Proposed Charter Changes Aired in Oxford

Proposed changes to the town Charter, including clarifying the role of the Board of Finance, limiting Charter revision to every five years and making the economic development director position run concurrent with the administration in office were met with mostly favorable reviews Wednesday.

About a dozen residents and town officials attended a public hearing held by the Charter Revision Commission at the . This was the second hearing that has occurred to air the proposed charter changes.

Since September, the commission has worked to streamline the document, conducting “an exhaustive review of every section of the Charter with the intention of making (it) easier to understand, more user-friendly and a first source for citizen inquiry,“ said Commission Chairman Brett Olbrys.

Based on public input received Wednesday, Olbrys said the commission may further tweak the proposal, and then forward it to the Board of Selectmen for review and approval. The selectmen, in turn, will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes, and can suggest further revisions. Once selectmen approve a final draft, the proposal will be sent to voters, who ultimately get the final say on the November ballot.

Olbrys lauded his fellow commissioners for their hard work and dedication for delving into the tremendous task of scrutinizing the document that basically serves as a blueprint for how town government is run.

Former First Selectman Kathy Johnson commended the commission, as well, for what it has accomplished over the past eight months, but also expressed some concern about a proposed change that seeks to equalize the power of the town’s top two boards.

“My greatest concern is there’s been an attempt to try to give a more equal playing field to the Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen,” Johnson said.

Johnson said during her administration if the proposed change that aims to clarify procedures for requesting appropriations exceeding $500,000, the high school project never would have happened. That's because, she said, the then Board of Finance was trying to thwart a vote on the land purchase.

There is a proposed change that creates a procedure for the reconsideration of a funding request, which has been denied by the Board of Finance, by requiring the Board of Finance to offer alternative funding options for selectmen to reconsider.

Olbrys said the intention there is “to avoid the need for a controversial town counsel opinion, and the need for citizens to circulate a petition for a second look at a project.” (This situation played out this year with the .) 

“We want an equal playing field, but I hope there’s something in there that won’t allow  projects to be stonewalled, due to politics,” Johnson added.

Olbrys said the proposed changes regarding the Board of Finance are aimed at better defining the awesome responsibility the board has, especially as the “gatekeeper” of the town’s money. By instituting various checks and balances, commission member Janis Hardy said the proposed changes give the Board of Finance more of a voice, which she said has been lost.

Lila Ferrillo, chairman of the Board of Finance, praised the commission for its work.

“It sounds like it’s definitely better that what we had; I think you’ve done a great job,” she said.  

Regarding a proposed change that would require the selectmen to appoint a member of the same political party to vacancies in every elective office except the first felectman, the town clerk and the tax collector, resident Ed Spruck made a suggestion the commission liked.

He said the seat should first be offered to the person of the same party who was the second highest vote getter. If that person opted not to take the seat, then the selectmen would fill the vacancy with person of their choice.

“It’s a good idea, and something we will seriously consider,” Olbrys said.

Another proposed change is to limit the ability of selectmen to appoint Charter Revision Commissions to not more often than once every five years.

“I believe that’s a good idea, especially when a new administration comes in, they cannot change everything,” Johnson said.

Rob Saracino, chairman of the Economic Development Commission, said he’d like to see a proposed change removed that appears to diminish the commission’s role when it comes to the Economic Development Director position.

The EDD position, under the proposal, will become an appointed, non-employee position which has a term term running concurrently with the Board of Selectmen that has made the appointment.

Saracino said he’d prefer to see that provision ousted, as “it gets politicized,” and that’s something he said his commission strives to steer clear of.

Hardy said the intent is to “protect the position,” and “put it under the umbrella of the Board of Selectmen.”

Olbrys stressed the proposed changes do not change Oxford’s form of government, the number of voting districts, the number of selectmen or the length of their terms of office.

The entire draft report of charter changes can be viewed .