For the first time in 50 years, the South Windsor Town Charter will be amended. A commission to revise the charter was created on September 18, 2023, and has been working for the past 16 months to make amendments to the half-century old document.
The changes to the charter will be based on input from the public that the town council has accrued from the 6-7 public hearings they have held in regard to the charter. The committee started compiling all public input they received into a draft on December 9, which they will deliver to the town council for review sometime in January of 2025.
“All of our notes reflect public input and opinions people have shared with us,” Chairman of the Charter Revisions Committee, Andrew Paterna said.
Though, the council has received little public input about the issue.
“We have had little participation at public hearings and our meetings. In fact, we have had less than 10 residents participate,” Janis Snyder, vice chairperson of the committee said.
According to Paterna, one of the first changes the committee made to the charter in their draft was to change the language to make it all gender neutral. A girl scout volunteered to help with this.
Another big change the committee proposed was to increase the $5,000 limit the charter placed on projects. With inflation, this limit has become outdated and led to contractors not wanting to bid on projects for the town.
With the population of the town of South Windsor growing at a soaring rate, the need for jobs is at an all-time high.
Snyder said that some of the changes were “no-brainers,” though a few needed much more discussion, input from the Town Attorney and clarification regarding state statutes.
“We hope to simplify the charter and bring it up to date for the 21st century,” Snyder said. The committee aims to make the charter more user friendly and less political. The town charter is a living document and, “should be able to stand the test of time in an ever changing world.”
Currently, the town council awaits the draft from the committee, which they will receive in January and take 30-45 days for review. From there, they will hold a public hearing which will help inform their decision whether to take it to referendum – a general vote on the issue. If they do, citizens will see the changes on the November ballot for them to vote on.
