Darien Times
For Charter Commission, work is in jeopardy
Mar 27, 2008

After a whirlwind week in which it was proposed that the Charter Revision Commission forego the end of its 16-month journey, nothing ended up changing.

The charter group met with the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday to discuss that possibility, but after hearing all the options, the two sides decided to stay the course.

“Essentially, what’s going to happen is that they are going to work on the charter and they are hoping to make the April 4 deadline,” First Selectman Evonne Klein told The Darien Times on Wednesday.

Because of uproar from town boards and a fear of losing home rule, it was suggested at the Operations Planning Committee meeting last Thursday that the charter group be asked not to complete its work.

Klein met with the commission at its regular meeting later on Thursday to break the news.

“One of the issues that has come up and is of great concern to elected officials is the end process,” she said. “Should the town pass the charter or one aspect of the charter, to be voted on by the public in a referendum, that takes away the town’s ability to amend the charter within the body of the Representative Town Meeting.

Darien and Greenwich are the only municipalities in the state that still have the ability to amend their charters. Darien has the power because it has never gone through the charter revision process since the town’s first and only charter was enacted in 1959.

The charter group then met with the selectmen on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of reconstituting the commission. Town counsel Wayne Fox explained the options on the table.

Fox called it “a significant aspect of our government” and said that “there are times in which one might want to make changes to one’s charter more quickly and in a more efficient process.”

But he also said some might feel it’s not a power the RTM deserves and the charter should only be changed by the people through a statutory process.

Fox said the charter group could be left to finish its job and present its report to the selectmen on April 4. The commission would also give its report to the town clerk. The selectmen would then have 45 days to decide to accept it or send it back to the commission for revisions, or reject it. If it accepts the report, it would then go to the people for referendum.

But regardless of what the selectmen decide to do, once the charter group gives its report to the town clerk, any resident could then petition the document to go to referendum.

If the charter commission chose not to give the report to the town clerk and instead only presented its recommendations to the selectmen, then the board could choose to present those recommendations to the RTM for approval.

The RTM could approve any or all of the recommendations. And just like with any RTM decision, any resident could petition for a referendum on the decision. But if the town goes that route, and the charter still goes to referendum and any part of the charter is adopted, the RTM wouldn’t lose the power to amend the charter because it wouldn’t technically be adopted through the charter revision process.

The selectmen, if requested by the charter group, could also reconstitute the commission. The current charter group expires on April 4 if it doesn’t report to the selectmen. The board could then re-appoint a new charter revision commission.

“You would now have a new commission with a new directive and a new order,” Fox said. “Supposing you have the same members, they may not take the 16-month period, but they still have to go through the entire statutory process.”

Fox also said he would advise not reconstituting the commission before April 4 because that would create two separate entities.

But for now, a week from its deadline, the plan remains for the commission to finish its final draft and present its recommendations to the selectmen.

“If we can get it all ready to go by the 4th then we will do that and continue because the process is still ongoing,” Charter Chairman Vickie Riccardo told The Times on Wednesday.

“Right now that’s our plan,” Riccardo added about giving the report to the town clerk. “We have to know what the Board of Selectmen wants to do. We’ll certainly be talking with them. They were so gracious to us (Tuesday) night, it was really, really nice. It was so gratifying to have our appointing authority express their appreciation for our work.”

On Tuesday, Selectman David Bayne asked Fox if there were any other options to amend the charter should the commission present its recommendations and they are accepted.

“You could always have a standing charter commission like the harbor commission,” Fox said. “But if you are to go through the statutory process and then wanted to change the charter in the future, you would have to go through the whole process of public hearings and everything. It’s a much longer process.”

Riccardo said since 1959 the RTM has only amended the charter 22 times and 15 of the amendments involved the RTM itself.

“Darien will continue to control its organic law... The procedure to change our organic law will have to change to conform to state law,” Riccardo said of the RTM losing the power to amend the charter. “But Darien will retain local control over the substance of its organic law. And the governed will have direct influence over whether that substance should be altered.”

This is not new to the charter group. Riccardo said the commission released a statement on the issue in February 2007. And the commission has taken measures to assure that if the RTM loses the power, there won’t be a significant effect on changing how the government works.

The commission has taken a lot of the fluff out of the charter and put it into town ordinances. Only the provisions pertaining to the major town boards and Town Hall are in the draft charter. The RTM currently has the ability to amend ordinances and it will retain that power if a new charter is adopted.

Whatever ends up happening, the selectmen couldn’t say enough about the effort and work that the charter group has done in the last 16 months.

“I have never seen a group more directed, more energetic and more motivated to get something done for this town,” Fox said.

Bayne said it was a tireless effort and the commissioners haven’t been given the appreciation they deserve.

“I want to make sure they are willing to come back,” he added about potentially reconstituting the commission. “I would beg, plead, implore for the entire charter commission to come back. We’d hate to lose all the great work you’ve done.”

Riccardo said on Wednesday she couldn’t speak for her other commissioners, but she would be willing to return if they go that route.

“It would be difficult to create the CRC 2 with different people because we’ve been working so hard and we’re so familiar with what we’ve done.”

In addition to the prospect of losing home rule, a contributing factor to this decision was the town’s major boards’ dissent with the three released drafts of the charter. The boards of finance, education and the Planning & Zoning Commission have come out publicly against the proposed revisions.

On Tuesday, Riccardo addressed the negative reactions.

“To our surprise and dismay, the boards have been misinterpreting and mischaracterizing a work in progress, and tainting public opinion,” she said. “To our great distress, they have also expressed hostility and anger towards us when our goal was inviting them to share their views with us to make sure we made informed decisions.

“All of us on the CRC are volunteers. We have focused on re-writing an outdated and deficient town charter. Consistent with the charge issued to us by the 2005-07 BOS, we have been working to identify ways to make Darien’s government more responsive, efficient and accountable to the electorate. If the voters ultimately decide they prefer the way things are done now, that’s fine. That’s democracy.”

Riccardo mentioned four issues that are “imperative to correct the implications of certain publicly made statements that we believe led to the OPC’s proposal.”

• The Board of Finance would continue to be responsible for guiding long-range financial planning for the town;

• The RTM would not be authorized to issue debt without restraint;

• The “Smarter Charter” does not supersede the Board of Education’s duties and responsibilities with respect to operating the public schools and educating Darien’s children as set forth in state statutes;

• The Board of Finance is not excluded from the critical decision-making required in emergency situations.

The commission will hold a public hearing tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Town Hall.

“Frankly, I think what would be in the best interest of the town is if those people that voiced their objections like they did,” Charter Vice Chairman Jed Lawrence said at the OPC meeting, “came back to us and still let us know what they disapprove of knowing that we’ve made numerous draft changes to the feedback we’ve gotten already from all the boards and commissions to see if we can narrow the differences even more rather than trying to figure out a way to not put it to the people and let them decide.”

E-mail Darien Times reporter Austin Amoroso at aamoroso@darientimes.com.


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