Council Tables Charter Revision Deadline Request

Town Council · Meeting of August 10, 2026

Bloomfield Town Council tabled a request to extend the Charter Revision Commission's report deadline. Deputy Mayor Cindi Lloyd moved to table the item after Councilors Joseph Merritt, Suzette DeBeatham-Brown and Shamar Mahon said they could not support an extension without answers on why a 2025 charter ballot question never reached voters and what the process has cost in legal fees, cited as roughly $100,000. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote with no new deadline set.

Resident Gail Riley told the council, "I want the truth as to why it never made it to a townwide vote." Separately, the town's Finance Director told Mahon he would not commit to sharing all state regulator correspondence with the full council, saying "I did not copy the other seven intentionally." The council also heard that fiscal year 2025's audit is expected to file in mid-October and that tax payments by credit card began at town hall this week.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,666 words

Source: the Town Council meeting of August 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

The Full Article

Citizens' Statements: Food Access and Charter Revision Frustration

Background and stakes: Bloomfield's public comment period has become a recurring venue for two long-running concerns: the adequacy of local food assistance and the stalled charter revision process. Neither is new, but both resurfaced with specific numbers and pointed questions Monday night.

The question before the body: whether, and how, the council will respond to residents' demands for both better food-voucher mechanics and a public accounting of why a 2025 charter ballot question never reached voters.

Substantive content: Resident Robert Berman opened citizens' statements by challenging the accuracy of the prior meeting's minutes, saying a resolution tied to the fiscal 2027 appropriation for Bloomfield Access/BATV and the Chamber of Commerce was never read into the record or included in materials, and asked the clerk to correct the minutes. He then turned to food insecurity, telling the council that the town's food bank and food-share programs now serve more than 400 families a month, up from 220 five years ago, and said he had never heard a councilor publicly commit to supporting the food bank. Kay Sherman, speaking on behalf of seniors who use the farmers' market voucher program, said the $40 seasonal card allotment is exhausted within two weeks and asked the council to consider an alternative distribution mechanism, possibly through a social-services agency rather than the farmers' market itself. On the charter, Gail Riley said she had engaged in a public Facebook exchange with Councilor Todd Cooper over the charter revision timeline, now pushed to a possible 2028 completion, and said the council-approved 2025 ballot question "never made it on the ballot" despite being posted on the town website. Dr. James Biffer, speaking without having planned to, told the council that under its own revised committee-appointment procedures, the prior Charter Revision Commission legally dissolved when it missed its May 11 reporting deadline, meaning the council cannot simply reappoint the same five members without running new applicants through the Committee on Committees.

The deliberation: Riley directly challenged Cooper's public comments defending the council's recent handling of the charter process, writing that "let's be real" about why nothing happened for years. Biffer reinforced the process argument with the charter's constitutional framing: "It is the people's document... It is not your document. It is not the staff's document. It's not the TM's document."

"It is the people's document, the powers and authorities we are willing to grant to our elected bodies." [00:24:57] — Dr. James Biffer, resident, public comment

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was taken during citizens' statements; the charter concerns carried directly into the new-business item discussed below. Separately, Shelby Young, owner of Cottage Grove Business Park, invited the council to additional community focus groups on August 18, run with consultants from HeadCo and co-sponsored by Advocacy to Legacy, and Erin Berenger reported that a "Dunk Your Local Leaders" fundraiser raised $1,000 for Interval House and $1,000 for Bloomfield teachers, with help from Leisure Services staff Dave Malesko and Matt Mase and donations including $350 and $600 from Makerspace Connecticut. Library Director Elizabeth Lane told the council the McMahon-Wittenberry library remains open during exterior construction and that its annual report is now posted online.

Implications and what is next: The food-voucher concerns were picked up later in council comments, where Deputy Mayor Cindi Lloyd and Mayor Anthony Harrington committed to working with Leisure Services and Social Services to refine the voucher process, with no firm date set. The charter concerns fed directly into the evening's single formal vote.

New Business: Charter Revision Commission Deadline Extension (Item 2026-2703)

Background and stakes: The Charter Revision Commission, reinstated last year, was required by state statute to file its draft report by May 11, 2026. It did not. A councilor moved to extend that submission deadline, teeing up the only contested vote of the night.

The question before the body: whether to grant the commission more time to finish its report, pushing the overall charter revision timeline out further.

Substantive content: Councilor Joseph Merritt said he could not support extending the deadline without understanding whether the council's 2025 ballot question failed to reach voters because of a town clerk transition or something more deliberate. Councilor Suzette DeBeatham-Brown, invoking her right under parliamentary procedure to introduce background information, said she attended most of the original commission's deliberations and that the council, not the commission she served on, had produced the ballot question that ultimately never appeared on the ballot. She said reappointing the same members without the new committee-appointment process the council itself adopted would amount to "regurgitating what was done before" and called the current charge "a little self-serving." Councilor Shamar Mahon said he had also pushed, before the process began, for a longer original timeline, and said residents "deserve the opportunity to vote on this charter." He asked Mayor Harrington to direct Town Manager Schwab to provide written answers on two specific points: why the ballot question failed to reach voters, and the total cost of the charter revision process, noting the town attorney's budget had already been increased by roughly $100,000 for the effort.

