71°
STAMFORD, Conn. — When Stamford voters head to the polls Election Day, they will have to decide whether or not the city’s charter will be revised, and the League of Women Voters of Stamford will host a forum to help people understand the issue.
The chairpersons from the 17th Charter Revision Commission and the Special Charter Committee of the Board of Representatives will be discussing each of the nine charter-related questions and taking questions from the public, a news release said.
“The public forum is just one of the ways that we are reaching out to Stamford’s voters this election season to help them gain a better understanding of the candidates and issues that will appear on the November 6th ballot,” Jill Smyth, president of the league said in a news release.
The forum will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will take place at the Harry Bennett Branch of the Ferguson Library, 115 Vine Road. It will be moderated by Kay Maxwell, former president of the League of Women Voters of the U.S. and Stamford resident, the release said.
Here are the questions people will be deciding on, as provided by the League of Women Voters:
▪ Revise the charter to make certain technical, grammatical, administrative and procedural changes and revisions.
▪ Revise the charter to create a single combined fire department, including the following:
- Creating a single fire department composed of career and volunteer firefighters with a single chief and a single fire marshal.
- Creating the positions of assistant fire chief for career services and assistant fire chief for volunteer services.
- Acknowledging that the volunteer departments are an important component of the new combined department.
▪ Revise the charter to establish, by charter, the Water Pollution Control Authority and to ensure the provisions concerning the authority comply with state law.
▪ Revise the charter to create a Historic Preservation Advisory Commission.
▪ Create, by charter, a Board of Ethics and mandate a City Code of Ethics.
▪ Revise the charter to clarify that the Board of Finance’s authority is limited to fiscal matters only.
▪ Revise the charter to limit the service of any one individual to a single elected position, excluding constables.
▪ Revise the charter to add a preamble to the charter concerning citizens’ rights.
▪ Revise the charter to change the term of office for constables from two years to four years.
Comments