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Council and charter commission reach agreement on many technical charter edits; several items deferred
Summary
The joint meeting cleared a number of technical clarifications'definitions, boards and commissions rules, alternates, appointment cross-references and departmental titles'while deferring tougher items such as staggered terms drafting, library/VIA issues, and department-head term uniformity.
At their June 23 joint meeting, the West Haven City Council and the Charter Revision Commission moved through a long list of technical corrections and clarifications to the draft charter, registering agreement on many items while flagging others for additional drafting.
Early in the meeting the council explained adding the term "agency" to definitions for boards and commissions so bodies listed as "agency" are covered; CRC members had no objection and the item was marked "agree." The council also proposed including the Water Pollution Control Commission in the definition of "department," and CRC agreed (SEG 118'SEG 168). Council and counsel clarified the "position of profit" language by linking its definition to existing ethics instruments (the code of ethics, board of ethics rulings, or ordinance) to avoid disruptive change given time constraints (SEG 171'SEG 208).
Other items the bodies agreed on included clarifying that certain department heads should be full-time (town and city clerk language), consolidating residency/elector qualifications for members and alternates, and strengthening language about alternate members' rights to attend meetings and executive sessions while only voting when activated to fill vacancies (SEG 448'SEG 642). The council added that removal proceedings for appointed board members may be commenced by specified actors (mayor, a majority of council, majority vote of the board, or the board of ethics) and that the ordinance will later define "persistent absence." CRC asked for definitions and agreed to codify details in future ordinance drafting (SEG 914'SEG 999).
The bodies also discussed department title changes (e.g., Department of Personnel and Labor Relations), the Department of Public Works' scope relative to the Board of Education and the Village Improvement Association (VIA), and making the Water Pollution Control administrator a standalone department head to reflect current practice (SEG 1854'SEG 2081). Some items were tabled for further review, including VIA/library-specific language and a fuller review of department-head term standards because statutes or different appointment mechanisms limit changes for certain offices.
The meeting produced a number of agreed'upon, primarily technical edits; attorneys were asked to draft staggered-term transition language and other ordinance-level definitions for the CRC's July 1 meeting. The joint session recessed and agreed to reconvene to finish outstanding items.
