There shall be a Town Council consisting of
nine members, herein referred to as the Council. The members shall
serve without compensation except for the reimbursement of expenses
incurred in the performance of official duties. No member of the Council
shall simultaneously hold any other elected municipal office or paid
position of the Town.
A.
At the next regular meeting of the Town Council following
the municipal election, the Town Council members shall elect, by a
majority vote of all Council members, one of their number to serve
as Mayor, who shall preside at Council meetings, and one of their
number to serve as Deputy Mayor, who shall serve in the Mayor's temporary
absence. If both are absent, the Council may designate from its membership
a temporary presiding officer. At this meeting the Council shall fix
the time and place of its regular meetings, which shall be at least
once each month, and shall provide methods for calling special meetings.
If the position of the Mayor is vacated, the Council shall elect a
new Mayor in the same manner as prescribed in this section. The Mayor
shall be recognized as the official head of the Town for all ceremonial
purposes.
B.
The Council shall determine its own rules of procedure.
Five members shall constitute a quorum. All meetings of the Council
for the transaction of business shall be open to the public in accordance
with the Freedom of Information Act.[1] All votes shall be recorded as prescribed by the C.G.S.
C.
The Council shall keep for public inspection a journal
of all its proceedings, including all roll call votes, which shall
be the official record of its proceedings. The journal shall be maintained
by the Town Clerk and shall be authenticated for each meeting by the
signature of the Mayor or other presiding officer and the Town Clerk.
A.
The Council shall be the governing body of the Town.
It shall exercise and perform all the rights, powers, duties and obligations
of the Town except as the same may be assigned by the C.G.S. or this
Charter to some other officer, board, agency or to the Town Meeting.
These powers include, in addition to all other powers, all the powers
and duties now or hereafter conferred or imposed by the general statutes,
special acts or otherwise upon Town Meetings, boards of finance, and
boards of selectmen. The Council shall provide by ordinance the procedure
for administration and fiduciary oversight of the Town finances. The
Council may provide by ordinance for the exercise by the Manager or
some other officer, board or agency of any of the administrative powers
not otherwise assigned by this Charter. The legislative power of the
Town and final authority concerning the tax rate are vested exclusively
in the Council except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
B.
The Council shall have power, subject to the provisions of the C.G.S. and this Charter, to create or abolish departments, offices, agencies and employments; adopt regulations for the operation of departments, agencies and offices; and fix the compensation of officers and employees of the Town, except the employees of the Board of Education, and the charges, if any, to be made for services rendered by the Town. It shall further have power to make, alter and repeal ordinances or resolutions not inconsistent with this Charter and the general statutes of the state for the execution of the powers vested in the Town as provided in Article I of this Charter, for the government of the Town and the management of its business and for the preservation of good order, peace, health, safety and the general welfare of the Town and its inhabitants.
The Town Council shall adopt an ordinance setting
standards of ethical behavior, including conflict of interest standards,
expected from elected officials, appointed officials and public employees
and shall establish mechanisms for the enforcement of ethical standards.
A.
The Town Council shall, by resolution adopted at a
meeting to be held not later than one month after the Town election,
appoint a Town Attorney to serve at the pleasure of the Council. The
term shall commence one month after such election. The Town Attorney
shall be an attorney-at-law admitted to practice in this state.
B.
The Town Attorney shall:
(1)
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;
(2)
Be the legal advisor of the Town Council, the Town
Manager and all Town officers, boards and commissions in all matters
affecting the Town and shall upon written request furnish them with
a written opinion on any question of law involving their respective
powers and duties;
(3)
Prepare, on written request of the Manager, the Council
or any member thereof, ordinances and resolutions for consideration
by the Council.
(4)
Prepare or approve forms of contracts or other instruments
to which the Town is a party or in which it has an interest.
(5)
Have power, with approval of the Council, to appeal
from orders, decisions and judgments and, subject to approval of the
Council, to compromise or settle any claims by or against the Town.
C.
If in special circumstances the Council deems it advisable,
it may provide for the temporary employment of counsel other than
the Town Attorney.
D.
The Town Attorney shall receive such compensation
and shall have such clerical and other assistants, as the Council
may determine, who shall be appointed and removed subject to such
rules and regulations as may be adopted pursuant to this Charter.
