Charter subgroup in New Canaan lays out options on term limits, vacancy posting

Chair Corbett opened the subgroup meeting at 7:30 p.m. and framed the session as a focused review of term limits and the application/opening process for town boards and commissions.

Secretary Angela Jameson presented six options for the full Charter Revision Commission to consider: no term limits; term limits for only some boards or commissions; limits by number of terms (for example, two to five terms); limits by total years (for example, eight to 15 years); adopting term limits by ordinance rather than by charter; and rotating the chair after a fixed period. "One option is obviously no term limits," Secretary Angela Jameson said while outlining the range of possibilities she had researched across Fairfield County.

Members drew on comparisons with neighboring towns in weighing trade-offs. The subgroup discussed Wilton’s process—executive-session interviews followed by a public vote by the full board—as a transparency model that could inform New Canaan practices. At the same time, members noted Greenwich and Stamford generally do not impose universal consecutive-term caps, and Westport applies exceptions for certain bodies.

Participants pushed back on overly rigid caps, saying volunteer recruitment is fragile. "Volunteerism is not what it was before," one member said, arguing that strict long-duration lockouts could make it harder to fill seats. Others countered that some long-serving volunteers provide valuable institutional memory and subject-matter expertise that support technically complex boards.

On appointments and openings, subgroup members coalesced around a practical change: require the town to post current vacancies and expected openings publicly and set reasonable timelines for filling seats. The group discussed draft language already proposed by another subgroup that would allow the town council to appoint a member if the board of selectmen has not filled a vacancy within 180 days.

The subgroup did not vote to adopt a single term-limit approach. Instead, members asked Secretary Angela Jameson to prepare a brief executive summary or a single-slide PowerPoint listing the options (including by-term, by-year caps, ordinance vs. charter, chair rotation, and vacancy-posting requirements) and the underlying research for presentation to the full Charter Revision Commission.

A committee member moved to adjourn, the motion was seconded, and members voted in favor. The subgroup will present the options to the full CRC at its next meeting.