Stonington charter review commissioner resigns
Stonington — Charter Revision Commission member Constance Frishman has resigned, charging that the majority of her fellow members are interested only in dismantling the Board of Finance because of its conservative budgeting.
She added that she cannot allow her name “to be attached to a document so injurious to so many taxpayers.”
Frishman’s husband, Glenn, is the current and longtime chairman of the finance board, but she said in her letter of resignation she knew she could be an objective member of the board as it evaluated and recommended potential changes to the charter.
Residents’ displeasure with the finance board led to the creation of the commission. Last spring more than 500 residents packed a public hearing on the proposed budget and urged the finance board to send the spending plan to a referendum vote without any school cuts and let voters decide if they would support the funding. The board refused and cut the proposed budget increase before sending it to referendum.
A group of residents then collected the signatures necessary to force the town to create the commission and look at changing how the finance board is elected.
Currently, unless there is a primary by an unaffiliated voter, the candidates put forth by the two parties run unopposed and are elected to six-year terms.
Since the commission was created, it has focused on its initial charge of addressing Board of Finance issues so proposed changes could appear on the November ballot. Members have so far agreed to transitioning to a four-year term, establishing term limits and changing the way vacancies are filled. The latter two changes would also apply to the Board of Education.
At its Thursday night meeting, the commission was also slated to discuss whether it should look at issues such as increasing the size of the Board of Selectmen, establishing a town manager form of government, creating recall elections and precluding the finance board from making line item reductions in the town budget. Addressing those controversial issues would likely delay a vote until 2016.
In her resignation letter, Frishman wrote she has “looked forward to the opportunity of reviewing the charter and making changes that would have positive effects on the lives of the citizens of our community.”
But she said she found the commission “had a single focused agenda and was disinterested in any other issues other than the Board of Finance.”
She said as she entered her seventh month on the commission, “I have a definite feeling that I am impeding the progress of their mission; and I grow further concerned for the people of the town who are struggling financially.”
“The end result of many of the proposals put forth by this commission will increase taxes, will cause the loss of services, will discourage further business growth and cause people to lose their homes due to unnecessarily high taxes resulting from a lack of checks and balances on municipal spending. Also, reckless spending of monies held in the town’s budget will cause the town to incur greater borrowing costs thereby penalizing every taxpayer when the town has to renovate schools and execute major projects,” she wrote.
Commission chairman Matt Berger said Thursday he was saddened to learn of Frishman’s resignation.
“It was a pleasure working with her. Her departure is a loss for the commission and therefore a loss for the town as well,” Berger said.
j.wojtas@theday.com
Twitter: @joewojtas
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