Granby Charter Changes Pass, Town Moves To Automatic Budget Referendum

A strong show of support for revisions to Granby's town charter was made at the polls Tuesday.

Granby residents decided to change the town charter on the budget approval process and non-budget change fronts. On Question 1 — relating to all non-budget changes — Granby residents tallied 2,662 "Yes" votes and 1,998 "No" votes. On Question 2 — the decision to change the town budget process to an automatic, all-day, machine-counted referendum — 2,924 residents voted for the change and 1,866 voted against.

The changes on Question 1 included, but weren't limited to:

• Implementing a mechanism allowing for town officials, in specific, severe, narrowly tailored emergencies, to access emergency funding of up to 3 percent of the tax levy (currently about $900,000). The severe storm in October 2011 that prompted the inclusion of this measure would not have triggered the emergency provision included in the charter revision, according to commission chairman Fran Brady.

• Allowing the Planning & Zoning Commission to have two alternates to provide it with flexibility to act in a timely manner.

• Eliminating a section in the charter that prohibits town employees from holding public office. That section is in contravention to state law.

Question 2 asked residents whether or not the town should have an automatic, all-day, machine-counted referendum will replace the current town meeting format for budget approval. That change was approved strongly by Granby residents, with a difference of more than 1,000 votes.