A few words about a set of proposed Rule changes being considered by the Council that provoked an unfavorable editorial from the Daily News on 1/28. The proposed set of changes would expand the size but sharpen the focus of the Finance Committee and would bring, I believe, an improved capacity of the Council to handle the full scope of its fiscal responsibilities. Overseeing the financial policies and spending of the Town is THE foremost responsibility of the elected Councilors and the proposed changes support the Council's ability to fulfill that responsibility.
One of the first tasks for an incoming Council is to review and approve the rules that it will operate under during its Session. One of the key parts of the Council's Rules and Procedures are the purpose, scope and composition of Standing Council Committees, including the Finance Committee. Under last Session rules, 3 residents were added to the 3 Councilors that had been on the Committee previously. This Committee carried the burden of a very large set of responsibilities, including: "all matters of finance," all appropriations (including annual budget), review of fees, hiring an auditor (as well as reviewing audit findings), and the review of the Capital Improvement Plan. The Committee is charged to report recommendations on all of the above to the Council.
The heart of the proposed change to the Council is to expand the membership to include all 9 of the elected Municipal Councilors only (no resident members). The 2nd part of the proposed changes is to narrow the scope of the Finance Committee to focus only on "measures that would involve any expenditure of Town funds i.e. appropriations, bonds, insurance, transfers, salaries and wages." This means that every Councilor will be responsible for and fully informed about all budgetary and appropriations matters that come before it, rather than just receiving recommendations from a sub-committee that has spent time focused asking questions. A new Council Committee (3 Councilors) would be formed to focus solely on the audit of Town Finances. Finally, an Advisory Committee (3 residents) would be formed to advise the Council on questions of financial policy: debt management, CIP, bond issues, etc. This dovetails with the proposal to eliminate Standing Policy Committees on Education and Public Safety.
So, rather than weakening the 'watchdog' responsibility of the Council (as the Daily News suggested), these changes would ADD to the time that every Councilor spends focused on financial measures and the health of the Town's financial management--it's what we were elected to do. (Basically, it's saying that we will meet as a whole 2x a month, with one entire meeting devoted to finances.) The Council will again take up long neglected duties to oversee and review the annual audit of the Town's finances. And a Committee of residents with financial expertise will advise the Council regarding key financial planning and management policies.
I'm confident that the proposed changes will significantly improve the Council's capacity to process budgetary and policy questions. As the elected watchdogs of the Town's finances, this is our primary responsibility.
Proposed changes can be found HERE on the Town's website.
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