After months of work, a special commission publicly presented a draft of a revised city charter Thursday, describing a New Haven with elected Board of Ed members, and undocumented immigrants taking a seat in city government.
You can download and read the draft here. Then you can share your opinion at a public hearing on Tuesday.
The draft revised city charter is a product of the Charter Revision Commission, which has been laboring on the document since last fall.
The New Haven Charter is the city’s foundational legal document, laying out the basic foundations of city government, including the powers of the mayor, city departments, the number of wards. Every 10 years, the city is required to form a commission to see if the charter needs revision, and to suggest appropriate changes.
The Charter Revision Commission is wrapping up the first phase of that work now. It will hold a public hearing on Tuesday night at Conte-West Hills School, where people will have a chance to tell the commission what they think of the proposed new charter.
The commission will make any final changes, if necessary, and vote on the draft Tuesday night after the hearing. The draft will then head to the Board of Aldermen, which can accept the proposed changes, deny them, or send the charter back to the commission for more tinkering. Eventually, if the Board of Aldermen approves, proposed charter changes will end up on the ballot as referendum questions in the November elections.
The draft charter includes a variety of changes large and small. The proposed revision that has created the biggest buzz is a change to the Board of Education, from an all-appointed body, to a “hybrid” board comprising five appointees and two elected positions.
Another controversial move is a last-minute proposal to allow non-citizen New Haven residents to sit on city boards and commissions.
You’ll find details about those and other changes in the charter draft here. Click here to read an annotated version.
Would it have been to much for the NHI to give COMPLETE information on the Public Meeting, to include the TIME?
[The Charter Revision Commission will meet on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 7:00 PM in the Auditorium of Conte School located at 511 Chapel Street to hold a public hearing on the revised charter, hear from counsel, and make its final recommendations.
The draft revised charter will be available for public viewing at 5 PM in the auditorium and is currently available in the Board of Aldermen's office, in the City's library branches and on the web at http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Aldermen/index.asp]