The Charter Revision Commission decided on Wednesday, March 16, to recommend that the chairmanship of the Board of Finance be determined by a vote of the Finance members, rather than the current system which automatically installs the first selectman as chairman of Finance.
The vote was 7 to 1, with Russell Kimes voting against the recommendation.
Questions that remained unresolved by the Charter Revision Commission Wednesday, — including, Shall the first selectman be an ex officio member of the Board of Finance? and, May the first selectman be elected chairman of the Board of Finance? — are expected to be discussed further at the meeting tonight, Thursday, March 17, 5:30 in Town Hall.
As the April deadline approaches for the Charter Revision Commission to recommend changes to the Town charter, members of the commission seem to be focused on making decisions.
Another recommendation voted on at Wednesday night’s meeting was for Board of Finance members to remain appointed.
The vote for membership remaining appointed was unanimous.
When the topic of Board of Finance members remaining appointed or being elected came up at the Charter Revision meeting on March 2, Chairman Dave Hunt said, “With the present system there is an ability to pick skill-sets and to fill the Board of Finance with various skills you would like to have on that board. If you open it up to a free election, it will be random as to how that works out.”
Charter Revision members Kit Devereaux and Kate Hurlock said at that earlier meeting that they studied the practices of eight other towns; Wilton, Westport, Darien, Avon, Simsbury, Fairfield, Madison, and Ridgefield regarding their Board of Finance.
“Those supporting an elected Board of Finance have done so with the belief that it would achieve a more equitable balance of power,” Devereaux said. “We believe that the balance can be achieved without changing the current method of appointment. We do not suggest a change in how the Board of Finance is appointed.”
For additional background related to Board of Finance, Town Council, and Board of Selectmen: Mallozzi on charter: If it’s not broken, please don’t fix it.
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