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West Haven council tells CRC tax-collector duties will move to finance staff; CRC asks for clarification footnote
Summary
Council members said day-to-day tax-collector duties are already performed by a tax manager and recommended the charter state those functions will be assumed by a Department of Finance employee; the CRC requested a clarifying footnote and asked counsel to check union and statutory implications.
The City Council told the Charter Revision Commission that the operational functions historically associated with the elected tax collector have effectively been performed by a municipal tax manager, and recommended the charter be revised to reflect that those functions will be carried out by a Department of Finance employee.
A council representative explained that the current tax manager handles most day'to'day work and that the proposed charter language would "make clear that the functions of the tax collector shall be assumed by an employee of the Department of Finance," removing the elected, ceremonial nature of the office while preserving statutory functions via assignment to staff (SEG 1696'SEG 1826). CRC members raised concerns about whether changing an elected position to an appointed employee would trigger collective bargaining or other union issues; an attorney present said that retitling duties typically does not require bargaining if responsibilities are unchanged but that the mayor would consult the union as a matter of practice.
Commissioner discussion focused on public understanding: one CRC member asked for a clearer narrative footnote so voters reviewing the charter drafts would understand the transition'that the tax collector's elected office has been, in practice, subsumed by a manager who is a city employee and union member. The CRC asked staff to add a historical footnote in the draft explaining the change and its operational effect (SEG 1640'SEG 1710).
No final charter amendment was adopted at the meeting; counsel agreed to draft clearer explanatory text and to flag any statutory or collective-bargaining implications for follow-up discussion.
