There shall be such appointive Town officials, boards, authorities, agencies and commissions as are continued or created pursuant to the provisions of this Charter or as the Town Council by ordinance may determine are necessary or appropriate for the general welfare of the Town and not inconsistent with or otherwise specifically provided for in this Charter. The phrase "appointed Town officials" includes department heads and professional staff who are permanent employees not covered by a union contract. Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in any such office, the Town Council shall appoint a successor to such office, except department heads and professional staff shall be appointed by the Town Manager, subject to the approval of the Town Council.
All appointed officials shall serve indefinite terms unless specific terms are provided by this Charter or by the ordinance creating such position.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, appointed officials, boards and commissions shall have all the powers and duties prescribed by the General Statutes or by the ordinance creating such office, board or commission.
There shall be a Town Attorney admitted to practice law in this state. The Town Council shall not later than two months after each town election review and appoint the Town Attorney by majority vote. The Town Attorney shall be compensated on either an hourly or fixed salary basis as determined by the Town Council. The Town Attorney shall appear for and protect the rights of the Town in all actions, suits, or proceedings brought by or against it or any of its departments, officers, agencies, boards or commissions. The Town Attorney shall be the legal advisor to all town officers and agencies in all matters affecting the Town and shall, upon written request of the Town Council or Mayor, furnish them with a written opinion on any question of law involving their respective powers and duties.
The Town Manager may appoint special counsel whenever the Town Attorney indicates an inability to act due to conflict of interest, insufficient expertise in a subject area, insufficient resources or other causes.
At any time, the Town Manager, upon majority vote of the Town Council, may request another legal opinion from counsel other than the Town Attorney on issues which may be in dispute. The Town Attorney's opinion shall stand, unless changed by the Town Attorney upon receipt and review of such opinion.
Upon request, the Town Attorney shall prepare or approve forms of contracts or other instruments to which the Town is a party or in which it has an interest. The Town Attorney shall have the power, with the approval of the Town Council, to compromise and settle any claims by or against the Town and to appeal from orders, decisions and judgments.
Special counsel may be retained by the Board of Education, Water Pollution Control Authority, Water Commission, Taxing Districts, and the Housing Authority, without the approval of the Town Council.
There shall be a Fire Marshal appointed by the Town Manager.
There shall be a Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA), which shall be the water pollution control authority of the Town and shall have all the powers of such an authority as provided by the General Statutes and the other administrative agencies of said State, which have powers to regulate such authorities, except as otherwise provided herein.
(a) 
The Water Pollution Control Authority shall consist of five (5) members with overlapping terms of six years. The Town Council will appoint all members. All members must be residents of the Town of Windham. A quorum of this authority shall be set as three (3) members in attendance.
(b) 
The plant superintendent will serve as an ex officio member without vote of the Water Pollution Control Authority.
(c) 
Meetings shall be scheduled monthly. Additional meetings may be called as needed.
(d) 
The Town of Windham shall hold the NPDES plant permit. The Town Manager, as the chief executive officer of the Town, is responsible for oversight of the WPCA.
(e) 
The WPCA may recommend the creation or abolition of all positions for said plant operations and be responsible for determining necessary skill levels.
(f) 
The WPCA shall have the authority to retain legal counsel for all non-court actions at the expense of the WPCA. Said Counsel shall have the right to negotiate settlements prior to any court filing or hearing. The Town Attorney shall represent the WPCA in all legal court actions brought against the WPCA unless the Town Council authorizes special counsel to be responsible for such litigation.
(g) 
The WPCA shall have the right to negotiate for legal, financial, and other services as required.
(h) 
The WPCA shall have the power to incur and approve expenditures and to revise budget line items during the fiscal year.
(i) 
Additional responsibilities of the WPCA shall include but not be limited to rate setting, hiring of outside contractors and/or consultants including financial and legal; development of plant budget; review of expenses; review of plant operations; advising the Town Manager's Office of any violations or complaints.
(j) 
Wages, salaries and benefits of all WPCA union and non-union workers shall be determined by the Town Manager and Town Council in concurrence with the WPCA.
(k) 
The WPCA shall report semi annually regarding the status of its operations to the Town Council.
