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;
(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;
(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.