OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Danbury Charter Revision Commission - Sixth Meeting - June 3, 2026

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, June 3, 2026
BodyDanbury, Connecticut
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, June 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:15:07

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right, that clock says 6 30.

0:03

So I will call the meeting to order.

0:05

It is Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026, 6 30 p.m.

0:08

here in the city hall.

0:11

This is a meeting of the Charter Revision Commission, our sixth meeting, believe it or not.

0:17

We are moving swimmingly, so we'll start it off.

0:20

Everybody can please rise for the pledge of allegiance.

0:24

We do.

0:24

And if Mayor Alves can listen to pledge, please.

0:27

Well done.

0:29

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:34

And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God.

0:39

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:43

Thank you all very much.

0:52

Absolutely.

0:53

Britain.

0:55

So Franick is here.

0:56

Almita.

0:57

She is out of town.

0:58

Thank you.

0:59

Armstrong.

1:02

Not here.

1:03

Hernandez.

1:04

Chowdy here.

1:06

McCarey.

1:07

Here.

1:08

But them here for burial.

1:10

Here.

1:10

Thank you.

1:11

We have a quorum, sir.

1:12

Thank you very much, Mr.

1:14

Vice Chairman.

1:15

As we do at the beginning of every meeting, we will open it up for public speaking.

1:19

So if you speak, if you could please just give me your name and address for the moment to pick up.

1:25

So if any members of the public would like to address the commission.

1:29

Any members of the public?

1:30

Mr.

1:30

Levy.

1:36

Good evening.

1:36

My name is Warren Levy.

1:38

I live at five Silver Drive in Danbury.

1:42

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak tonight.

1:47

I wanted to address two areas of the charter that would benefit from both modernization and greater accountability and transparency.

1:57

The naming of the city legal department and the structure and reporting requirements for the corporation council's office.

2:06

First, in section 6-2, I urge the commission to update the name.

2:13

Corporation council to city law department.

2:17

Every other department in our charter is named for an actual, actually, what it does.

2:24

Finance, public works, health, human resources.

2:29

Corporation council is an outdated term that does not clearly describe the office or the function to the residents.

2:38

City law department is a modern, accurate, and consistent with how municipal legal offices named across Connecticut.

2:50

Second, 6-4 needs clarification regarding the employment structure within the office.

2:59

The charter does not distinguish between a full-time assistant corporation counselor who is a city employee and an outside council or private attorneys hired for a single issue specializing in individual litigation.

3:16

These are fundamental different roles with different responsibility and cost structures.

3:22

The charter should clearly define each category, require written engagement terms for outside council, and ensure appropriate oversight of scope and the cost.

3:36

Finally, I strongly recommend adding requirements that the city law department provide a monthly report to the city council.

3:46

This should include a summary of pending litigations, updates on claims and settlements, list of outside uh consultants' engagements, and associated cost.

3:58

Each of the other departments in Danbury report to the council on a regular basis.

4:05

The law department is only the only exception.

4:10

In the private sector, attorneys report to their clients on billable hours and case status routinely.

4:17

The public sector should meet the same standards of accountability.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Charter Revision█████████████████████████████████████████████82%
Fiscal Sustainability████7%
Procedural██4%
Engineering And Infrastructure██3%
Community Engagement█2%
Pending Litigation█1%
Personnel Matters█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Danbury Charter Revision Commission - Sixth Meeting - June 3, 2026

The Danbury Charter Revision Commission held its sixth meeting on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 6:30 PM in City Hall. The commission reviewed proposed changes to Chapters 4, 5, 7, and 8 of the city charter, heard public comments, and reached several consensus decisions. The meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Warren Levy (5 Silver Drive) urged renaming the "Corporation Counsel" to "City Law Department" for clarity and consistency with other municipal departments. He recommended that the charter distinguish between full-time assistant corporation counsel and outside counsel, require written engagement terms for outside counsel, and mandate a monthly report to the city council summarizing pending litigation, claims, settlements, and consultant costs.
  • Jeff Harold (Foster Street, New Fairfield) questioned the requirement in Section 4-2 that the city council hold a special meeting within 14 days to disapprove the mayor’s appointment of a chief of staff. He suggested changing the language to allow the council to act at the next regularly scheduled meeting, noting that scheduling a special meeting could be a significant burden.

