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Charter commission debates modernizing language, public‑notice rules and authority over boards
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Summary
Commissioners considered replacing the archaic phrase "office of trust or emolument," updating publication rules to allow statute‑consistent electronic notice, clarifying town seal custody, and debated whether the town council should be able to decommission boards by ordinance.
Commissioners spent much of the April 1 meeting reviewing Article 1 edits and other structural changes to the draft charter, seeking plain‑language replacements and clarifications on authority and process.
One early and sustained debate concerned the phrase "office of trust or emolument," an eighteenth‑century term that appears multiple times in the current charter. The draft replaces it with modern wording such as "elected, appointed, or employment position" where appropriate. Town counsel Nick, brought in to advise commissioners, told the group the substitution raised no legal objection: "I don't have any concerns just striking that specific term and replacing it with the proposed language," he said, while advising careful, consistent drafting across articles.
Publication and notice: commissioners examined proposed changes to publication rules that would remove the word "local" from the definition of a qualifying newspaper and allow publication to follow Connecticut statutes and modern electronic methods. Some commissioners warned against locking the charter to a media form that could disappear; in public comment, resident Wendy Keggie urged keeping a local‑newspaper requirement because digital notices can be harder to find and "some people like to hide things." The commission balanced flexibility with protections and agreed to refine the language.
Boards and commissions: the draft includes a clause giving the town council authority to establish, modify or decommission boards as permitted by statute. Several members worried that language could be confusing or overbroad. Counsel clarified an important legal point: commissions established in the charter cannot be abolished by ordinance alone — they must be removed by charter amendment. That distinction prompted commissioners to recommend handling many operational details by ordinance rather than embedding them in the charter.
Other items: commissioners also discussed clarifying custody of the town seal (proposed to be the town clerk, with a general statutory reference rather than a fixed citation) and adjusting retirement/retirement‑plan language to cover modern plan types rather than the older word "pension." They agreed to move some enabling language (definitions and non‑substantive edits) into the draft's definitions section to improve clarity.
Next steps: the commission will continue article reviews at a special meeting April 6 (4–6 p.m., hybrid). Staff will incorporate the agreed wording changes and circulate a revised draft ahead of the next session; the final draft remains due May 4.
