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Charter review chair urges council to use past commission's recommendations, calls for stronger town-school coordination
Summary
Anil Constantino, chair of Smithfield's Charter Review Commission, reviewed the commission's 2008 and 2020 work, urged implementation of long-standing recommendations including staggered council terms and regular town-school meetings, and offered to meet with the new 2025 commission.
Anil Constantino, chair of Smithfield's Charter Review Commission, detailed the commission's research, past recommendations and institutional lessons during a presentation to the Town Council on March 18, urging the council to implement administrative recommendations from earlier reviews.
Constantino reviewed the commission's 2008 work, saying the commission proposed 31 charter amendments in 2008 (29 passed) and later changes in 2020 that replaced outdated language (for example replacing a "director of welfare" term with "director of human services"). He credited longtime commission members and interns from Bryant University for research support and described procedural choices the commission used, including allowing any single commissioner to place items for discussion.
"There shall be a director of human services appointed by the town manager to serve at the town manager's pleasure," Constantino read, contrasting the updated 2020 charter language with older wording. He said institutional knowledge from participants such as Walter Kane (former Rhode Island State Court Administrator) and others helped shape the work.
Constantino highlighted several long-standing recommendations the council has not fully implemented, including: quarterly meetings between the council and the school committee, monthly meetings between the town manager and school superintendent, consolidation of some noneducational services, and exploring a merger of the Sewer Authority into town government for efficiency. He urged the current council and the new 2025 Charter Review Commission to use the charter report as a toolkit and offered to meet with the new commission and to recommend interns.
He also defended the commission's financial procedures changes (Article 5), which he said replaced an archaic town meeting process and improved fiscal oversight. Constantino recommended that the council review Article 5 and other sections to ensure implementation of administrative recommendations that were not put on a ballot.
The council thanked Constantino for the presentation and accepted his offer to meet with the incoming charter commission.