Discussion Items

  • Residency Requirements for Boards and Commissions (Chapters 5 & 8): The commission reviewed proposed language adding residency requirements for appointed board and commission members. After discussion,
    • Mayor Alves noted that only six current non-resident members serve, all with strong ties to Danbury, and that many boards and commissions already have their own rules.
    • The commission reached a consensus to retain the current charter language without adding mandatory residency requirements.
  • Chapter 8 – General Provisions: The commission approved cleanup language in Sections 8-2, 8-3, 8-5, and 8-10, including striking outdated employee protections, adding reference to the ethics ordinance, updating language to include authorities, and revising the charter review cycle to “at least once every 10 years.”
  • Chapter 4 – Mayor’s Office:
    • Chief of Staff Appointment: The mayor argued that requiring a two-thirds council vote within 14 days to remove a chief of staff infringes on executive authority. The commission agreed to strike that provision entirely.
    • Gifts and Donations: The commission agreed to raise the threshold requiring council approval from $1,000 to $5,000. All gifts must still be reported.
    • Annual Report: The commission agreed to remove the requirement to print the annual report. The report will be made available online, with printed copies available upon request, subject to state statutory requirements.
  • Chapter 7 – Finance and Taxation: Director of Finance Dan presented several proposed changes:
    • Budget Presentation: Change the mayor’s budget submission date from “no later than April 7” to “at the first meeting of the city council in April.”
    • Capital Program Date: Strike “no later than February 15” for the capital program presentation to the city council but retain it for the planning commission’s submission to the mayor.
    • Newspaper Publication: Remove specific newspaper circulation references and align with current state statute regarding public hearing notices.
    • Section 7-9 (Expenditures and Accounting): Eliminate “or both of them” from language allowing the mayor to substitute for the director of finance and treasurer to maintain segregation of duties.
    • Transfers (Section 7-9E): Remove the restriction that intra-departmental transfers can only occur in the last four months of the fiscal year.
    • Additional Appropriations (Section 7-9F): Reconciled with Section 7-5 to establish consistent procedures; likely to remove 7-9F.
    • Project Abandonment (Section 7-9G): Delete automatic three-year abandonment; require council action to abandon a project.
    • Violations (Section 7-9H): Change “shall be cause for removal” to “shall be cause for discipline” to allow for progressive or flexible disciplinary actions.
    • Borrowing Limit (Section 7-10): Proposed increase from $3 million to a higher amount. Discussion included $5 million (inflation-adjusted), $8 million for future flexibility, or tying to an inflation index or step increases. The commission tabled the decision to research borrowing limits in comparable cities and consider indexing mechanisms.
    • Special Elections: Change language to allow bond referendums to be held at the next general election or at a special election, rather than only at a municipal election or special meeting.

Key Outcomes

  • Votes: The minutes from the previous meeting were approved unanimously by voice vote.
  • Consensus decisions:
    • Retain current charter language on residency for appointed boards/commissions.
    • Strike the council confirmation requirement for the mayor’s chief of staff.
    • Raise gift approval threshold to $5,000.
    • Remove the print requirement for the annual report (subject to state statute).
    • Accept all proposed changes to Chapter 7 as discussed, except the borrowing limit increase (tabled for further research).
  • Next steps: The commission will next meet to review Chapter 6 (departments) with HR present, followed by a meeting to finalize the draft report, a final public hearing, and eventual transmission to the city council.

Meeting Transcript

All right, that clock says 6 30. So I will call the meeting to order. It is Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026, 6 30 p.m. here in the city hall. This is a meeting of the Charter Revision Commission, our sixth meeting, believe it or not. We are moving swimmingly, so we'll start it off. Everybody can please rise for the pledge of allegiance. We do. And if Mayor Alves can listen to pledge, please. Well done. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you all very much. Absolutely. Britain. So Franick is here. Almita. She is out of town. Thank you. Armstrong. Not here. Hernandez. Chowdy here. McCarey. Here. But them here for burial. Here. Thank you. We have a quorum, sir. Thank you very much, Mr. Vice Chairman. As we do at the beginning of every meeting, we will open it up for public speaking. So if you speak, if you could please just give me your name and address for the moment to pick up. So if any members of the public would like to address the commission. Any members of the public? Mr. Levy. Good evening. My name is Warren Levy. I live at five Silver Drive in Danbury. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak tonight. I wanted to address two areas of the charter that would benefit from both modernization and greater accountability and transparency. The naming of the city legal department and the structure and reporting requirements for the corporation council's office. First, in section 6-2, I urge the commission to update the name. Corporation council to city law department. Every other department in our charter is named for an actual, actually, what it does. Finance, public works, health, human resources. Corporation council is an outdated term that does not clearly describe the office or the function to the residents. City law department is a modern, accurate, and consistent with how municipal legal offices named across Connecticut.

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