Westport Representative Town Meeting Celebrates 75th Anniversary

WESTPORT, CT — Westport's nonpartisan legislative body, the Westport Representative Town Meeting, is scheduled to celebrate its 75th Anniversary at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Westport Town Hall, according to officials.

The RTM consists of 36 elected members: 4 members from each of Westport's 9 RTM districts, and it is responsible for the following:

• Adopting the annual Town and Education budgets.
• Approving Town Appropriations over $20,000.
• Enacting ordinances of the Town.
• Reviewing certain appropriations, bonds, leases, sales and purchases of Town property.
• Reviewing certain changes to zoning regulations (text amendments), changes to zoning boundaries, and negative 8-24 reports (regarding certain purchases, sales, leases and uses of Town property).
• Reviewing certain changes to regulations concerning the use of Town recreation and other public facilities.
• Reviewing negotiated and arbitrated labor agreements with Town and Board of Education employees.

It meets once per month, typically on the first Tuesday of the month, and has subcommittees that meet throughout the month.

From its history:

From 1835 to 1949 Westport was governed in the traditional New England town meeting method. On February 26, 1949, in order to form a more representative government for our growing town, Westport electors voted to change to a Representative Town Meeting. 124 Westporters ran for the 26 seats on the first RTM, which held its first meeting on November 21 of that year. There are 6 other towns in Connecticut that use the RTM form of Government.

Tuesday's celebration is open to the public, and will be followed by a regular RTM meeting in the Town Hall Auditorium beginning at 7:30 p.m.