Charter Revision Commission Final Hearing January 21, 2026
Charter Revision Comments
Section 401 should be revised.
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It appears that the Commission is trying to define gender identity, removing First Selectman by using First, but maintaining the Board of Selectmen.
“There shall be a Board of Selectmen, hereinafter referred to as the Selectmen, consisting of the First.”
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Presently the town has a professional Town Manager, a paid employee of the Town, that is noted in the Charter.
The previous Charter Revision Commission was deadlocked on initiating a Town Manager.
To get enough votes to have the Town managed by a Town Manager, it was necessary to placate the dissenters in using a bifurcated system.
The Town Manager became the CEO of the Town, eliminating many of the activities of a full-time paid Town employee, in the position of First Selectman.
The Town Manager form of government has remained but the Charter reflects the bifurcated system with a First Selectman named First.
Section 404. The First, Section (a)
This section should be eliminated, having the First Selectman serve with the Board of Selectmen, without compensation.
The Charter should reflect a Town Manager/Town Council form of government with compensation for the Town Manager.
The change in the Charter would reflect an elimination of the bifurcated system with a member of the Town Council appointed from members of the Council, all without compensation.
The elected Board of Education, Board of Finance, Zoning Commission and Planning Commissions appoints a chairman from within, receiving guidance and direction from the managers of each discipline.
This system has lasted for decades.
The Charter should reflect what is a Town Manager/Town Council form of government, eliminating the need for gender identity names in Board of Selectmen.
A majority of the voters are not aware of the form of government that serves the Town.
A ballot reflects the proposed candidates and the people voting check the boxes.
The premise that the voting public is used to vote for a First Selectman is a fallacy since Wendy Mackstutis received the lowest votes of the winning candidates.
According to the Office of the Secretary of State, there are 18,684 registered voters.
8,477 voted for the Municipal candidates in 2025, that is 45% of the public.
The First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis received 4,075 votes.
Curtis Looney received 4,800, Diana Yeisley 4, 882, Steve Antonio 5,064, Kevin Beal 3,098, Mike Paine 3,451.
Kevin Beal and Mike Paine were the minority Republican candidates.
These statistics show that the people will vote for the candidates on the ballot without thought of the election process.
Removing the First Selectman/ Board of Selectmen form of government will not affect the voting public or discourage them from voting.
The change to Town Manager/Town Council form of government will probably make more people aware of the government process and will eliminate the need for gender identity.
A Town Manager/Town Council in the Charter has served many Towns’ forms of government for decades with positive results.
The Charter Revision Commission should move forward to a continuation of Simsbury evolving from a First Selectman to a Town Manager/Town Council government.
The Charter Revision Commission should codify the fact that Simsbury has moved from Selectmen to a Council form of government by rewriting Section 401 to reflect reality.
The Charter Revision Commission should rethink Section 401 and move forward with a Town Manager/Town Council form of government.
