The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-03-27
COMMISSION ON
CHARTER OFFERS
TENTATIVE PLAN
Mayor to Head Department
Of Affairs and Welfare
Under New Schedule.
CIVIL SERVICE IS
PROMINENT FEATURE
Investigators Find Town
Clerk and Selectmen Of
fees Can't Be Abolished,

Government of the city by five COM
missioners is provided in the rough
draft of the proposed Commission
Form of Government charter, which
/ has been prepared by the special COM
rn1ttee appointed for that purpose. The
| draft, as it stands, is only tentative
| plan and is subject to change and mod
| ihcatfon before it is submitted to the
mayor for adoption by popular vote.
| At present the committee finds that
because of the special provision in the
! constitution of the state the town
clerks office cannot be abolished nor
can the five seIectmen or the 27 JUS
! t1ces of the peace be done away with
4 under any charter changes.
The five commissioners proposed by
| the charter draft now prepared are to
| head departments of affairs and eff
cheney, works, finance, welfare and
safety. 1t is proposed that the mayor
| head the department of affairs and
| welfare. He is supposed to be the Of
fetal head of the city and direct af-
fairs. Civil service, which the COM
| mission considered vitality necessary to
proper conduct of commission form of
| government will be under the direct
| charge of the mayor. Out side of this
| he would be the direct Representative
| of the city in all matters dealt Z with
the state or national government and
[ in affairs not especially provided for
| by charter.
The department of works would en-
brace the paving and sewer commis-f
| sion, superintendent of streets. director
of public works, harbor master, city
engineers department and oyster com
mission
In the welfare department would
be the board of education, charities
board, park board, library board,
city planning commission, vice COM
other commissions and boards of like
nature.
The finance commissioner, it is cal
cGlated, Will have charge of the de-
paTtments now conducted by the tax
collector, assessors, city treasurer,
sinking fund, board of contract and
supply, board of appraisal, police and
firemen's pension fund, sealer of
weights and measures, board of relief
and possibly the city auditors office. |
The safety commissioner will have |
charge of the police and fire depart |
ments, health department, health Of
ficer, meat and milk inspection, city |
sheriffs, building, commissioners and
inspectors, licenses and city attorney.
Just what departments the office |
of the city clerk, the registrars of |
voters shall be placed in has not |
been decided. Some Of the commit |
tee faNors placing them under the de-
partment that the mayor will head.
A plan to have the office of city |
auditor retained and to have the in
cumbent chosen by a committee OF
national bank presidents who shan
have ex-officio supervision Of city n
nAnces as is now carried out in
some commission governed cities, has
been discussed.
There is also under discussion
plan to have the board of education
kept intact though reduced in per-
scnnel to five members. The mem
bers of the charter commission have
invited the school board to joint
meeting to discuss the matter put
as yet the school board has set no
date for the meeting.
No provision is made either to con-
tinue or abolish the board OF appor-
tionment and taxation. The common
council of course is abolished NO
provision has yet been considered as
to how the commissioners are to be
elected or what their tenure of offIce
Under the present system of gov
eminent there are 70 officials vino are
elected by direct vote of the people
and 90 who are appointed. Outside of
the five commissioners who will be
elected the town clerk, five selectmen
and 81 justices, the commission char
ter proposed that attaches OF all otner
officers shall be selected by civil
service. This means that their terms
of office will be during efficiency or
good behavior.
Attorney Clarence R. Hall, secre-
tarv of the charter committee, said
today that all good commission gov
ernment. charters have civil service,
the Initiative the referendum and the ;
recall. He believes these features
sh ould be ennbodies in the charter
to be adopted here. Attorney Han :
also said the better commission form !
of voting provided for recognition of
proportional voting, whereby there
was minority representation as we'll
as majority in the government
Besides the features above Attorney
Hall said commission form of govern a
ment would provide a chance for the {
electors to know the men they were S
voting for not possible under the
present system of voting with nu- v
merous candidates on one ticket. He t
said the public will have advance in
formation on all public questions be- /
fore voting, financial statements each g
month and much information about S
city affairs which is not disclosed un- f
ed the present system.
The draft of the charter is at At i
torney Halls office and open for in 1T
spection. The committee will well
come any suggestions for changes
that may be made to advantage. The
m ennbers of the committee are John
S. Pullman, Hamilton s. Shelton, G->y c
P. Miller, Lucien T. Warner and 7
Clarence D. S. Miller. f
Clerk Hall expects to go to New f
York city this week to confer with g
c. J. Hoag of the Bureau of Municipal S
Research who is an authority on pro- Z
portfonal voting and who will prob I
ably come to this city later to address v
a public meeting on the matter of {
commission government. 6