[Revised 12-5-2002]
The First Selectman shall be the chief executive
and administrative officer of the Town, and shall spend sufficient
time required to carry out his duties as charged by the General Statutes
and specifically described in Section 7-2 and 7-3 of this Charter.
The First Selectman shall have all the powers,
duties and responsibilities conferred upon that office by law and
which are not inconsistent with this Charter; and in addition, he
shall have such powers as are necessary or incidental to the discharge
of these duties and responsibilities as set forth in this Charter.
The First Selectman shall be a full voting and
participating member of the Board of Selectmen and he shall preside
at meetings of the Board when present.
The First Selectman shall be an ex officio member
of all agencies of the Town, but without the power to vote. He may,
in writing, appoint a Selectman to be his representative.
Under the general policy direction of the Board
of Selectmen, the First Selectman shall:
(a)
Be responsible for the proper performance of the First
Selectman's Office, in connection with which he shall be available,
in person or by telephone, at his office at specified hours during
the normal working day;
(b)
Be responsible for coordinating the administration
of the agencies of the Town, except for those functions expressly
reserved or delegated to those agencies by law;
(c)
Be responsible for making a continuous review of the
current and future needs of the Town, including financial needs and
budget requirements, in connection with which he may require reports
and information to be submitted by any Town agency. He shall keep
the Board of Selectmen fully informed as to the financial condition
of the Town;
(d)
Be responsible for seeing that the Board of Selectmen
are up-to-date on the availability of, and the requirements for, such
federal and/or state funds as the Town may qualify for. He shall make
this information available to the Board of Finance in accordance with
Article IX of this Charter.
(e)
Be responsible for the implementation of proper financial
procedures — such as bidding procedures, record keeping and
accounting methods which the Board of Finance may lawfully and reasonably
prescribe — for the Town agencies over which he has jurisdiction.
(f)
Be responsible for the coordination and guidance of
the Board of Selectmen in the discharge of all the Board's duties
and responsibilities.
(g)
Be responsible for the development of a set of priorities
which shall provide a guide for those things the Town shall attempt
to accomplish during the coming year, and which shall serve as a policy
guide in the development of the Annual Town Budget.
(h)
Be responsible for keeping full and complete records
of the doings of his office. It shall be his duty to make periodic
reports to the Selectmen and the Board of Finance, to recommend to
the Selectmen such motions as he shall deem necessary or expedient;
and to keep or cause to be kept complete books of account showing
the financial transactions and condition of the Town and all other
accounts and records as may be prescribed by the Selectmen, the General
Statutes and the Town Meeting.
(i)
Be directly responsible for the duties which Section
8-8 of this Charter assigns to the Director of Public Works, until
such time as the Town Meeting shall provide for a separate appointment
to this office.
(j)
Be directly responsible for the other duties which
the General Statutes assign to the chief executive in the absence
of such separate municipal appointive officials as police chief or
welfare officer.
(k)
Act as purchasing agent of the Town, subject to such
rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Board of Selectmen
and elsewhere in this Charter.
[Revised 1987]
With the guidance of the Board of Selectmen,
the First Selectman shall act to assemble the preliminary budgets
of the Town agencies in accordance with the manner required by the
Board of Finance, after discussing them with the agency heads.
Said preliminary budget shall be turned over
to the Board of Finance no less than 90 days prior to the Annual Budget
Meeting.
The First Selectman shall be responsible for
seeing that the Board of Selectmen are fully informed as to the final
budget to be presented at the Annual Budget Meeting of the Town.
(a)
In the event that the First Selectman shall find that
a state of emergency exists within the Town, requiring immediate action
to protect the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens,
he may declare that such a state of emergency exists and publish such
declaration by the most effective means available, and take such action
as shall be in the best interest of the Town; provided that the Board
of Selectmen shall meet as soon as possible to ratify such action
and to take such further action as may be required by this Charter.
(b)
A state of emergency shall terminate when so voted
by the Board of Selectmen or declared, in writing, by the First Selectman
or by vote of the Town Meeting.
To assist in the discharge of the duties and
responsibilities, of his office and of the Board of Selectmen, the
First Selectman may assign and delegate duties to Selectmen and to
officers responsible to him, except as to such powers and duties which
may not under the General Statutes be so delegated. Such assignments
and delegation, if permanent, shall be made public knowledge through
posting on the Town bulletin board and shall be made known to any
Town agencies affected.