The deliberation: Deputy Mayor Lloyd, who chairs the Finance, Budget, Audit and Bonding subcommittee, said she agreed the cost question was legitimate and had not yet been fully answered, but said many of the other questions raised had already been addressed. She then moved to table the item rather than vote it up or down.

"I make a motion to table." [00:48:17] — Deputy Mayor Cindi Lloyd

A second councilor seconded the motion, and the council approved it on a voice vote with no audible dissent.

Procedural steps and outcome: Motion: to table item 2026-2703, the request to extend the Charter Revision Commission's draft report submission deadline. Moved by Deputy Mayor Lloyd, seconded, approved unanimously by voice vote. No new submission deadline or meeting date was set; the council indicated it would revisit the item after receiving the town manager's written response on cost and on the 2025 ballot failure.

Implications and what is next: The charter revision process, already delayed from an original target, now has no confirmed deadline at all. Residents who want to vote on charter changes have no scheduled date for that question to return to a ballot.

Council Subcommittee Reports

Background and stakes: Six council subcommittees deliver monthly updates; this month's reports ranged from a $4 million parks project to a stalled education subcommittee meeting and a large, imprecisely sourced economic-development figure.

The question before the body: an informational review, not a vote, of subcommittee progress across governance and economic development, finance, public safety, and education.

Substantive content: For governance, policy and economic development, the subcommittee chair reported that Director Dave Malesko's office has largely completed design work on the $4 million Rockwell Park project and anticipates issuing requests for proposals around October, with another $8 million to $11 million in funding still needed to complete all phases. Director John Coleman reported continued leasing progress at a Cottage Grove Road facility that will house four businesses including People's Bank and Sherwin-Williams, continued compliance work at an unnamed Apple's Avenue property under a new compliance officer, and ongoing difficulty resolving conditions at a Popeye's location, which Coleman attributed in part to the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC). On the larger town-center redevelopment, the subcommittee chair said the town is using state Community Investment Fund money to try to unlock more than $85 million in private development, estimating 70,000 square feet of new or improved commercial space, 20 to 25 businesses up from fewer than 15 today, 115 permanent jobs, and 195 to 260 new residential units including roughly 30,000 square feet of affordable housing. The RFP for developers is expected to close in September.

The deliberation: Councilor Mahon pressed repeatedly on where the $85 million figure came from. The subcommittee chair acknowledged "I don't think any of it is concrete," attributing the estimate to a combination of figures from Coleman and a consultant referred to as Goldman and York, and said the actual infrastructure cost needed to attract that private investment is anticipated at roughly $100 million.

"So how did, once again, how did we come up with the $85 million?" [00:32:07] — Councilor Shamar Mahon

For finance, budget, audit and bonding, Deputy Mayor Lloyd reported no meeting occurred last month; the subcommittee reconvenes August 17 at 6 p.m. For public health, safety and environment, Councilor Todd Cooper reported a presentation from Police Captain Zachary Klonberg, who introduced a new police dog named Luna and discussed CPR training availability for town staff, plus routine fire and EMS updates and a conservation presentation on recycling and single-use plastics from presenters identified as Paula Jones and Brad Huskinson. A monthly update on the Maple Avenue traffic project did not occur and was pushed to the next meeting. For education, workforce, youth development and community services, Councilor Michael Oliver said the subcommittee's August meeting was canceled due to Tuesday's election and would likely move to August 20. For Committee on Committees, Councilor DeBeatham-Brown, filling in for Councilor Darrell Goodwin, said interviews continue, with roughly 20 additional candidates scheduled for interviews Thursday, and a slate of appointees expected at the next council meeting.

Procedural steps and outcome: No votes were associated with subcommittee reports; all were informational.

Implications and what is next: The Rockwell Park RFP process and the Cottage Grove/CIF development RFP, closing in September, are the two concrete near-term dates to watch; the $85 million versus $100 million discrepancy on the town-center project remains unresolved publicly.

Town Manager's Report and Audit Update

Background and stakes: Bloomfield has run behind on required state audit filings for several years; the finance director's update aimed to show the town catching up.

The question before the body: an informational report on audit status and a new payment option at the tax collector's office.

Substantive content: The Finance Director, presenting in place of Town Manager Schwab, reported the town uploaded its trial balance to external auditor CLA in mid-July along with roughly 81 of an expected 102 supporting documents, with the remainder due in the coming weeks. The fiscal year 2025 audit is expected to be filed in mid-October; the fiscal year 2026 audit, benefiting from a now-workable timeline closer to the state's December 31 statutory deadline, is projected to file in March 2027, which the director said would be the town's most timely filing since 2020. Starting the day after the meeting, the tax collector's office began accepting credit card and tap payments at its window for the first time.

