Charter panel backs three-year terms, defers treasurer term question
Other Committee · Meeting of March 3, 2026
New Canaan charter panel hears treasurer's independence pitch, moves toward three-year board terms. Town Treasurer Andrew Brooks, elected seven times over 13 years, told the Charter Revision Commission the office functions as "an independent watchdog and taxpayer advocate" and said he uncovered $125,000 in underpaid bank interest that the finance department missed. Resident Roy urged the panel to keep the treasurer elected rather than appointed, blasting the town's no-bid $78,000 purchase of a parks department pickup truck as "unethical." Resident John Amarillis pitched expanding the Board of Selectmen from three members to five or seven and creating a recall process for elected officials.
Commissioners reached consensus, with no objections, to move several boards, including the Board of Assessment Appeals and Zoning Board of Appeals, from two-year to three-year terms, and unanimously approved corrected February 24 minutes.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 966 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of March 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
NEW CANAAN — March 3, 2026 — The New Canaan Charter Revision Commission spent more than two hours Tuesday hearing from residents and the town's elected treasurer on proposals ranging from a recall mechanism for elected officials to a longer term for the treasurer's office.
Town Treasurer Andrew Brooks, who has held the elected post for 13 years and been reelected seven times, urged commissioners meeting at Town Hall and via Zoom to preserve the office's independence from the town's chief financial officer and to consider lengthening its two-year term. The commission also reached informal consensus to move several boards and commissions from two-year to three-year terms, and it unanimously approved the minutes of its February 24 special meeting, corrected to fix a misspelling of Commissioner Holm's name.
The Full Story
Commission Secretary Jennifer Jameson called the roll at the start of the 5 p.m. meeting. Commissioner Lampert was the only member absent. Members approved the corrected February 24 minutes on a motion from a commissioner identified in discussion as Bill, seconded by Commissioner Joe Paulo, with all present voting in favor.
During public comment, resident John Amarillis proposed three charter changes. He asked the commission to expand the Board of Selectmen from three members to five or seven "to encourage and foster further debate," to create a recall process for elected officials triggered by a resident petition and referendum, and to require referral to the health department and probate court before the town forecloses on an individual homeowner's property for unpaid taxes. "I think the town would be better served with more members on the board of selectmen rather than the three currently existing," Amarillis said. Commissioners questioned him at length about how a recall threshold would be set to avoid becoming, in Commissioner Andrew's words, "a political football," and Amarillis said the bar should be high enough that it would not be used as an annual political weapon.
A second speaker, a 29-year town resident who identified himself only as Roy, urged the commission to keep the treasurer an elected position rather than moving toward mayoral appointment. He cited Connecticut General Statute 9-189, noting 102 of the state's municipalities elect their treasurers while 67 smaller towns appoint one, and argued New Canaan does not face the recruitment problems that justify appointment in smaller towns. He also criticized the Board of Selectmen's same-day approval of a $78,000 Chevy 3500 HD pickup for the parks and recreation department without competitive bidding, saying it violated a 2020 procurement ordinance requiring three bids on purchases over $50,000. "Our financial function must remain independent of an autocratic government," Roy said.
Brooks then addressed the commission for close to an hour on the treasurer's role, which he described largely as an independent check on the finance department. He cited state statutes 7-80 and 7-400 governing the disbursement and investment of town funds, and said he personally reviews large payments, including capital-project invoices, before they go out. He said he discovered in one instance that the town had been underpaid $125,000 in interest after rates rose and no one else caught the shortfall, and that he moved the town's investment management in-house from an outside bank, saving roughly $100,000 a year. Brooks said his access to the town attorney has been cut off for the first time in his tenure and asked the commission to guarantee elected officials unfettered legal access in the charter. He also told commissioners he believes the town's recent consolidation of the tax assessor and tax collector positions may violate charter language barring either official from holding another town office. Brooks pointed to Wilton, which merged its treasurer and CFO functions roughly 15 years ago, as a cautionary example, saying the neighboring town is now paying for two chief financial officers while it works to reconcile incomplete 2026 financial records.
Commissioners also revisited a broader review of term lengths for boards and commissions. Commissioner Jameson said her working group's research found four or five bodies, including the Board of Assessment Appeals, Board of Finance alternates, Inland Wetlands Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, that currently serve two-year terms, while most other boards serve three or four years. After discussion, Chair asked whether anyone objected to moving those two-year terms to three years. No commissioner present raised an objection. The panel deferred a separate question of whether to extend the treasurer and town clerk terms from two to four years, and whether those offices should remain elected, to a future meeting.
"The treasurer is an independent watchdog and taxpayer advocate," Brooks said in describing how he sees the role. "That's how I see the role and that's how a lot of other town treasurers I've met with have seen the role."
Why It Matters
Any changes the commission recommends could reshape how New Canaan structures its elected offices and board terms, and some would require voter approval at referendum. The debate over the treasurer's independence carries financial stakes directly: Brooks told the commission he has flagged more than $1.5 million in improperly authorized payments during his tenure and said his office helped recover $125,000 in underpaid bank interest. The commission's next meetings are scheduled for March 17 and March 24, when members plan to take up term limits and a formal proposal on the treasurer's charter language.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Approval of February 24 special meeting minutes, as corrected Tally: Approved unanimously - Action: Consensus reached to advance most boards and commissions currently serving two-year terms to three-year terms — Referred to subcommittees for further review of transition details ahead of a future formal vote - Vote: Motion to adjourn Tally: Approved unanimously
Source
Town Of New Canaan: Charter Revision Commission meeting, March 3, 2026