Charter Revision Commission Meeting
Public Hearing
Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Commission Chairman Richard Murphy called the public hearing to order at 7:05 pm.

In compliance with the Connecticut General Statutes §7-191, the Portland Charter Revision Commission held this Public Hearing to provide residents the opportunity to comment both orally and in writing on the final draft changes to the Charter of the Town of Portland.

Terri Larson, 77 Rose Hill Road made her comments to the commission members as summarized below:

Mrs. Larson has been a resident of Portland for over 40 years; she has served as the First Selectman and was a member of the original Charter Commission and four subsequent Charter Revision commissions. After reading the draft, Mrs. Larson made a written draft of concerns in writing, presented them to the Chairman and addressed the commission concerning:

1. Town improvements- Mrs. Larson questioned the Commission members: Is it good pubic policy to exempt a Town from its' own rules and regulations?

2. Petition for override: In the draft of the Charter revision, all resolutions or votes of the BOS can be overridden by town meeting. Mrs. Larson feels that this is not good public policy. If residents are not happy with votes or resolutions of the BOS then they can exercise their right not to re-elect their officials.

3. Approval of General Fund Budget: Mrs. Larson is concerned that the Annual Town Meeting is eliminated. In addition, she strongly disagrees with having unlimited budget referendums. The last Charter Revision draft had a provision for 4 referendums with a cap on the amount of budget increase. Mrs. Larson suggested this is a better approach and is one that was approved by the townspeople at the last vote.

4. 5% voter turnout in order to approve the general fund budget: Mrs. Larson is concerned that this is too restrictive. Her opinion is that the vote needed to approve the general fund budget should be the simple majority. It is difficult to mandate that people come out and vote.

5. Centralized Purchasing and Accounting: the original charter centralized purchasing and accounting as a result of the BOE overspending their budget and not knowing it. In the present draft, the BOE is excluded from centralized purchasing and accounting. Mrs. Larson feels that the BOE needs to be included in centralized purchasing and accounting to avoid deficit spending.

6. Transfer of Funds: the current Charter Revision draft makes it impossible to spend anything over budget, unless it goes to town meeting and/or referendum. This has the potential to create major operational issues for the Town.

There being no further public comment, Chairman Murphy closed the public hearing at 7:31 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Laura Siena
Board Clerk