By Brandon T. Bisceglia
The Milford Board of Aldermen failed to advance a proposal to open the city’s charter for potential revisions, including extending the mayor’s term from two years to four, at their March 2 meeting.
Nine of the members voted in favor of revising the charter, with five against. But the motion required a two-thirds majority to move forward. The split fell along party lines, with the Republicans present opposed.
Milford’s current charter was drafted in 1959. The last time it was amended was in 1983, and the only update then was to make members of the Planning and Zoning Board elected officials.
Mayor Rich Smith has recommended the charter be updated to account for the multitude of changes that have happened in the law and the city since the 1980s.
Smith, a Democrat, had recommended three Republicans and two Democrats to serve on a charter revision commission, including former Mayor James Richetelli. The commission would have been tasked with holding public hearings and drafting the revised language for the charter, which would then go before the Board of Aldermen for possible approval.
In addition to lengthening the mayor’s term, other changes the commission would have been asked to consider included extending the city clerk’s term to four years; aligning the number of appointees on the Pension and Retirement Board with the number called for by city ordinances; updating the language around city departments, as some departments have been added, abolished or renamed; and reviewing the budget-setting schedule to make sure it aligns with current timing requirements.
“Our charter has not been revised in 43 years – more years than some members on this board have been alive,” Smith wrote in a message to the board that was read by Chief of Staff Holly Mulrenan while Smith was out of town.
“Our charter is out of date and in conflict with standing ordinances and state statutes. Along with the need to align our charter to existing laws and ordinances, it is also recommended to extend the term of mayor and city clerk from two to four years. Many towns around us are making the same change, if they haven’t already. It is very hard for a mayor to do the work required of him and her in that job if every other year they need to take time to campaign and raise money,” Smith wrote.
Prior to the vote, a handful of residents also spoke in favor of opening Milford’s charter.
Domingos Fernandes noted that the charter was revised 11 times from the 1950s to 1983, but not in the last generation.
“Milford has evolved over the last 40 years; so should that document. Expectations around transparency, technology and civic participation have changed dramatically,” he said.
“The role of government, as you all know – you take part in it every day – is to live in a symbiotic relationship with the people governed,” said resident John Grosso. “And that can’t happen without a living document, not one that’s collecting the dust of previous eras and administrations. Mayor Smith’s agenda for the charter revisions, in my opinion, is very level-headed.”
Although the most recent push for charter revision was defeated, nothing prevents the Board of Aldermen from taking up a charter revision in the future.