The Council shall appoint, oversee and terminate
all boards, commissions and committees except as otherwise provided
by law. Each board, commission or committee will be assigned specific
tasks and responsibilities and shall remain in existence until its
tasks are accomplished or the Council shall assign its duties to another
board, commission or administrative department or shall determine
that it is no longer needed.
All ordinances introduced by a member of the
Council shall be in written form and shall be limited to one subject
which shall be clearly stated in the title. A copy of such proposed
ordinance shall be filed with the Town Clerk. It shall be the duty
of the Town Clerk immediately upon receipt of such proposed ordinance
to prepare at least 15 copies of it, widely distribute it as soon
as possible by ensuring that a copy appears on the Town website, if
available, and that notice of the proposed ordinance and the availability
to the public of copies is placed on the Town's cable TV channel,
if it is available, and on the public signposts. One copy of which
shall be retained in the Town Clerk's office for public inspection,
one copy shall be posted on the Town bulletin board and one copy shall
be distributed to each member of the Council and to the Town Manager.
At least one public hearing shall be held by
the Town Council before any ordinance shall be passed. Notice of the
public hearing shall be given at least five days in advance by wide
distribution, including publication in a newspaper having a circulation
in the Town, and by posting a notice in a public place, on the Town's
website, if available, Town cable TV channel, if available, and the
public sign posts. Every ordinance, after passage, shall be filed
with the Town Clerk and recorded. Within 10 days after final passage,
the ordinance or a summary of the ordinance shall be published once
in a newspaper having a circulation within the Town. Every ordinance,
unless it shall specify a later date, shall become effective on the
twenty-first day after such publication following its final passage
or unless referred to vote pursuant to § C309 of this Charter.
If within 10 days after the publication of the
passage of an ordinance, a petition is filed with the Town Clerk requesting
that the ordinance be submitted to a Town Meeting and if the Clerk
certifies to the Council that such petition has been validly signed
by at least 200 of the qualified voters of the Town as determined
by the revised registry list last completed (Sec. 9-172a, C.G.S.),
then the effective date of the ordinance shall be suspended. The Council
shall call a Town Meeting, to be held not less than 10 nor more than
60 days after the filing of the petition. The Town Meeting may vote
to sustain the action of the Council, vote to nullify the Council's
action or vote to submit the ordinance to a referendum to be held
within 60 days. If the Town Meeting sustains the Council's actions
or fails to act on the Council's proposal, in accordance with this
section, the ordinance shall go into effect upon adjournment of the
meeting. If the Town Meeting votes to nullify the Council's action,
the ordinance is dead unless the Council, at its next meeting, by
a favorable vote of at least six members present, votes to send the
ordinance to a referendum of the voters. A referendum shall be held
within 60 days of this action. If a majority of those voting on the
issue in a referendum vote for the ordinance, it shall go into effect
as soon as the vote is confirmed.
A.
The voters of the Town may propose and adopt ordinances
and resolutions in the manner hereafter described, provided that no
ordinance or resolution so proposed which would involve an increase
in the expenditures of the Town beyond those budgeted for the current
fiscal year shall take effect until after the adoption of the next
annual budget unless the Council, subject to the limitations hereinafter
set forth, shall make a special appropriation for the purpose. The
ordinance or resolution shall be proposed by a petition to the Council
requesting its adoption and setting it forth in full, and shall be
signed by at least 200 of the qualified voters of the Town as determined
by the revised registry list last completed (Sec. 9-172a, C.G.S.).
The petition shall be filed with the Town Clerk who shall within 10
days examine the signatures on the same and determine their sufficiency.
If the Town Clerk finds that the petition has been signed by the required
number of voters, the Town Clerk shall so certify to the Council at
its next regular meeting. The Council shall submit any such proposed
ordinance or resolution to the Town Attorney for examination.
B.
The Town Attorney shall have authority to correct
its form for the purpose of avoiding inconsistencies, repetitions,
obscurities, illegalities and unconstitutional provisions and to assure
accuracy in its text and references and clarity and precision in its
phraseology. The Town Attorney shall not substantively change the
meaning and effect of the petition.
C.
The Council shall call a hearing for the sole purpose
of allowing a discussion of the proposal. Such hearing may advise
the Council of the sense of the Town on the issues raised by the proposal.
