Charter Revision Commission

Background:

On May 15, 2007, the Manchester Board of Directors adopted a resolution establishing a Charter Revision Commission and appointing its membership. The Town Charter defines the form of government for the town and sets out the roles and responsibilities of most elected and appointed town officials. The Charter also codifies the basic framework for how government is conducted, such as the processes for adopting ordinances, the town budget and the identification and operation of the various departments of the town government. A link to Manchester's current Town Charter is under the Town Attorney heading in the Document Center.

Periodically, communities update their charters to reflect changes in the way the business of government is conducted, to reassign roles and responsibilities or to clarify certain provisions. This process is called Charter Revision and may result in minor technical and administrative changes as well as substantive changes to the structure of the local government. Manchester has a history of undergoing revisions of its Charter to conform its provisions to changes in the manner in which municipalities conduct their governmental operations. The last Charter Revision in Manchester was carried out over the course of 2002 and 2003 and the resulting amendments to the Charter were approved by the voters by referendum on November 4, 2003.

Subsequent to appointing the Charter Revision Commission, the Board of Directors adopted a resolution directing certain recommendations to the Commission. The Commission was not limited to acting just on these recommendations. The Commission held 23 meetings over the course of its proceedings including five public hearings.

Charter Revision Commission Members:

Stephen Penny - Chair

Robert Schneider - Vice Chair

John Backer

William Bayer

Joseph Diminico

Margaret Hackett

Edward Joy

Lewellyn Pelletier

James Stevenson

Update:

On August 12, 2008, the Board of Directors approved the Final Report of the Charter Revision Commission. The Board also approved a resolution to put six charter revision questions on the November 4, 2008 ballot. The resolution adopted by the Board of Directors is linked below.

Charter revision resolution adopted by Board of Directors, Aug. 12, 2008

The resolution adopted by the Board of Directors includes the six questions that will appear on the ballot. Explanatory text for the six questions will be available in early October 2008.

Note: The six Charter Revision questions will be listed as questions #3 through #8 on the ballot. The first two questions on the ballot will be statewide questions regarding the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.

Final Report :

The Commission submitted a Draft Report to the Board of Directors on May 27. After holding a public hearing on the Draft Report, the Board of Directors passed this resolution recommending certain changes to the Draft Report. The Charter Revision Commission met on July 24 to consider the Board of Directors resolution and to finalize the Report. The Final Report was submitted to the Board of Directors on July 31.

Final Report of the Charter Revision Commission

The following attachments are referenced in the working draft:

Outline of comments made by Chairman Penny -Budget Referendum Charge

Copy of proposal submitted by Vice Chairman Schneider -Motion on Referendum

Copy of notes from Commission member Backer -Utilizing CPI as a Referendum Trigger

Handout -CPI Determines Income for Millions of People

Charter language providing for budget referendum

Exhibits - Proposed amendments to Town Charter

Schedule:

The Commission has completed its Draft Report which has been submitted to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors held a public hearing on the Draft Report on June 19. The Board of Directors is expected to recommend changes to the Draft Report during its July 1 regular meeting. The Commission will then consider the Board of Directors' recommended changes and issue a final report.

Public Input:

Residents of the Town of Manchester may make suggestions regarding the Town Charter at any future public hearings held by the Commission. Residents can also submit their comments in writing to:

Charter Revision Commission

Attn: Julian Freund

Town of Manchester

P.O. Box 191

Manchester, CT 06045-0191

Or electronically at E-mail Charter Revision Commission. When submitting comments electronically, please include the phrase "Charter Revision 2008" in the subject line.

Agenda:

7-24-08

6-19-08 Board of Directors Special Meeting and Public Hearing on Draft Report

* 3-13-08 meeting cancelled

3-6-08

2-28-08