Fairfield selectmen approve charter for November’s election

FAIRFIELD — After a contentious four-hour meeting, the Board of Selectmen approved the final version of the proposed charter and a question about it for November’s ballot.

The main issue that came up in the meeting regarded the number of questions on the ballot about the charter. While the board’s two Republicans, First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick and Selectman Thomas Flynn, felt one question would be sufficient, Selectwoman Nancy Lefkowitz, the board’s only Democrat, felt that several of the more controversial changes in the charter should stand alone.

These items included changes to the budget process, making constables appointed instead of elected and the codification of positions within the first selectperson’s office.

The board went through the resolution about the charter, approving sections of it at a time. Lefkowitz made it clear that she wanted to discuss what questions would be on the ballot, a latter part of the resolution, before approving earlier sections.

“One very informs my ability to vote for another — out of respect for what I think the public deserves and demands,” she said. “I’m simply suggesting that for me to make an informed decision about voting on the document, it is contingent upon my understanding of how it will be presented to the public, because I believe that there are things in it that the public deserves to weigh in on.”

After getting push-back from Flynn, Kupchick and Town Attorney Jim Baldwin, each of whom supported tackling the resolution in order, Lefkowitz requested a recess in the meeting — the first of several.

“It’s a simple question. It’s ‘Do you agree with the provisions in the document, or not?’ It’s that simple,” Flynn said.

In the end, Lefkowitz voted against a section of the resolution signifying the board’s approval of the commission’s final draft. She later asked for the board to wait until next week to vote on the ballot question and the overall resolution, but her attempts were spurred by the Republican majority.

Kupchick called the proposed document “a win for Fairfield,” adding that most of the controversial parts of the document had already been taken out.

“I would like to vote on it,” she said. “I feel like everyone has given so much effort and time into this.”

The charter revision process started last year, when the Board of Selectmen created the Charter Revision Commission and hired legal counsel to come up with a draft charter. Officials noted there have been 22 commission meetings and public hearings during which members of the public and elected officials voiced their thoughts.

“The process was comprehensive. It was exhaustive,” Steve Mednick, the lawyer the town hired to guide it through the process, said. “They went through the process in a very deliberative and well-paced manner.”

The most controversial change in the document, which would have decreased the membership of the Representative Town Meeting from 40 to 30, was stripped out earlier this month. Another proposed change that drew resident’s ire, mandating each RTM district have one representative from the minority party, was also taken out.

Much of the push-back on the proposed charter came from prominent Democratic officials in town.

The Board of Selectmen received the commission’s work earlier this summer, and after going through it, they sent the commission a list of 22 recommendations. The commission went through those recommendations, made some changes and then sent the document back to the board, which was then tasked with approving it or not and coming up with questions for November’s ballot.

Lefkowitz said splitting the questions would give residents the opportunity to vote for what they support and against what they did not. She said there was good substance in the document, and did not want people to have to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Flynn said the public has had many opportunities to educate themselves about what is in the charter, and will continue to do so in the months ahead of the vote. Kupchick echoed that sentiment.

“This process has been transparent as hell,” Kupchick said. “You can watch every single moment of this year-long process if you wanted to.”

Throughout the meeting, motions by Lefkowitz to add or modify the questions failed along party lines. She argued the question, as it was eventually approved, was written in the positive and was misleading. She eventually voted against the ballot question, but later voted yes on the overall resolution.

The ballot question reads as such, “Shall the Town of Fairfield Charter be reorganized to: (A) make it easier to use and understand; (B) modernize language and references throughout; (C) update and expand definitions; and (D) make substantive changes, including but not limited to the following: (1) uniform standards of conduct, civility and operations; (2) streamlined budget and contract approval procedures; (3) allow for greater competition in Board of Education elections; (4) modify Board of Selectperson vacancy process; (5) codify the current forty-member RTM with ten districts; (6) appointment of Constables; (7) codify the positions of Town Administrator and Chief of Staff; (8) modify residency and qualification standards for certain department heads; (9) update the Board of Library Trustees responsibilities; and (10) amend the process for updating the Town Seal.”