Charter Revision Commission Meeting 11: Final Report Approval – July 29, 2026

The Charter Revision Commission held its 11th meeting on July 29, 2026, from 6:37 PM to 7:23 PM to finalize and approve its final report incorporating recommendations from the City Council. The commission reviewed each accepted recommendation, made minor technical and grammatical corrections, and voted to transmit the report to the city council, which must act within 15 days.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Councilman Michael Henry (Corn Castle Road) thanked the commission and sought clarification: he thought 13 of 14 council recommendations were accepted, but confirmed it was 12, and noted that Section 6-2 (town clerk) was removed, changing the numbering.
• Jeff Harold (Foster Street) praised the commission’s bipartisan work and suggested including a provision for a more formal, e.g., every-five-year, review of the charter to avoid long gaps.
• John Miller (Coach Road) thanked the commission and expressed concern about the four-year mayoral term, arguing it reduces voters’ ability to voice approval or disapproval every two years.
• A fourth speaker (name not stated, identified as a Danbury resident, declined to give address) criticized the process, alleging the July 27 meeting violated state statutes for notice (calculation of 24-hour window), claimed the commission had improper legal counsel, and accused Commissioner Britton of listing a Democratic Town Hall mailing address. The chair repeatedly asked the speaker to focus on the final report; after several interruptions, the chair closed public speaking. No further public comments.

Discussion Items

• Procedural Overview – Chair confirmed the final report would be approved this meeting. Attorney Mordoletti outlined that the commission would review each accepted council recommendation and ensure alignment with the redlined charter.
• Review of Accepted Recommendations (12 of 14) – The commission went through each:
  1. Preamble language – Approved without objection.
  2. “Appointed” to “nominated” changes – Applied only where council confirmation exists (e.g., board appointments), not for positions directly appointed without confirmation (e.g., reapportionment commission). Commissioner Almeida questioned consistency; clarified that universal replacement was not intended.
  3. Oath of office (Section 2-9) – Allows choice of “so help you God” or “under penalties of perjury.” Approved.
  4. Quorum language (Section 3-6) – Removed “elected” to include all sitting council members. Approved.
  5. Reference to state statutes – Changed to “general statutes” throughout. Note: hyperlinks retained in electronic version.
  6. Committee cleanup (Section 3-13) – Grammatical edits to include committees of the whole. Approved.
  7. Gift acceptance (Section 4-1) – Kept requirement that mayor reports gifts to council. Approved.
  8. Town clerk elected (Section 2-2) – Kept elected status with a four-year term (reverting to original charter plus four-year term). Approved.
  9. Board of Education section (6-17) – New section with residency requirements, financial reporting access limited to budgeting/auditing, and added student privacy protections (FERPA). Removed “receipts” and “purchasing” language per Board of Education attorney. Commissioner Sepran noted inconsistency in “Connecticut general statutes” vs “general statutes”; agreed to remove “Connecticut” for uniformity.
  10. Section 8-2 (employee positions) – Restored as originally written (no changes). Approved.
  11. Section 8-3 (conflicts of interest) – Initially had “nominated” added, but discussion determined it should only be “elected or appointed” (no council confirmation here). Agreed to remove “nominated” from subsections B-D.
• Technical corrections – Secretary noted typographical fixes: restoring town clerk as subsection F, and showing the change in meeting start time from 8:00 to 7:00 in Section 3-2.

Key Outcomes

• Motion to approve the final report as amended – Moved and seconded. Discussion held (no further objections). Vote: All in favor (ayes), none opposed, with one abstention (Commissioner Jowdy). Motion carried.
• Next steps – The approved redlined final report will be filed with the Town Clerk and transmitted to the City Council. Under General Statute §7-191, the council must hold a meeting on the report not later than 15 days after receiving it, likely at the August meeting or a special meeting.
• Adjournment – Motion carried at 7:23 PM.