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New Canaan charter commission debates treasurer powers, account-signing language and final ballot items
Summary
At its May 4 meeting, the Town of New Canaan Charter Revision Commission reviewed a near-final draft, focused extended discussion on Article 22 (town treasurer duties and signer authority for bank accounts), agreed to add “as appropriate” to the signer clause, and finalized five proposed ballot items to send to the town council.
Kathleen, chairing the Charter Revision Commission, led a May 4 session in which commissioners reviewed a near-final draft of the proposed New Canaan charter and spent the bulk of their discussion on Article 22, which defines the town treasurer’s duties and authority.
The commission examined several subsections of Article 22, including C22-1 (treasurer duties as agent of public funds), C22-2 (custodian of funds and access to financial records), and C22-4 (investment of town funds and the engagement of external advisers for bond issues). Kathleen read the draft language for C22-6 and C22-1 aloud during the meeting, including the provision that "the treasurer shall receive all monies belonging to the town and pay it pay it out on the order of the proper authority." She told the group she had circulated a fresh version within the hour and asked members to refer to pages 69–70 for the treasurer sections.
Commissioners and staff focused on whether the charter should state that the treasurer is a signer on “all bank and investment accounts.” Members raised that some Board of Education (BOE) accounts — for example, cafeteria, facility rental and grant-related special revenue accounts — are audited annually and commonly have different signers (budget director, director of finance and operations, superintendent) rather than the town treasurer. Andrew, speaking as the town treasurer, described the practical role he plays: "the only times I've had to... it's really more hitting a pause button if I detect that something is not being correctly paid," meaning he occasionally halts payments that lack proper authorization.
After debate and a request to double-check statutory language, the commission agreed to insert the phrase "as appropriate" after "bank and investment accounts" in C22-6 so the clause would read, pursuant to general statutes, that "the town treasurer is a signer on bank and investment accounts, as appropriate, and shall pay out all disbursements made on the order of proper authority." Commissioners asked staff and legal counsel to confirm that this phrasing preserves the treasurer's authority for town accounts while recognizing BOE and other special accounts may be managed differently under state statute.
Other technical points discussed included whether to retain language that duplicated bond-execution duties (the group opted to keep bond execution language in the Board of Finance section and leave investment and bond-proceeds language in C22-4), clarification about trust funds and the treasurer’s role, and small editorial changes throughout the draft charter.
On broader outcomes, the commission finalized up to five ballot items to present to the town council: (1) term limits for appointed members (limit proposed elsewhere in the draft), (2) town council approval required for changes to town-owned real property, (3) requiring town council confirmation for planning and zoning appointments, (4) adding alternates to the ethics board, and (5) a single omnibus item for technical and conforming changes. Commissioners noted ballot space constraints and agreed that the fifth item would capture miscellaneous edits.
The commission voted by consensus to move the draft forward to the town council for review, requested legal verification on the treasurer/account wording, and set a follow-up commission meeting for May 26. The chair asked commissioners to submit their top four follow-up topics for assignments and memos to support the ballot items.
The meeting record shows an initial motion to approve previously posted minutes (moved by Karen Willet, seconded by Joe Paulo) and a closing motion to adjourn. The commission expects the town council review and any updates to take place in May–July, following the same general timeline used in the prior charter revision cycle.
The commission’s discussion emphasized statutory consistency (members repeatedly referenced "general statutes" as the governing authority), the practical difference between town accounts and BOE-managed accounts, and the desire to avoid charter language that would unintentionally require the treasurer to sign on accounts routinely managed by the BOE. The next procedural steps are legal verification of the "as appropriate" language and submission of the draft to the town council for formal review.