Within 60 days after certification by the Town Clerk, the Council
shall either adopt the proposed ordinance or resolution or submit
the same to the voters at a referendum to be held within 90 days from
the date of the Clerk's certification. If a majority of those voting,
such majority consisting of at least 15% of the total number of voters
as determined by the revised registry list last completed (Sec. 9-172a,
C.G.S.), shall vote in the affirmative, the ordinance or resolution
shall go into effect as soon as the vote is confirmed.
A.
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WARNING: ALL SIGNATURES SHALL BE IN INK.
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We, the undersigned voters of the Town of Mansfield, hereby present this petition under the provisions of Article III, §§ C309 and C310 of the Charter of said Town (here insert the words "requesting the repeal of the following ordinance," or the words "initiating the following ordinance") (here insert the text of the ordinance) and we certify that we are voters of the Town of Mansfield residing at the addresses set opposite our names and that we have not signed this petition more than once. (Here follow the signatures and addresses.)
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Signature
Road or Street
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B.
Petitions under § C405 shall be in the following form:
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WARNING: ALL SIGNATURES SHALL BE IN INK.
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We, the undersigned electors of the Town of Mansfield as determined by the revised registry list last completed, hereby present this petition under the provisions of Article IV, § C405 of the Charter of said Town requesting the repeal of the budget adopted on (here insert date of adoption) and that such budget be replaced by a substitute budget, and we certify that we are electors of the Town of Mansfield residing at the addresses set opposite our names and that we have not signed this petition more than once. (Here follow the signatures and addresses.)
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Signature
Road or Street
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A.
The signatures to a petition for initiative or referendum under Article III, §§ C309 and C310 of this Charter need not all be appended to one paper, but to each separate petition page there must be attached an affidavit of the circulator of that paper in substantially the following form:
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Tolland County, State of Connecticut (Here insert
the name and residence address of the circulator of the petition),
being duly sworn, deposes and says that he or she is a voter of the
Town of Mansfield, and that he or she is the circulator of the foregoing
petition page, that the said signatures were made in his or her presence,
that each signer is known to, or satisfactorily identified to the
circulator, and that all signatures were obtained not earlier than
six months prior to the filing of the petition.
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Signed
Subscribed and sworn before me this ____ day
of _____ 19___
Justice of the Peace, Notary Public or Commissioner
of the Superior Court
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B.
The signatures to a petition for initiative or referendum under Article IV, § C405 of this Charter need not all be appended to one paper, but to each separate petition page there must be attached an affidavit of the circulator of that paper in substantially the following form:
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Tolland County, State of Connecticut (Here insert
the name and residence address of the circulator of the petition),
being duly sworn, deposes and says that he or she is an elector of
the Town of Mansfield as determined by the revised registry list last
completed, and that he or she is the circulator of the foregoing petition
page, that the said signatures were made in his or her presence, that
each signer is known to, or satisfactorily identified to the circulator,
and that all signatures were obtained not earlier than six months
prior to the filing of the petition.
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Signed
Subscribed and sworn before me this ____ day
of _____ 19___
Justice of the Peace, Notary Public or Commissioner
of the Superior Court
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The Council shall annually designate an independent
public accountant or firm of independent public accountants to audit
the books and accounts of the Town in accordance with the provisions
of the C.G.S.
A.
Removal of the Town Manager. The Council shall have the power, by resolution adopted by a majority vote of its entire membership, in its sole discretion, with or without cause, to remove or suspend the Manager in accord with the procedures set out in § C501.
B.
Removal of other persons appointed by the Council.
The Council shall have the power, by resolution adopted by a majority
vote of its entire membership, in its sole discretion, and for whatever
cause it shall deem sufficient, to remove or suspend any other person
appointed to any other office or position by the Council. The Council
shall act first by suspending such person and shall promptly serve
such person with a copy of the resolution of suspension, together
with the reasons therefor. If within 10 days after service of said
resolution such person shall file a request in writing with the Town
Clerk for a public hearing before the Council, the hearing requested
shall be held, at a time and place set by the Council, not less than
five days nor more than 15 days after the filing of the request. At
such hearing the person may be represented by counsel. If no hearing
is requested, or at the conclusion of the hearing, the Council shall
promptly by resolution terminate the suspension and either restore
the person to, or remove from office or employment. During the period
of suspension any person shall be ineligible to perform the duties
of the office or employment. Compensation, if any, shall be continued
during the period of suspension or for 30 days from the date of suspension,
whichever is longer. The decision of the Council shall be final.
