OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Danbury City Council Public Hearing on Charter Revision – July 31, 2026

Meeting Portal — Friday, July 31, 2026
BodyDanbury, Connecticut
SessionMeeting Portal
DateFriday, July 31, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:30:46
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good evening.

0:01

My name is Peter Bazaid.

0:02

My name hasn't changed.

0:05

And I am designated to be the chairman of this public hearing.

0:11

And this meeting is for all of you to have an opportunity to speak on what is noticed, which is the report of the Charter Revision Commission about the charter changes.

0:25

So that is tonight's topic.

0:30

Please line up behind either microphone.

0:33

I will try to call you in turn.

0:35

Please try to keep your remarks as brief as possible and on topic, which would be whatever provisions of the charter you wish to address.

0:45

And please be respectful.

0:48

I will try to limit your your speaking to three minutes, considering there's appears to be a large number of people in the room who wish to address this topic.

0:58

And before we start, it may seem a little redundant.

1:03

I am going to take attendance again.

1:07

Councilman Coelho.

1:09

Still here.

1:10

Councilman Flanagan.

1:12

As I may.

1:13

Councilman Hawley.

1:16

Councilwoman LePine.

1:19

Councilman Salvatore.

1:22

Councilman Bazade is still here.

1:24

Councilwoman Gartner.

1:26

Councilwoman Faye.

1:28

Councilman Henry.

1:30

Councilwoman Wallace Smith.

1:32

My body is here.

1:34

Councilwoman Spain Reichel.

1:37

Councilman Giordano.

1:39

Councilwoman Jabbar.

1:41

Now here and arrived around 645.

1:44

Councilman Rotello.

1:46

Councilman Chinese.

1:48

Councilman Dwayne Perkins.

1:50

Councilman Britton.

1:55

Councilwoman Robinson.

1:57

Councilman Laughing House.

1:59

Councilman Dennis Perkins.

2:02

Thank you.

2:06

So tonight, when you address, when you address us, please be respectful of the people in the room and direct the issues presented.

2:17

At this point, to start off public speaking, I will recognize the mayor.

2:22

Please state your name and address, sir.

2:25

I think people know I live in Danbury.

2:27

Not sure.

2:27

Roberto Alves, 7 West Reading Road.

2:30

Thank you.

2:31

Good evening, Council.

2:32

I want to start by thanking the Charter Revision Commission Committee for working hard and putting a good product in front of the city council for you guys to debate, hear the public on, and hopefully move forward.

2:48

This process took countless meetings with the ability for the public to opine, I believe, in over a dozen opportunities.

3:16

We've been public on where I stand as an individual on a lot of those items.

3:21

But at the end of the day, as I said to the Charter Revision Committee at public hearings, talk to many folks individually and it put out there publicly.

3:29

At the end of the day, what I'm asking to you, as mayor, as a resident, as a voter of this city, is to give the Danbury public the opportunity to vote yes or no on this charter revision.

3:42

When you hear folks say that you're taking their vote away, that is the opposite of what is happening.

3:49

Once this council gets to vote yes or no on this, your yes vote doesn't change the charter.

3:56

What I'm for, what I'm against does not change the charter.

4:00

Ultimately, is the Danbury voter that gets to decide if this charter is changed or not.

4:06

So these ideas that everybody has read and will talk on.

4:12

You will have an opportunity if this council passes this to vote yes or no, hopefully in November, where we will have a high turnout for a gubernatorial election, congressional election.

4:24

And that's what we wanted to do.

4:26

We wanted to put something this important that Danbury voters haven't been able to vote on since 2008.

4:33

Items that other parties supported in years past, and the party I'm a part of did not.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Charter Revision█████████████████████████████████████████████70%
Public Engagement████████13%
Ethics███5%
Procedural███4%
Education Regulation██3%
Public Safety█2%
Personnel Matters█2%
Records Management█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Danbury City Council Public Hearing on Charter Revision – July 31, 2026

