City and Town Charter Review Favored by Norwich Bulletin
The Norwich BULLETIN editorial writer today, August 20, 2008, writes in favor of City and Town Charter Reviews. Currently, in Southeastern Connecticut, the City of New London, the city of Norwich, and the Town of Monteville are in varying stages of Charter review and/or revision.
According to the editorial
Charter revision is a healthy process for a community, presenting an opportunity to review how local government provides services to citizens and how those services can be improved.
According to the editorial, the major issues in each municipality are different. Monteville is considering changing from a resident State Trooper to a Police Department, New London is looking for a strong Mayor vice a City Manager, and Norwich is considering whether to remove zoning functions from the City Council to a separate Commission.
The variety of issues being considered points out the uniqueness of the 169 municipal governments in Connecticut (and all of New England for that matter). Outside of New England, city and town governments have Mayors, Town Councils, and Boards of Education (if the Town or City has its own school system). There are strong County Governments that often handle the Police, Fire, and even Schools. The State takes care of the rest.
I remember that I was amazed at the number of volunteers it took to run Waterford’s Town Government when I first got involved some eighteen years ago. Strong citizen involvement in local government is a blessing and a curse for New England towns and cities. It leads to citizens being close to the government that most effects them but it also leads to inefficiencies that cause more expense. Striking the balance is the role of frequent review of Town government to see that it is still giving the citizens the best government for their tax dollar.
The BULLETIN editorial is correct that more cities and towns should review their charters to determine if the charter is still delivering the government desired and needed by city or town.