Charter panel hears push to expand first selectman's power
Other Committee · Meeting of January 12, 2026
New Canaan charter panel hears call to strengthen first selectman's power. Former First Selectman Kevin Monahan told the Charter Review Commission Monday that police and fire chiefs should report to the first selectman, as in Greenwich and Westport, and that the Board of Selectmen, not the Board of Finance, should oversee traffic decisions and the town's sewer authority. Monahan, who served six years as first selectman, also urged making the town clerk and treasurer appointed rather than elected and eliminating the charter's only term limits, which apply to the audit committee, calling them "a mistake." Separately, the town's assessor and tax collector told commissioners the elderly tax relief program has shrunk to about 29 qualified applicants from roughly 163 when it began, and recommended the Board of Assessment Appeals add an alternate member after recusals once left only one member able to vote.
In the full story:
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Source: the Other Committee meeting of January 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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