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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Ordinance Would Set Line of Succession

By Jennifer Connic

Westport officials are asking the Representative Town Meeting to pass an ordinance that delineates the powers of the first selectman and a line of succession.

The RTM will hold a first reading on the ordinance during its meeting on Tuesday at 8 p.m., and RTM rules call for the ordinance to automatically be hold over one meeting.

First Selectman Gordon Joseloff said the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is urging communities to pass similar ordinances across the state so it is clear who is charge during an emergency.

The town’s charter does not outline a line of succession, he said, and the ordinance would set the line of succession to be the first selectman, second selectman, third selectman, RTM moderator and RTM deputy moderator.

The charter, however, states that if there is a vacancy for the first selectman’s office, the remaining Board of Selectmen members would join the finance director to run the town until a special election could be held.

“This is for extreme situations when the first selectman is not available,” Joseloff said.

There are also implied powers for emergencies in the charter for the first selectman to do all he can to protect the health, safety and welfare of Westport’s residents, he said.

“It’s just not as clear as state officials want it to be,” he said. “They want it to be consistent.”

Comments:     Comment Policy

This may be a good idea, but every ordinance requires study, and study requires time, time to “do it right.” Perhaps it would make sense to act on the succession question sooner, that being fairly straightforward, and act on the rest of the ordinance in the fall, after the demanding and very public pending land-use-related reviews have been completed. 

As many readers know, the RTM has been petitioned by electors to review the decisions of the Flood and Erosion Control Board and Conservation Commission regarding the Y’s proposal at Mahackeno.  The public, on any side of the question, has expectations of our commitment of time and attention to this effort, in preparation for both committee and full RTM hearings, and during the anticipated and possibly long evenings of some of those hearings.  From the volume of emails other RTM reps and I have been receiving, it would seem that our full attention to this pending review is required.

Time is especially critical to the pending reviews, with the clock ticking, as the 90 days alotted are nearing 1/3 through.  I think that the public is well aware of this, and wants its officials to keep this in mind, too.

For these reasons, I am wondering if the succession question could be addressed now, but the rest of the ordinance in the fall.  This may be a good way to balance official duties and satisfy public expectations and needs.

Judy Starr
RTM District 1

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