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Charter Revision Commission presents broad updates to Coventry charter; council to hold public hearing
Summary
The Charter Revision Commission proposed modernizing the town charter — including switching from two voting districts to one, adding automatic 10-year reviews, and adjusting budget/timeline rules — and the council scheduled a public hearing and a timeline for next steps.
The Charter Revision Commission presented a comprehensive set of proposed updates to Coventry’s town charter, saying the current document reflects 1991 terms and needs modernization.
Mike Petro, chair of the commission, told the council the review sought to "be ethical, practical, up to date with current practices, and prevent voter disenfranchisement," and emphasized transparency in the process. Key changes the commission recommended include switching from two voting districts to a single district; requiring the charter to be reviewed every 10 years; updating language for gender neutrality; extending the budget process timeline by eight days; allowing amendments at the town meeting to increase or decrease the budget; and increasing the Town Council’s spending authority before a referendum is required.
Commissioners said they consulted town staff and the Town Attorney, held two public hearings as required by state statute, and provided explanatory spreadsheets and redline drafts on the town website. Council members asked technical questions about wording and statutory references: Julie Blanchard pressed the commission about the terms "qualified" versus "certified" in election language and sought clarification of relocated sections; Mark Wheaton pointed out a numeric phrasing error and asked for clearer thresholds between 1% and 1.5% for budget questions.
Town Manager James Drumm and commission members outlined the timeline for next steps: the Town Council must hold a public hearing by the end of June; the council then has 15 days to submit recommended changes to the commission; the commission will have 30 days to accept or reject suggested edits; and Sept. 4 is the last day to decide whether to place the revised charter on the November ballot.
Councilors expressed appreciation for the commission’s work and asked for hard copies of explanatory materials to aid detailed review. The council will hold the required public hearing and may return recommendations to the commission after public input.
