While concerned and engaged community members gathered at Rockwell Park Wednesday evening for a community conversation about racism in Bristol, a little more than a mile away in the Bristol Public Library at 5 High St., another matter of importance took place.

Banished to the library basement and Meeting Room 3 because City Hall is under renovation, the Charter Revision Commission met for the seventh and final time. Unlike previous meetings, which saw the room filled with mindful citizens, the only ones in attendance were the seven commissioners, two city attorneys, and the audio video staff.

The meeting became necessary due to the city council’s request that the commissioners delete two matters from their draft report, which they finalized in June. 

The city council requested they eliminate increasing the council from six members to nine (each district would go from two to three representatives), which would ensure multi-party representation on the council.

This idea was on the agenda at the Commission’s initial meeting in February and originated from the Mayor, Jeff Caggiano. His reasoning was sound: The last two elections have delivered total power to one party, to the Democrats in 2019 and then the Republicans in 2021. In fact, all city boards and commissions except the city council already require minority representation. However, the measure appeared doomed from the get-go when Councilor Jacqueline Olson spoke against it at the meeting on March 23. 

Olson expressed that voters already have the option to vote for candidates for either party, and there was no need to incur the expense of an expanded council. 

The second matter was to remove increasing the Board of Finance from eight members to eleven.

However, in a unanimous 7-0 vote, the charter revision commissioners rejected the council’s request. 

Charter Revision Chairman Jon Fitzgerald believed it was best for the public to decide the matter in November at the ballot. 

Commissioner Calvin Brown echoed his comments, “I agree with you, Jon. I think if my memory serves me correctly, and based on my notes, this topic of bipartisan representation garnered quite a bit of public commentary throughout the process.” 

Now that the Charter Committee effectively returned serve, it puts the issue on the city council’s side of the court.

The city councilors must decide if they want to have these two revisions on the ballot in November or leave them off.

The council will take up the matter on August 10.

The other proposed revisions to the charter which will be on the ballot include the following:

• to increase the term of Office of Mayor from two to four years

• expand the type of punishable misconduct by elected and appointed officials and the penalties for misconduct

• changing the process for determining City Council Districts from provisions in the charter to the responsibility of the Registrars of Voters, and making various technical changes to the Charter, for instance to provide consistency in capitalization and terminology.