Ex-commissioners tell charter panel to keep fire board at three

Other Committee · Meeting of February 5, 2026

New Canaan charter panel hears pitch to protect volunteer firefighter seat, keep fire board at three. Former Fire Commission member Beth Jones and a second ex-commissioner identified only as Jack, who served more than two decades starting in 2005, told the Charter Revision Committee's Group Two on February 5 that expanding the three-member fire board would "water down" its expertise. Jones said she'll "be banging on the front door of town hall all day long" to preserve the charter's requirement that one commissioner be an inactive volunteer firefighter, citing Wilton's collapse to zero volunteers.

Jack said elected officials serving ex officio on commissions "never works," arguing "if they don't have the confidence in us to do that job, then excuse me." Committee members Katherine Corbin and Jennifer Mo also discussed tightening Section C4's discipline process to require consultation with the town's HR office, and noted 5,681 unaffiliated voters now outnumber both major parties.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 5, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

NEW CANAAN — February 5, 2026 — Two former Fire Commission members urged New Canaan's Charter Revision Committee on Thursday to keep the commission at three members and to preserve its dedicated seat for an inactive volunteer firefighter, calling that provision central to the town's rare combination paid-volunteer department.

The recommendations came during a roughly two-hour interview session held by the committee's Group Two subcommittee, which is gathering input from past and current appointees as it works through the town charter section by section. Committee members Katherine Corbin and Jennifer Mo conducted the interviews; members Russell Kimes and William Barrett were absent for the roll call.

The Full Story

The subcommittee's first witness was Beth Jones, who told the committee she has served on the Board of Selectmen, the Town Council and the Fire Commission, and chaired the Democratic Town Committee. Jones, who spent seven years on the Fire Commission, said she opposes a proposal floated earlier in the committee's review to expand the fire board from three members to five. "If you expand it to five, I think it just waters down the commission a little," Jones said, adding that New Canaan's volunteer pool is not deep enough to staff larger boards well. She also said she would not support adding a property-ownership requirement for commission members, noting voters previously rejected extending that Board of Finance-only rule townwide.

A second witness, identified in the meeting only by his first name, Jack, told the committee he served on the Fire Commission for more than two decades starting November 5, 2005. He argued against giving the first selectman an ex officio seat on the commission, a role the charter currently omits for that board but includes elsewhere in town government. "We report to the board of selectmen," Jack said. "Are they going to come babysit? If they don't have the confidence in us to do that job, then excuse me."

"When it comes to supporting the volunteer company in this town, I'll be banging on the front door of town hall all day long," Jones said — a former Fire Commission member.

Both witnesses said the charter's requirement that one commissioner be an inactive member of the volunteer fire company, in good standing under the company's own bylaws, must stay in place. They pointed to Wilton, where they said the volunteer firefighting force has dwindled to zero over roughly 15 years amid friction between town management and volunteers. Jack cited Carrie Smith as a past commissioner who filled that volunteer-representative seat.

The panel also spent significant time on Section C4, which governs discipline and suspension of fire department employees. Both witnesses said the written charter language is accurate but is not always followed in practice, since disciplinary recommendations often originate with the department chief, the town's human resources office and legal counsel before reaching the commission. Corbin and Mo said the committee is considering adding language directing the commission to consult with human resources while still deferring to whatever the active collective bargaining agreement requires, rather than writing bargaining-specific terms into the charter itself.

On term limits, which apply to none of the town's commissions except the Audit Committee, Jones said she is "torn," valuing both fresh perspectives and institutional knowledge, while Jack said he would support a limit, citing a model used in Fairfield of two consecutive terms followed by a mandatory one-year gap before reappointment. Mo raised a related, informal proposal to formalize how the town publicizes board and commission vacancies, noting that New Canaan's 5,681 unaffiliated voters now outnumber registered Democrats (3,858) and Republicans (5,128) combined with 153 voters registered under other parties, reducing the reach of party-based recruiting.

Why It Matters

Any charter change discussed Thursday would require voters to approve a townwide ballot referendum before taking effect, and the Charter Revision Committee has not yet voted on which recommendations to advance. The Fire Commission provisions carry particular weight because New Canaan operates one of the few departments in Connecticut that still blends paid and volunteer firefighters successfully, according to both witnesses, who said commission composition and the volunteer-representative seat directly affect that balance.

The committee's broader discussion about reaching unaffiliated voters, now the town's largest registration bloc, could shape how New Canaan recruits appointees to boards and commissions beyond the fire board. The committee said it plans to consult the town's human resources director, referred to in the meeting as Cheryl, before finalizing disciplinary-process language.

Key Motions & Votes

No formal votes taken at this meeting.

Source

Town Of New Canaan: Charter Revision Committee meeting, February 5, 2026