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Danbury City Council committee debates charter revisions, sends recommendations back to commission
Summary
At a July 21 Committee of the Whole meeting, Danbury City Council reviewed proposed Charter revisions across multiple chapters, rejected several changes (including shortened elected terms and mayoral removal powers), approved edits on appointments and reporting, and voted to transmit its recommendations back to the Charter Revision Commission for joint review.
Danbury City Council’s Committee of the Whole met July 21 to consider the Charter Revision Commission’s proposed changes to Chapters 2–8 and voted to transmit the Council’s recommended amendments back to the Commission for a joint review.
Council President P. Buzaid called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. and the body heard motions and amendments across several sections, including term lengths for elected officials, language governing appointments, committee structure and ethics provisions. Outside counsel Joseph Mortellti advised on statutory constraints and drafting options during multiple points in the session.
The Council voted down a motion to add new vacancy language in Sec. 2-6 (motion by Council Member Henry, seconded by Fay), which failed on a roll-call tally of No 13, Yes 6. A separate motion to make all elected officials serve two-year terms (Fay, seconded by Rotello) also failed, No 14, Yes 5. By contrast, the Council approved replacing the term “Designated” with “Appointed” in Sec. 2-4 (Jabbour/Gartner), which carried 18–1.
Members debated oversight of Council staff and whether the Legislative Assistant should be removable by the Mayor. A proposal to remove the phrase "may be removed by the Mayor" from Sec. 3-3 failed, No 14, Yes 5; supporters argued for Council oversight while opponents cited separation of executive hiring authority.
Several procedural and governance changes advanced: the Council unanimously replaced references to "state statutes" with "General Statutes"; it clarified committee language in Sec. 3-13 to explicitly include "ad hoc, standing, or committees of the whole"; and it referred specific sections (including Sec. 6-18 concerning Board of Education financial access) back to the Charter Revision Commission for further review.
On ethics and conflicts, the Council voted to reinstate previously removed language in Sec. 8-2 (Chianese/Rotello), passing 10–9 after debate about potential impacts on existing employees and department heads. Council members also raised questions about the Charter’s bond language (Sec. 7-10), asking for additional guidance from Bond Counsel on internal controls and permissible uses of bond proceeds.
The meeting concluded when the Council voted to transmit its approved recommended changes and convene a meeting with the Charter Revision Commission for a joint presentation and final review (motion carried Yes 16, No 3). Council members then moved to adjourn; the Committee of the Whole adjourned at 12:08 a.m. according to the legislative assistant’s minutes.
The Council’s actions will now return to the Charter Revision Commission for consideration and potential revision before any final referral to voters or further legal review.
