Josh LaBella
Voice Reporter
The final version of the revised charter was approved for the ballot box by the city council in a special meeting Wednesday night. During the meeting, some members expressed hesitance when told many of the new provisions in the charter were interdependent.
The updated charter, if approved by the voters, would mean major restructuring for West Haven’s municipal government. Among the more critical changes is the hiring of a city manager, the mayor becoming a part-time employee and head of the city council, the downsizing of voting districts from ten to three and the extension of terms from two years to four.
Only eight out of thirteen members of the council were in attendance for the special meeting. Most of those not present were lame ducks. It saw an end to the Charter Revision Commission – who were disbanded after a year and a half of work.
During a presentation to the council, Corporation Counsel Craig Sullivan explained that the major components of the proposed charter are inter-reliant. He said the result of their co-dependence makes it such that splitting up the key issues into different questions on the ballot could mean the charter would not be implementable.
Therefore, Sullivan said it would not be “practical” to have several questions for the voters to consider. This means there will likely only be one question regarding the charter on the ballot, with yes and no as the answers. He also said if the council wanted the commission to construct the charter in that capacity, they should have notified them earlier in the process.
Councilwoman Tracey Morrissey said she “misunderstood” the process and was under the impression they could ask multiple questions on the ballot. She said she did not think it was fair to the council or the voters for the charter to be built in that way. She added that while she was not in support of downsizing of voting districts, she let it pass muster because she thought it could be approved or disapproved individually by the voters.
Both Councilwoman Morrissey and Councilwoman Louise Martone said they thought having a single question concerning the charter being put to a vote would be “too hard to swallow” for the public. Chairman Ronald Quagliani said he did not think the charter would have a “reasonable opportunity for success” if this is the case.
Quagliani invited CRC Chairman Ed Granfield to the podium to share his thoughts. Granfield said he did not like the notion that the council was misled. He said the commission had public meetings and utilized editorials in the Voice and posts on social media to inform people.
“Judging us and our effort, I don’t really think is fair at this point,” said Granfield. “You guys had 18 months to educate yourself on the process, to come to our meetings, to get involved and to reach out to us privately. My door has never been closed. So, the idea that all of a sudden all of this is brand new, that’s not really fair.”
Granfield said the none of the recommendations the council made to the commission after the joint meeting of the two bodies regarded the ability to split portions of the charter come voting time.
Chairman Quagliani said the council’s remarks were not a criticism of the commissions process, but that they were under the impression the final questions put to vote could be parsed out by issue.
The council agreed that the decision should be in the hands of the voters. They voted unanimously to approve the final version of the charter. The referendum will most likely appear on the April 28 ballot during the Connecticut Primaries. It must be approved by a 15 percent majority of electors to pass.
Quagliani said he was not ready to give up on the concept of putting multiple questions on the poll.