Simsbury commission debates staggered selectmen terms, town manager powers and 2% referendum threshold

The Simsbury Charter Revision Commission spent much of its July 7 meeting refining proposed changes to chapters 3 through 5 of the draft town charter, focusing on how the Board of Selectmen is elected and how the town manager interacts with boards and staff.

Commission members discussed a package of changes that would convert several selectmen seats into staggered terms, so that three members elected in 2027 would serve initial two-year terms and three would serve initial four-year terms, with all seats becoming four-year terms thereafter; the charter draft would continue to limit membership so no more than four members may belong to the same political party. Paul, a Charter Revision Commission member, said the staggered schedule should be spelled out to avoid confusion in future elections.

The discussion also covered whether the charter should use the term “first” to refer to the town’s presiding selectperson and where that definition belongs; commissioners agreed to add a definition in chapter 3 and to keep consistent usage in chapter 4 so the town’s governing language reads cleanly. "We should define it in chapter 3," one member said, and the commission asked staff to consolidate the terminology in the master document.

A substantial portion of debate centered on the relationship between the Board of Selectmen and the town manager. Commissioners reviewed language that would make the town manager responsible for providing "resources, information, analysis, staffing, and support to all elected boards and commissions" and discussed a proposed restriction on individual selectmen directing town employees. The commission added a clause, placed in chapter 4, that would preserve elected boards’ ability to "request and obtain in a timely fashion information, data, or reports required for the conduct of said boards and commissions’ duties." Bob, participating in the drafting discussion, said the new wording was intended to prevent individual members from directing staff while ensuring boards can get information they need.

Commissioners also debated how strongly to word timelines and remedies if the town manager does not deliver requested information. One commissioner argued the charter should require timely responses but acknowledged the charter cannot easily prescribe disciplinary consequences; the group agreed the board of selectmen — which oversees the town manager — would be the primary enforcement mechanism and that more explicit fallback protections could be added for certain boards (for example, Board of Finance) in later sections.

On budget process issues, commissioners revisited the proposal requiring voter referendum for single expenditures above a percentage of the annual town budget. The draft retains a 2% threshold; participants discussed whether to raise that figure because the town’s overall budget has grown. Commission members noted that on a $100 million budget, 2% equals $2 million and that the town’s unassigned fund balance (discussed during the meeting) makes the 2% threshold a measure of materiality rather than a daily operational limit.

The commission did not finalize the chapters at the meeting but agreed on wording updates and cross-reference checks to be completed by staff. Commissioners requested that statutory citations be presented as “General Statutes, as amended” where applicable to avoid stale cross-references.

Public commenters framed several of the charter questions as matters of transparency and capacity. Arthur House of East Betalk Street urged the commission to “empower” the Board of Finance so it can perform authoritative research and demand reports; Laurie Boyko of Oakhurst Road urged that only the Board of Selectmen create subcommittees and that non-electors on boards be removable. Lisa Havner, who told the commission she had tracked its work, urged “clarifying language, transparency, and checks and balances.”

The commission said it will reconvene with changes prepared by staff and will verify statutory requirements before finalizing chapters 3–5. Work remaining includes specific drafting on the town manager’s evaluation process, emergency-declaration authority, and the precise staggering language for the 2027 transition election.