News

Letter: Vote ‘Yes’ for Better and Effective Governance

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Editor:

As a member of the Charter Revision Commission, Town Council and, formerly, Board of Finance, I greatly appreciate the input and opinions of over 100 current and past elected and appointed officials, employees and the general public. Your voice matters—and on Nov. 8, your vote matters too. There are five ballot questions for your consideration. Question #3 asks if the Chair of the Board of Finance should be independent and elected from among the Board’s regular members—and not be the First Selectman, who would nonetheless remain as an ex-officio member.

Government

Charter Revision: Panel Questions Role of First Selectman on Finance Board

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A panel charged with studying New Canaan’s governing document is weighing whether to recommend a change that could see some duties removed from the town’s highest elected official with respect to one of its major funding bodies. New Canaan is unique in that members of its Board of Finance are appointed by a group led by the first selectman, who then serves as chairman of that same finance board and, as an ex-officio member, casts tie-breaking votes (and no others), as per the Town Charter. Though no problem has emerged or is expected to develop now, with First Selectman Rob Mallozzi in place, it may pose a problem of “down the road,” Kate Hurlock, a member of the Charter Revision Commission, said at the group’s regular meeting. “It is not an issue now, it’s down the road creating checks and balances so that if there is an appointed board, that there is then a balance on the other side,” Hurlock said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “If the first selectman is appointing the board then there is a balance on the other side in terms of setting the agenda and voting.”

Members of the commission are charged with studying the Town Charter, with an eye on recommending updates for a town-wide vote on Election Day.

Government

Town Officials To Establish New Municipal Body To Ensure Compliance with Code of Ethics

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New Canaan’s legislative body is pursuing the creation of a standalone commission that would help ensure that the town’s Code of Ethics—an ordinance that applies to employees of the town, police and school district— is adhered to throughout local government. Though New Canaan has a 3-person Personnel Advisory Board that can hear complaints from any public employee, “there is no process to take consideration of anybody that may be considered in violation of a Code of Ethics, which we do have,” Town Councilman Kathleen Corbet said during the group’s Jan. 20 meeting, held at Town Hall. “The Code of Ethics is a bit outdated—last amended in 1996—and if you look at it relative to other towns’ Codes of Ethics, it’s time for a refresher and this is a perfect thing for a Board of Ethics to focus on and to get to work on.”

The Charter calls for the establishment of a Code of Ethics, and it’s spelled out in Chapter 17 of the Town Code, addressing such matters as municipal employees’ use of town-owned property, special treatment, disclosure of confidential information, acceptance of gifts and favors, and bidding for public contracts. Working with fellow councilman Kevin Moynihan, Corbet had researched Boards of Ethics or Ethics Commissions in other lower Fairfield County towns—their genesis, duties and term information for members— and “virtually everybody with exception of Westport surrounding us has an established ethics committee, most of which are formed in the ordinances but some have them in charters,” she said.

News

‘Let’s All Pull Together As a Community’: Town Council Public Hearing on Saxe

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One seventh-grader and two grandparents on Wednesday night joined dozens of fellow New Canaanites, most of whom identified themselves as tax-paying parents, in voicing support for a proposed renovation and expansion of Saxe Middle School during a public hearing at Town Hall. More than 200 residents packed into a standing-room-only meeting room to address the Town Council, applauding fellow supporters who took to the podium (see a list of sound bites below) to urge the legislative body to approve a proposed $18.6 million project. During a regular meeting that followed the hearing, the Town Council received an updated presentation from the Saxe Building Committee—including enrollment projections that are driving a space crunch at the middle school, and reasons for doing the full project now rather than in pieces—and four councilmen came out publicly in favor of it. Councilmen asked just how much the full project would cost individual taxpayers annually (a $148-per-taxable-account figure, based on a bond issuance at 3 percent interest over 20 years, is different from figures released earlier this year), whether the proposed build-out addresses future Special Ed space needs (yes, though a compromise will need to be found elsewhere within Saxe), whether long-term enrollment is expected to dip again (enrollment in grades 5 to 8 is expected to exceed 1,300 even 10 years from now) and how a request for plans on phased-in building project would affect the agreement with the architects (there will be additional costs) as well as the overall project’s cost. Building Committee Chairman Penny Rashin said if just the auditorium was renovated now, it would cost $2.1 million more in the short term to finish the other pieces, and $3.5 million more if the town waited three years (though the second figure could qualify New Canaan for higher state reimbursement).

Government

Meet the New Canaan Charter Revision Commission

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Members of a newly formed commission charged with studying the governing document of New Canaan—with an eye on recommending updates for a town-wide vote on Election Day 2016—on Wednesday voted a former delegate to the state legislature as their chairman. John Hetherington of Valley Road will serve as chairman of the Charter Revision Commission, following a unanimous vote at the group’s first meeting, held at Town Hall. See the gallery above for some background on each of the commission’s 10 members, as they introduced themselves in turn at the meeting. After commissioners been sworn in by Town Clerk Claudia Weber, Town Council Vice Chair addressed the group. Asked during an interview after the meeting about the importance of the task before them, Karl said: “The importance is that these folks who know New Canaan like the back of their hand are going to look at the Charter, the DNA of the town, and review anything that should be changed or revised, and it hasn’t been done in 10 years.”

Commissioners agreed to set a schedule whereby they would meet twice per month with an eye on getting a draft proposal to the Town Council next April.