Place these Charter Revisions on Torrington's Ballot this 2015 Election

The 2015 Torrington municipal elections are coming up in November and Torrington Citizens for Progress believes there are a few important issues that should be placed on the ballot this election that support our democratic traditions in our city.

Ballot Issue # 1: Charter revision change from an appointed Board of Finance chosen by the Mayor to an elected Board of Finance chosen by the Voters. The Board of Finance has become increasingly important in deciding the City and Education side budgets of Torrington. For all the important decisions that the Board of Finance has been making about the future of the city finances it isn’t elected by the voters, but selected by the Mayor. This amounts to “Taxation or Lack of Taxation without Representation”, the people of Torrington should make their voices heard and demand representation on the Board of Finance. Members of the City Council (who are elected) have found that they have very little say on the budget, other than an “up or down vote”. City Council members need more of a say on city finances as well.

Ballot Issue # 2: Charter revision change from all at-large citywide boards and City Council seats to a system of “combination districts” with two at-large citywide seats and four district ward seats on all boards (BOE, 4 at-large, 4 district ward seats) and the City Council. This fair measure may be unpopular with the current office holders who exist in both political parties currently in these seats, it ensures that the city’s issues on the whole are represented by at-large seats and four districts seats represent the smaller community needs of parts of our city on issues that have for too long been ignored (North, South, East and West districts or 1,2,3,4 district seats). This fair measure of combination at-large and district ward seats, makes it hard for one part of the city to dominate all elected offices (ex: City Council).

Ballot Issue # 3: Funding and implementation of Closed Circuit TV in the City Council room at Torrington City Hall, ensures that all meetings of the City Council, Board of Finance, Board of Public Safety and Board of Education (BOE is televised on Channel 21, shares joint meetings with BOF/Mayor) are preserved for the public record. The public should be able to access visual/audio meetings of the boards and city council on the city website (within hours of them taking place). The City of Torrington should make arrangments with Cablevision to have meetings aired on Cable 5 as a public service. The city has existed under one party rule for the last 10 years. The current trend of holding extended meetings of the Board of Education (the current BOE Chairman has resorted to this technique on many occasions), City Council and Board of Finance behind closed doors in “executive session” to discuss important public matters doesn’t allow for proper public scrutiny of decisions our local government is deciding on our behalf. Our elected officials shouldn’t hide behind closed doors, hoping the public will simply get fed up and go home, when there are tough decisions being made. Recently, the city made a decision on the tax collector, a crowd was left waiting for an hour while elected officials were in closed session debating the issue. Much of the crowd really wanted to know the outcome, many stuck around until after 10pm to find out. The problem of citizens not being well-informed about local government decisions is solved with the introduction of Closed Circuit TV at City Hall recording the outcome of public meetings.

Get involved in local government and get these measures on the ballot in November!

Call Mayor Eleanor Carbone: Tel. 1(860)489-2228 or your City Council Members

Attend Torrington City Council meetings- 1st & 3rd Mondays 6-8pm at Torrington City Hall