Westerly council approves charter ballot questions but holds one for correction

The Westerly Town Council voted to approve proposed amendments to the town charter at a special meeting, approving all ballot questions except question 11 and adding a school-committee stipend question subject to the school committee's July 17 decision.

Paula Brulette, a member of the town finance board, urged the council during citizens' comments to include a 4% capital-maintenance funding level in the charter package, saying the proposed 4% "mirrors the 3% that the state has established for school districts" and would help the town preserve existing assets before taking on new ones. Councilors and the town solicitor said they supported the idea in principle but advised that a funding floor or reserve requirement is typically implemented through ordinance or a financial policy rather than a charter amendment because ordinances are easier to change.

During the meeting councilors reviewed the charter commission's proposed questions and explanations line by line. A major point of contention was question 11, which uses the phrase "most recent election." Several councilors argued the commission intended the phrase to be "most recent general election," not any special election; they asked whether the Charter Revision Commission could be reconvened or whether the council could rely on minutes or memos to correct the language. The solicitor said the council could ask the commission to reconvene for the limited purpose of amending that single question and noted that questions must be certified to the Secretary of State by Aug. 7.

After discussing contingencies, the council approved a motion to adopt all charter questions for the ballot except question 11, to add a question authorizing a stipend for the school committee pending the school committee's July 17 vote, and to direct the finance director to prepare a fiscal impact statement for question 18. The motion was restated by the clerk and carried on a roll-call vote announced as 5-0 in favor.

Town solicitor remarks during the meeting outlined the timing and administrative steps for correcting question 11 if the council chooses to reconvene the Charter Revision Commission for that single topic: the commission could meet briefly, amend the wording, adjourn, and the council could then take up the corrected question. Council members said they preferred that any reconvening be limited to the single correction and not reopen other items.

The meeting closed with the council asking staff to finalize agreed edits to the explanatory text, to prepare the fiscal note for question 18, and to ensure the clerk has all documents needed for certification. The council adjourned following the vote.