The deliberation: Councilor Mahon then raised an unrelated email from the state Office of Policy and Management (OPM) concerning the delinquent fiscal year 2025 audit, saying it had gone unanswered and asking the Finance Director to commit to sharing such communications with the full council, not only the mayor and deputy mayor. The director refused, saying the response had in fact been sent to OPM with the mayor and deputy mayor copied because the deputy mayor chairs the council's finance subcommittee, and that he had intentionally not copied the other seven councilors.

"I did not copy the other seven intentionally." [00:55:35] — Finance Director

Mahon argued the council cannot make sound fiscal decisions "if we are not in the loop," while the director maintained the mayor speaks for the council as a body. Mayor Harrington declined to engage further in the moment, saying "I'm not looking for a debate or a response."

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was taken; the disagreement over communication protocol was left unresolved, with Councilor DeBeatham-Brown later redirecting the matter to the town manager as the council's "one employee."

Implications and what is next: The dispute over which councilors receive state regulator correspondence remains open and could resurface as the fiscal year 2025 and 2026 audits proceed toward their October 2026 and March 2027 filing targets.

Council Comments: Apology, Executive Session Request, and Conduct Concerns

Background and stakes: Council comments turned personal when DeBeatham-Brown raised a State Elections Enforcement Commission inquiry into Mahon's residency and a separate incident involving former Councilor Curtin.

The question before the body: not a formal agenda item, but members used comments to address council conduct and relationship-building directly.

Substantive content: DeBeatham-Brown said she had seen reports about an elections-commission inquiry into whether Mahon actually lives in Bloomfield, noting his grandmother, mother and sister had been interviewed, and apologized publicly to Mahon and to former Councilor Curtin over "an incident that happened a while ago" placed on a prior agenda. She asked for a council executive session to address member conduct and said the council still needs to set annual goals for the town manager.

"So I want to personally apologize to councillor Mahan and former councillor Curtin." [01:02:07] — Councilor Suzette DeBeatham-Brown

Mahon thanked her for the apology, saying the inquiry had been "taxing" on his family and that a staff member had separately confronted him in person over his residency. Councilor Merritt suggested that when the town manager answers one councilor's question, the answer should go to all councilors, "so all council needs to be informed." Deputy Mayor Lloyd said a food-voucher process already exists through Leisure Services and that she has asked staff to refine it rather than build a new one from scratch, and urged councilors to communicate directly with each other rather than through public social-media exchanges.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote; DeBeatham-Brown's request for an executive session on conduct was not scheduled during the meeting.

Implications and what is next: Whether the council holds the requested executive session, and whether it sets town manager performance goals before year's end, remain open questions without a stated date.

WHO WAS THERE

Mayor Anthony Harrington, presiding. Deputy Mayor Cindi Lloyd, chair of Finance, Budget, Audit and Bonding subcommittee. Councilor Todd Cooper, chair of Public Health, Safety and Environment subcommittee. Councilor Suzette DeBeatham-Brown, reporting for Committee on Committees. Councilor Shamar Mahon. Councilor Michael Oliver, chair of Education, Workforce, Youth Development and Community Services subcommittee. Councilor Joseph Merritt. Absent: Councilor Elizabeth Waterhouse; Councilor Darrell Goodwin.

Staff present or reporting: Finance Director (name not stated in available sources), presenting in place of Town Manager Schwab, who was on leave; Director John Coleman, economic development projects; Dave Malesko, Leisure Services, Rockwell Park update; Captain Zachary Klonberg, Police Department; presenters identified as Paula Jones and Brad Huskinson on conservation/recycling topics; Library Director Elizabeth Lane.

Public commenters: Robert Berman, resident (address given as "A. Hiram Lane" in the transcript); Kay Sherman, 1252 Blue Hills Avenue, speaking on behalf of senior farmers'-market voucher recipients; Gail Riley, 8 Maple Avenue; Shelby Young, 31 Alexander Road, owner of Cottage Grove Business Park; Erin Berenger, 28 Kenmore Road, organizer of the "Dunk Your Local Leaders" fundraiser; Dr. James Biffer, 17 Terry Plains Road.

Outside parties referenced: HeadCo, community-engagement consultant running town focus groups; Advocacy to Legacy, co-sponsor of focus-group notices; Makerspace Connecticut, donor and workforce-development program partner; CLA, the town's external auditor; a consulting entity referred to as Goldman and York, cited on the $85 million development estimate.

ORGANIZATIONS AND DOCUMENTS REFERENCED

Charter Revision Commission — the commission whose draft-report submission deadline was the subject of the tabled new-business motion. State Office of Policy and Management (OPM) — Connecticut agency that emailed the town regarding the delinquent fiscal year 2025 audit, cited in the Mahon/Finance Director exchange. CLA — external audit firm completing the town's fiscal year 2025 and 2026 audits. Community Investment Fund (referred to in the meeting as "CIF") — state funding program cited as the mechanism for unlocking more than $85 million in private town-center development. State Elections Enforcement Commission — referenced by DeBeatham-Brown regarding an inquiry into Councilor Mahon's residency. West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District — cited regarding a proposed blight ordinance and routine vaccination/health services updates. Item 2026-2703 — the new-business agenda item requesting an extension of the Charter Revision Commission's draft report deadline, tabled by the council.