asked if they should make a motion to follow Roberts Rules of Order.
Michael Foley stated he would hate to get stuck with that.
Lawrence White stated it would depend on how the Chairman manages the meetings.
James Anderson stated he would encourage them to not have everything follow Roberts Rules of Order.
Michael Foley stated they should figure out what they are doing before deciding on the Rules.
James Anderson stated if there is a dispute they could fall back on Roberts Rules of Order.
Christopher Sandford stated it would help with their transparency to have structure at their meetings.
Chairman Goldberg asked if they wanted to determine that now or wait until the next meeting.
Jack Hogan stated they could go out of the bounds of Roberts Rules of Order with a majority decision, and try to keep this apolitical.
Ron Rando stated there was never a problem at the meetings he has attended for charter revision, and he doesn’t think they need Roberts Rules of Order.
Chairman Goldberg stated they could settle that at the next meeting.
Ron Rando stated things do need to be changed, and he hopes they can do that. He is not too happy with the list that Mr. Formica gave them. He would like to see a 4 year term of the First Selectman, and he also feels it is important that town employees not be able to serve on boards, he thinks they have to change that, they are working for the town and they are voting on salaries or abstaining from the vote, but it is not good, and he thinks they should look at splitting the budgets.
Jack Hogan stated the 4-year term was discussed by the last Charter Revision Committee, and brought to the townspeople and it was defeated at the vote. They should not be afraid to put anything on the list.
Christopher Sandford asked if an easel could be made available at the next meeting for everyone’s ideas.
Motion (6)Christopher Sandford moved to adjourn the meeting of the Charter Revision Committee at 8:00 p.m. Seconded by Tony Attanasio Motion passed 10-0
Respectfully Submitted, Karen Miller Galbo, Recording Secretary
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