Enfield council accepts Charter Revision Commission draft, rejects two proposed amendments

ENFIELD — The Enfield Town Council voted 8-3 on June 16 to accept the Charter Revision Commission's draft report as the council's final recommendation, rejecting two proposed amendments that would have extended interim town-attorney appointment limits and broadened referendum language related to reserve and grant funds.

Councilor Marie Pisner proposed the first amendment, reading draft language that would allow the council to appoint an interim town attorney "to serve at the pleasure of the council for a period of up to 90 days," renewable for another 90 days and extendable by up to 30 additional days upon a two-thirds affirmative vote. Pisner said the change was intended as a safeguard given hiring challenges: "...I would rather be safe than sorry. And I think by granting an extra 90 days as we do in a town manager just gives us a little bit more time to vet our candidates moving forward if we need to." The amendment failed, three in favor and eight opposed.

The second proposed amendment, offered by Councilor Hall, sought to clarify section nine of the charter by defining "net expenditure of town funds" to include all town-controlled financial resources "regardless of timing or source of appropriation," explicitly listing state and federal grants and reimbursements. Hall said the wording was intended to protect residents' right to vote on large projects and to make the application of the charter clearer. Opponents, including Councilor Manini and Councilor Croat, argued the language could inappropriately pull Board of Education funds—recognized by some as state-controlled—into town referenda. Manini said he would not support the amendment because "we're looking at the board of education... that should not be entered into this discussion." The town manager cautioned that the language was mainly clarifying and noted that bond counsel typically treats large school projects as subject to town rules. The amendment failed, four in favor and seven opposed.

After rejecting the two amendments, Deputy Mayor Santanel moved a friendly amendment to accept the commission's draft report as final. The council approved the motion on roll call: Councilor Allegro, Mayor Sakalawa, Councilor Croat, Councilor Manini, Councilor Matthews, Deputy Mayor Santanella, Councilor Thomas and Councilor Zenoni voted in favor; Councilor Hall, Councilor Pisner and Councilor Angire voted against. The council instructed that the accepted report be submitted to the Charter Revision Commission as the council's position.

Sheila Bailey, the town clerk, prepared the draft report on June 16, 2026, which was the subject of the meeting. Following the vote, the council moved to adjourn and ended the special meeting by unanimous voice vote.

The council's action finalizes the town council's official response to the Charter Revision Commission's draft; no further council votes on these specific recommended changes were recorded at the meeting.