Laura Glesby file photo
Charter Revision Commission counsel Steve Mednick: Prioritize clarity; "Avoid the culture of disregard or paralysis."
New Haven’s once-a-decade process of revising the city’s foundational document officially began — as the 2023 Charter Revision Commission received a crash course from an experienced municipal-government attorney on the power balances and scope limitations it’ll have to navigate in the weeks and months ahead.
The commission, chaired by City Clerk Mike Smart, met for the first time Monday evening at the oval table in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall. The gathering of the recently empaneled group marked the official kickoff of a process that will see the commission reflect on and put forward recommended changes for the city charter.
The commission will meet multiple times per month to draft a report until mid-May, when the Board of Alders will vote on the group’s proposed changes. The alders will finalize a question, or multiple questions, about alterations to the charter that will appear on voters’ ballots in November.
Monday’s meeting took place several weeks after the alders adopted a resolution that identifies a number of topics — including whether or not to grant four-year terms for the mayor and alders, and whether or not to drop residency requirements for some city department heads — as priorities for the commission to consider during its deliberations.
The commission consists of nine members: City Clerk Michael Smart, retired former Probate Judge Jack Keyes, New Haven Promise CEO Patricia Melton, Board of Alders Majority Leader Richard Furlow, Morris Cove Alder Sal DeCola, former JUNTA For Progressive Action leader Sandra Trevino, former Livable City Initiative Executive Director Serena Neal-Sanjurjo, Anne Schwartz, and Carol Coles.
Members of the Charter Revision Commission.
Steve Mednick, the attorney advising the commission, kicked off the group’s proceedings with an introductory presentation on the scope of municipal power in Connecticut, and on the lessons he’s learned from shepherding charter reviews across the state.
Mednick explained that the city can only exercise powers explicitly given to it by the state; “silence is not authority,” he promised to repeat over the course of the charter revision process.
The city’s charter is not only less powerful than the state’s constitution, he explained — it can also be superseded by the many collective bargaining agreements that the city enters with its employees.
Still, Mednick said, the commission has a rare opportunity to change the foundational structure of the city. He articulated four goals for the charter commission:
• Clarify the charter and make it accessible.
• Provide “enough guidance so the alders and mayor know what they have to do, but enough flexibility so they can govern in real time” by amending the code of ordinances.
• Balance the executive and legislative powers so that each body holds one another accountable.
• “Avoid the culture of disregard or paralysis” by creating a charter that’s possible to actually enact.
On the question of legislative and executive balance, Mednick argued that New Haven’s in a relatively good place: “From all the charters I’ve looked at, the New Haven charter has a really strong balance between the mayor and the Board of Alders.”
None of the commission members had any questions for Mednick Monday night. The group then voted to set a schedule of meetings (listed here) going forward before adjourning.