The Danbury Common Council held a public hearing on July 31, 2026, to receive testimony on the draft report of the Charter Revision Commission. The meeting featured extensive public comment, with speakers expressing both strong support and opposition to the proposed revisions. No council deliberation or vote occurred; the hearing was adjourned after all speakers were heard.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Mayor Roberto Alves urged the council to send the charter revision to the voters in November, stating that a council vote against the revision would deny the public the opportunity to decide. He argued that the process had been public and that the draft report contained good changes.
  • Supporters of the proposed revisions (Jan Maria Jagish, Ellen Cook, Ray McGarigal, Mary Keating Tahan, Paul Bamba, George O'Lachlin, Henry Hall, Keegan Willemson, Elvis Novas, Jim Lepine, Randall Michael, Mark Stanton, Gary Simone, Kathleen Troy, Larry Reifberg, Farley Santos) emphasized:
    • Four-year terms would provide continuity, stability, and time to implement long-term projects.
    • Appointing the town clerk would prioritize professional qualifications over politics.
    • Raising the bonding threshold from $2 million to $5 million reflects current costs and allows efficient infrastructure projects.
    • Greater transparency for Board of Education finances is needed.
    • The process was open and bipartisan; the commission held multiple public meetings.
    • The most important point was allowing voters to decide in a referendum.
  • Opponents and those with concerns (Melody Darrett, Ashley Fawn, Karen Palanzo, Lynn Waller, Lorraine Herger, Kate Canada, Michelle Coelho, Irving Fox, John Cook (opposing position?), Natalie Mago, Eva Vega (neutral but pro-vote), Jan Gagler (letter), Paul McAllister (reading for Warren Levy), Al Robinson, Jennifer Doran) raised:
    • The process was rushed, with only 11 hours of public meetings and insufficient time for public input.
    • Proposed changes centralize too much power in the mayor—especially appointing the town clerk, the chief of staff role, and eliminating staggered Board of Education terms.
    • The town clerk should remain elected or become a civil service position, not a mayoral appointment, to maintain independence.
    • Four-year terms reduce accountability; two-year terms keep officials responsive.
    • The charter revision did not adequately address ethics, reapportionment independence, or signature thresholds for referendums.
    • The Board of Education language may conflict with state statutes and risk exposing student data.
    • The commission was not bipartisan; the Republican Town Committee was not consulted, and some commissioners had conflicts of interest.
  • Neutral speakers (Larry Reifberg, Farley Santos) stressed that the council should trust voters to decide, regardless of personal views on specific provisions.

Key Outcomes

  • The public hearing was formally closed after all individuals who wished to speak had done so.
  • No motions or votes on the charter revision were taken during the public hearing. The council recessed for ten minutes and will continue as a committee of the whole at a later date.
  • The next step is council deliberation and a decision on whether to adopt the draft report, send it back for revisions, or reject it. If adopted, the charter revision would go to a referendum on the November 2026 ballot.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. My name is Peter Bazaid. My name hasn't changed. And I am designated to be the chairman of this public hearing. And this meeting is for all of you to have an opportunity to speak on what is noticed, which is the report of the Charter Revision Commission about the charter changes. So that is tonight's topic. Please line up behind either microphone. I will try to call you in turn. Please try to keep your remarks as brief as possible and on topic, which would be whatever provisions of the charter you wish to address. And please be respectful. I will try to limit your your speaking to three minutes, considering there's appears to be a large number of people in the room who wish to address this topic. And before we start, it may seem a little redundant. I am going to take attendance again. Councilman Coelho. Still here. Councilman Flanagan. As I may. Councilman Hawley. Councilwoman LePine. Councilman Salvatore. Councilman Bazade is still here. Councilwoman Gartner. Councilwoman Faye. Councilman Henry. Councilwoman Wallace Smith. My body is here. Councilwoman Spain Reichel. Councilman Giordano. Councilwoman Jabbar. Now here and arrived around 645. Councilman Rotello. Councilman Chinese. Councilman Dwayne Perkins. Councilman Britton. Councilwoman Robinson. Councilman Laughing House. Councilman Dennis Perkins. Thank you. So tonight, when you address, when you address us, please be respectful of the people in the room and direct the issues presented. At this point, to start off public speaking, I will recognize the mayor. Please state your name and address, sir. I think people know I live in Danbury. Not sure. Roberto Alves, 7 West Reading Road. Thank you. Good evening, Council. I want to start by thanking the Charter Revision Commission Committee for working hard and putting a good product in front of the city council for you guys to debate, hear the public on, and hopefully move forward. This process took countless meetings with the ability for the public to opine, I believe, in over a dozen opportunities. We've been public on where I stand as an individual on a lot of those items. But at the end of the day, as I said to the Charter Revision Committee at public hearings, talk to many folks individually and it put out there publicly.

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