The Simsbury Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Monday to include the revised town charter on the November ballot despite concerns over some of the proposed amendments.
After the board requested reconsideration of several proposed changes to the charter in May, the commission decided not to take action on the board's requests because it felt the board did not offer any concrete recommendations.
The revisions at the center of the debate were: changes to the election terms of the town's Design Review Board; new authority given to the Board of Finance over the town's pension accounts; and the exclusion of public audience sessions at Board of Finance meetings.
"It's a tough decision when we don't agree with something that the Charter [Revision Commission] has worked hard on," First Selectman Mary Glassman said. "It was an independent commission. I think this board made it very clear we didn't agree with some provisions."
Selectman Lisa Heavner and Deputy First Selectman John Hampton, both Democrats, joined Republican board members to approve the charter in its entirety.
During the public audience portion of Monday night's meeting, Simsbury resident Dr. Michael Rinaldi said both Heavner and Hampton failed to properly serve their constituents by approving the revisions.
Heavner made motions to reject three of the proposed revisions during a meeting in June but ultimately voted to approve the revised charter in its entirety with the hope that voters will reject it in November.
"I think that John and Lisa really made a tough decision because they don't agree with all of the provisions," Glassman said. "Just because two of us or three of us don't agree with all of the provisions should we give the right to vote — take the right to vote away from the people of Simsbury, and that's the question," Glassman said.
The charter revisions will appear on the ballot on November 6. The full revised town charter can be found on the town website on the Charter Revision Commission page.
