Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Officials said Wednesday that New Canaan is on track by year’s end to qualify for its first four-year moratorium from the Affordable Housing Appeals Act—a state law that allows developers to skirt local planning officials if a project designates a certain number of units as “affordable,” under a definition that’s extremely difficult for the town to achieve. Scott Hobbs, chairman of the New Canaan Housing Authority, said during a regular meeting of the Town Council that the first phase of a project at Millport Avenue is a “little bit ahead of schedule.”

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At the suggestion of New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski, the Police Commission at the start of its meeting Wednesday night opened with a moment of silence. It was “for all of the violence that is happening and for officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge,” the chief said during the meeting, held at the New Canaan Police Department. ***

A pair of highway workers for the state walked the median of the Merritt Parkway for about two miles in the oppressive heat last Friday afternoon to find an injured red-tailed hawk there, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the NCPD’s Animal Control section. That hawk—and another that was found injured on a Southwood Drive home’s deck on the same day—went to a rehab group in Wilton but unfortunately were too far gone to cure, and had to be put down, Halm said.

Government

‘Tread Very, Very Lightly’: Selectmen Critical of Imposing Term Limits on Volunteer Boards and Commissions

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It would be a mistake to set term limits for the members of the volunteer boards, commissions and committees that help govern New Canaan or to impose restrictions on how long people can serve as chairmen of those groups, the town’s highest elected official said this week. Citing opinions from some members of New Canaan’s legislative body, the Town Council, as well as a referral back to an appointed group that’s recommending changes to the town’s major governing document, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said to force rotating chairmanships would be a bad idea. “I would caution the Town Council to tread very, very lightly on imposing limitations—from a body that does not have their own term limits—to talk about there being term limits with other groups,” Mallozzi said Tuesday during a Board of Selectmen meeting, held at Town Hall. As it stands, the Town Charter sets no term limits on members of groups that include the selectmen, Park & Recreation Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, Town Council or Board of Finance, or on individuals such as the town clerk or treasurer—and the Charter Revision Commission recommended no changes in those areas in its draft report. The Charter Revision Commission’s recommendations vis-à-vis the Town Charter may go up for a town-wide vote during the general elections in November.

Government

‘It Is Our Constitution’: Public Hearing Wednesday on Suggested Changes To Town Charter

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The volunteer panel charged with studying and recommending changes to New Canaan’s major governing document is calling for residents to make their voices heard at a public hearing to be held Wednesday night. New Canaan’s Charter “is our Constitution,” according to Dave Hunt, chairman of the Charter Revision Commission, which has been meeting regularly since last fall. “It is serves that function, so it sets the stage for the standards for all of government,” he said. “So our task is to review that and try to have the best possible government for the town of New Canaan, and to make changes where we see an opportunity to make things better, understanding that you have to think about consequences that may be in the opposite direction.”

The public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Town Meeting Room. A draft copy of the commission’s report to the Town Council can be found here on the town website and as a PDF at the end of this article.

Government

‘We Should Embrace Things That Are Unique To New Canaan’: First Selectman Questions Suggested Change out of Charter Revision

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In suggesting that the first selectman should no longer serve as chairman of a major funding body in municipal government, the volunteers now studying New Canaan’s main governing document are creating a problem where none has ever existed, the town’s highest elected official said. It doesn’t appear that any active members of the Board of Finance favor making a change to the group’s chairmanship, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said in an interview. “Certainly it is a unique situation in New Canaan but it is one that absolutely works,” he told NewCanaanite.com. “It is almost like the Charter Revision Commission has sought to create a problem that did not exist.”

“The volunteers that are the active on the Board of Finance are very, very pleased with the present setup of things and have found it extremely workable for them. I believe that they want to get answers as to what was the driving force for Charter Revision Commission to suggest such a change when such a change was not brought to the Charter Revision Commission by members of the Board of Finance.”

The comments follow the Charter Revision Commission’s votes in favor of changes to the role of the first selectman with respect to the finance board.

Government

Charter Revision: Panel Questions Role of First Selectman on Finance Board

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A panel charged with studying New Canaan’s governing document is weighing whether to recommend a change that could see some duties removed from the town’s highest elected official with respect to one of its major funding bodies. New Canaan is unique in that members of its Board of Finance are appointed by a group led by the first selectman, who then serves as chairman of that same finance board and, as an ex-officio member, casts tie-breaking votes (and no others), as per the Town Charter. Though no problem has emerged or is expected to develop now, with First Selectman Rob Mallozzi in place, it may pose a problem of “down the road,” Kate Hurlock, a member of the Charter Revision Commission, said at the group’s regular meeting. “It is not an issue now, it’s down the road creating checks and balances so that if there is an appointed board, that there is then a balance on the other side,” Hurlock said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “If the first selectman is appointing the board then there is a balance on the other side in terms of setting the agenda and voting.”

Members of the commission are charged with studying the Town Charter, with an eye on recommending updates for a town-wide vote on Election Day.