#Middlebury #CharterRevision
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
The Middlebury Board of Selectmen, at their Jan. 21, 2020, meeting, appointed a commission to work on possible Middlebury Town Charter revisions. The town charter establishes the town’s form of government and addresses topics such as elected and appointed officials, meetings, officials’ duties, boards and commissions, administrative departments, the budget procedure, borrowing and more.
Readers can pick up a hard copy of the current town charter at the town clerk’s office in Town Hall. It also can be read online at the town website, middlebury-ct.org.
The current town charter was revised in November 2012. Chapter X, Section 1007, of the charter states it is to be reviewed “not less than once every five years,” so it was due for review in 2017. It’s possible the focus on the town’s capital plan at that time delayed the charter review.
Those appointed to review the charter are four Republicans, Paul Bialobrzeski, Natrajan Kuppuraj, John A. Jenusaitis and Thomas C. King, and three Democrats, Diana J. Anton, Curtis Bosco and Michael J. McVerry. McVerry, an attorney, chairs the committee.
It appears there were two meetings Jan. 29, a Pre-Charter Revision Commission meeting, attended by First Selectman Edward B. St. John, and then a Charter Revision Commission meeting.
The Pre-Charter Revision Commission meeting minutes state that St. John told commission members the intention of the 2012 charter was to change the term for first selectman to four years. It currently is two years. There is no mention of why the change was not made in the 2012 revision. The minutes say St. John told the commission it takes at least three years to learn the job. He also noted there are no term limits for the other selectmen.
St. John suggested McVerry be appointed chairman because he has served on three previous charter revision commissions. He recommended a vote on the revised charter be placed on the November 2020 ballot. That means all revisions have to agreed upon by the second week of September 2020.
The minutes from the Jan. 29 Charter Revision Commission meeting show McVerry was unanimously approved as chair of the commission. Members agreed to review materials presented to them that night and discuss them at the next meeting on Feb. 3, 2020. Included in those materials was a short list of suggested changes in wording from recently retired Town Clerk Edith Salisbury.
The minutes from the Feb. 3 meeting show McVerry addressed Salisbury’s suggestions and explained the charter revisions will require two public hearings. The commission agreed to complete its work on the revisions by Sept. 4, 2020.
A public hearing for public input was set for Feb. 24, but that hearing had to be canceled. The commission itself was to meet on Feb. 10, but the Feb. 10 meeting also was canceled.
The commission was meeting Monday nights at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Room. However, the next meeting, Monday, March 2, will be at 6 p.m. Meetings are open to the public. Agendas for upcoming meetings will be posted on the town website (listed above – See Boards and Commissions) and on the Town Hall bulletin boards.
