Charter Revision Commission

Town Charter

The Charter Revision Commission was charged in 2022 with updating our current Charter, which was last revised about 30 years ago. The Commission was composed of 2 Unaffiliated voters, 2 members of the Republican Party, 2 members of the Democratic Party, and the Town Attorney. The Commission met twice monthly and spent a considerable amount of time and effort in researching and discussing proposed changes. 

Some of the recommended changes are to bring the document up to date with changes in state statutes and current town policies. Many others are to correct punctuation and grammatical errors that exist in the current charter. That Commission, with the exception of the attorney, has now been re-charged in order to revisit some of the prior board’s recommendations and offer voters a chance to weigh in on some individual items.  The changes in the electoral process for the Tax Collector and Town Clerk were soundly defeated and are off the table.

There are two recommendations that seem to have triggered significant discussion; filling Board of Selectmen vacancies and term limits for Board and Commission members.

We had just been through the loss of First Selectman Ed Bailey and getting through the process of replacing him was a daunting task to complete within the 30 days required by the Charter.  After much discussion, the Commission recommended changing the time requirement from 30 to 45 days.  That extra couple of weeks can ease the transition considerably, yet still fills the need for expediency.

The second item was recommending that term limits for Boards and Commissions be changed from 3 consecutive terms to no term limits. It has been noted that some residents are concerned that unlimited terms may end up with members becoming “stale” in their roles. That is a possibility. The Commissions had to look at other arguments, however.  We live in a small town.  We are all busy with our work and other obligations; civic organizations, our children and their activities, hobbies, and just plain down time. Getting people to volunteer their time to a Board or Commission is extremely difficult, not to mention the loss of talent and expertise of existing members who may well be willing to continue their positions.

There will be additional public hearings before final proposals go to vote on the November ballot.  Please register on the town website to receive notification of the meetings and public hearings to stay informed.                                                     

View the latest revision of the Proposed Town Charter: For Vote on November 5, 2024 (PDF)

Regular Meetings 2024

  • To Be Determined
  • Middlefield Community Center
    405 Main Street

Commission Members

  • (R) Michael Skelps
  • (R) David Lowry
  • (U) Robert Poturnicki
  • (U) Ken Twombly, Chair
  • (D) Alice Malcolm
  • (D) Peter Neidhardt

Agendas & Minutes

Agendas are available prior to the meetings. Minutes are available following approval.

View Most Recent Agendas and Minutes