Parks and Rec. Board Not Designated Policy-Making Body in New Charter
WETHERSFIELD - A slew of Town Charter revision proposals are going to the voters in the form of an election day referendum, but the fate of one of the most widely-discussed issues has already been decided.

       While moving other Charter revision changes along last Monday night, the Town Council opted against a Charter Revision Commission proposal to establish the Parks and Recreation Board as a policy-making body.

       The board currently acts as an advisory entity, but the commission had proposed changing that.

       â€"I think it should be an advisory body, not a policy-making body,” said Councilor Tony Martino during a discussion prior to the votes. â€"That’s what we as elected officials are responsible for.”

       Parties in the discussion are unsure of how to interpret the Charter language regarding the board’s change, but there have not been any problems to date with the current arrangement, said Mayor Paul Montinieri.

       â€"If we look at how it’s been executed over the years, to have a board that works in concert with a department head and does not have policy-making powers, has worked well,” Montinieri said.

       Councilor Jeff Kotkin had similar thoughts.

       â€"I think that their advice to the town regarding programs and budgets is valuable, but it’s the Town Council’s job to make those decisions,” Kotkin said.

       That’s a sentiment that members of the Parks and Recreation Board itself have echoed and they let the Charter Commission, on which members were split on the issue, know that, according to Commission Chair Dan Silver and Montinieri.

       â€"The change was not supported by the people closest to it, with no disrespect to the commission,” Montinieri said.

       So the consensus, for the most part, was against the change, but the language of the current Charter is a little less clear. While Section 510 states that the Board is an advisory body, Section 604 seems to imply that it is a policy-making entity, Councilors and Commission members have said.

       â€"For years, there’s been an inconsistency,” Silver said. â€"No one caught it.”

       Councilor Donna Hemmann said that she was hoping to set the record straight once and for all.

       â€"There’s still potential to be a conflict,” Hemmann said. â€"The motion that’s on the table leaves the language as conflicting. I just struggle with why we would do that.”

       The Council’s charge in the situation is only to either approve the revisions as a whole, or opt to eliminate certain components before sending the proposal as a whole to the voters-it cannot add its own recommendations, Montinieri said.

       â€"I can see how 510 and 604 are a conflict,” Kotkin said. â€"I don’t think at this point the Council is able to change a recommendation by the Charter Commission. I think ultimately, there’s going to be a conflict.”

       Commission members said that the biggest things about the Charter discussion â€"are what they didn’t do”, and residents have expressed similar thoughts.

       Those who came to public hearings on the issue urged them to consider changes to strengthen the Board of Ethics, as well as establish the budget process as a referendum item.

       Commission members wanted to at least address the former, but were advised against it by town attorneys due to contract issues.
MORE WETHERSFIELD NEWS  |  STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA  |  Jul 31 2015  |  COMMENTS?