There shall be a Water Commission which shall have such powers in connection with the use and operation of the waterworks system as are provided in Chapter 102 of the General Statutes and Chapter XII of this Charter. The Water Commission shall also continue to have all powers and authority formerly held and exercised by the water authorities of the former borough and City of Willimantic. Twice each calendar year the Water Commission shall formally report to the Mayor and Town Council, and shall at all times act in an advisory capacity to said public officials. The Water Commission shall consist of seven (7) members who shall serve overlapping six-year terms.
There shall be a Planning and Zoning Commission which shall have all the powers and duties of a planning and zoning commission as provided by the General Statutes. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall consist of five (5) members and three (3) alternates who shall serve overlapping four-year terms.
The Town Council may appoint such number of Constables, if any, as the Town Council shall designate pursuant to Section 9-185 of the General Statutes, as amended.
There shall be an Ethics Commission which shall have all the powers and duties of an ethics commission as provided in the General Statutes. At least a majority of the five (5) members of the Ethics Commission shall be electors of the Town who shall serve overlapping three-year terms, but as many as two members may be nonresident electors if it is deemed by the Council to be in the best interests of the Town of Windham.
The following appointive authorities, agencies, commissions and boards of the Town of Windham shall continue until they are abolished or changed by ordinance adopted by the Town Council:
(1) 
Traffic Authority and Parking Authority;
(2) 
Housing Authority;
(3) 
Municipal Pension Commission;
(4) 
Library Board of Directors;
(5) 
Building Code Board of Appeals;
(6) 
Economic Development Commission;
(7) 
Conservation, Open Space and Agriculture Commission;
(8) 
Committee on Aging; and
(9) 
Inland Wetlands Commission.
No person shall be eligible for appointment to any regular Town board or commission who is not at the time of appointment a resident elector of said Town and any person ceasing to be a resident elector of said Town shall thereupon cease to hold appointive office in the Town. A nonresident may however be appointed to serve on the Ethics Commission as set forth in Chapter VII-9, above, the Economic Development Commission, the Traffic Authority, or on any special or temporary board or commission or committee of the Town.
A Municipal Electric Utility with authority to purchase, generate and/or transmit electricity may be established by the Town Council. The Utility, an enterprise fund, similar to the water and sewer utilities of the Town of Windham addressed in Chapter X-10 of this Charter, shall be governed by an Electric Utility Commission (EUC) of five members appointed by the Town Council. The Utility shall have all powers granted to similar authorities by the General Statutes and administrative agencies of the State with authority to regulate such a utility entity, except as otherwise provided by ordinance.
The Electric Utility Commission shall have the authority to negotiate the provision of legal, financial and other services as required. The EUC shall have the power to incur and approve expenditures and to revise budget line items during each fiscal year. Additional authority of the EUC shall include, but not be limited to rate setting, procuring the services of contractors and consultants, development of budgets, review and control of expenses, and review and control of utility operations, as provided by ordinance or other determination of the Town Council.
All resignations of appointed officials shall be made in writing to the Town Clerk. The Town Clerk shall notify the Mayor, Town Council and the chairperson of the board or commission from which the appointed official has resigned.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, any appointed official or appointive member of a board or commission may be removed during a term of office on the recommendation of the Town Manager, by the Town Council, but only for good cause related to performance of official duty. Such person shall first be notified by registered mail of the intent to remove. Said official or board or commission member or employee shall, upon written request to the Town Manager within fifteen (15) days from the date of receipt of the removal notice, be immediately given notice in writing of the specific grounds of removal. Thereafter, if requested in writing submitted to the Town Council within five (5) days from the receipt of such specific grounds, said official, board member or employee shall be given written notice from the Town Council setting forth the time and place of an opportunity to present a defense, personally or by counsel, at a public or private hearing before the Town Council, to be held not less than five (5) nor more than twenty (20) days, after receipt of such request for hearing. Following any hearing, the Town Council shall make a final determination whether or not to remove such official, member or employee.
All appointed officials, boards, commissions and other bodies shall report to the Town Manager and the Town Council and act in an advisory capacity to them, in addition to other duties and responsibilities specified in this Charter.