There shall be a town council consisting of
nine (9) members which shall be the legislative body of the town,
hereinafter referred to as the "council," the members of which shall
serve without compensation except for the reimbursement of actual
expense incurred in the performance of official duties. The council
shall meet at 8:00 o'clock p.m. on the second Tuesday following
its election at which time the members shall be sworn to uphold the
duties of their office by the town clerk. Each council shall continue
in power until its successor has been inducted into office. With the
exception of the first meeting, the council shall fix the time and
place of its regular and special meetings, elect its own president,
who shall hold the title of mayor, and who shall preside over all
meetings of the council, perform such duties with respect to public
emergencies as are imposed on him or her by Chapter III, Section 8,
hereof, and perform such other duties consistent with his or her office
as may be imposed by the council. At said meeting the council shall
further elect its vice-president, who shall hold the title of deputy
mayor and who shall perform the duties of the mayor in his or her
absence.
At the first meeting of the council following
each biennial town election said council shall by resolution fix the
time and place of its regular meetings and provide a method for the
calling of special meetings. It shall by resolution determine its
own rules of procedure. All meetings of the council for the transaction
of business shall be open to the public and the votes shall be recorded
as prescribed by Section 1-21 of the General Statutes, Revision of
1958, as amended. Six (6) members shall constitute a quorum, but no
ordinance, resolution, or vote, except a vote to adjourn or to fix
the time and place of the next meeting, shall be adopted by less than
four affirmative votes. The council shall appoint a council clerk
and may appoint such other staff as it deems necessary or desirable
to assist it in the performance of its duties. 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.
Said journal shall be maintained by the clerk of the council. The
record so kept shall be authenticated for each meeting by the signature
of the president or the clerk, or of both.
All powers of the town, except those specifically
vested elsewhere by this charter, and the determination of all matters
of policy shall be vested in the council. All powers vested in and
all duties imposed upon the board of selectmen or any selectmen by
the constitution and general statutes shall be vested in the council
except as otherwise provided in this charter. The council shall have
the power to enact, amend or repeal ordinances not inconsistent with
this charter or the general statutes of the state to create, by ordinance,
agencies, boards, commissions, departments and offices and to consolidate
or abolish, by ordinance, agencies, boards, commissions, departments
and offices, created by ordinance and to create, consolidate or abolish
by resolution temporary boards and commissions, whose terms shall
expire within the term of the council appointing them. The council
may contract for services and the use of facilities of the United
States or any federal agency, the State of Connecticut or any political
subdivision thereof, or may, by agreement, join with any such political
subdivisions to provide services and facilities. The town council
shall be the zoning authority of the town. Without limitation of the
foregoing, the council shall have the power to regulate and restrict
the height and number of stories of buildings and other structures,
the size of yards and use of buildings for trade, industry, business,
residence and other purposes; act as the constituted zoning authority
of the town in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XII; and
adopt and amend a plan of development for the town, in accordance
with Chapter XIII of this charter. The council is authorized, in adopting
ordinances, to incorporate any nationally recognized code, rules or
regulations or any portions thereof that have been printed in book
form, or any code officially adopted by any administrative agency
of the state or any portion of any such code, rules or regulations,
by reference thereto in such ordinance; provided upon adoption of
any such ordinance wherein any such code, rules or regulations or
portion thereof have been incorporated by reference, there shall be
maintained two copies of such code, rules or regulations in the office
of the town clerk for examination by the public. Said council may
by resolution regulate the internal operation of boards, commissions
and offices which it fills by appointment, and shall fix by ordinance
the compensation of all the officers and employees as hereinafter
provided in this charter. Said council may fix the charges, if any,
to be made for services rendered by the town or for the execution
of powers vested in the town as provided in Chapter I of this charter.
In addition to such acts of the council as are
required by the general statutes or by other provisions of this charter
to be by ordinance, every act creating, altering or abolishing any
agency, board, commission, department or office or authorizing the
borrowing of money to be secured by bonds or notes of the town, establishing
any rule or regulation for the violation of which a penalty is imposed,
or placing any burden upon or limiting the use of private property,
shall be by ordinance.
Every ordinance, except the annual budget ordinance,
a bond ordinance and an ordinance making a general codification of
ordinances, shall be confined to a single subject which shall be clearly
expressed in its title. All ordinances which amend or repeal existing
ordinances shall set forth in full the section or subsection to be
amended or repealed and, if it is to be amended, shall indicate matter
to be omitted from the revised section or subsection by enclosing
the same in brackets and new matter by underscoring. The enacting
clause of all ordinances shall be: "Be it ordained by the town council
of West Hartford." Except for the annual budget ordinance or as provided
in Section 7 of this chapter, or unless a later date is set by the
council, ordinances shall take effect on the tenth day following publication
of final passage.
(a)
Introduction and publication. An ordinance may be
introduced at any regular or special meeting by any member of the
council. Upon introduction a day and hour not earlier than the seventh
nor later than the thirtieth day thereafter shall be set for a hearing,
except for a zoning ordinance or amendment thereto as provided for
in Special Act 562 of the 1957 General Assembly as amended, at which
time the council or a committee thereof shall hold a public hearing
thereon. Such hearing may be at a regular meeting of the council or
at such time and place as the council may order and may be adjourned
from time to time. Except as hereinafter provided, the council shall
publish every ordinance, at least by a title sufficient to indicate
the general intent of the ordinance, no more than fourteen nor less
than seven days prior to the date set for hearing on such ordinance,
as a paid advertisement in a newspaper having general circulation
in the town. Such publication shall include a notice of the time and
place at which the public hearing thereon shall be held, and shall
also state that complete copies of the proposed ordinance are available
in the office of the town clerk for the use of any interested persons.
(b)
Public hearings; opinion of corporation counsel. No
ordinance, except an emergency ordinance as defined in Section 7 of
this chapter, shall be passed prior to the next regular meeting following
its introduction thereon. No ordinance shall be passed by the council
until the written opinion of the corporation counsel as to its form
and legality shall have been received by the council.
(c)
Amendment and republication. If, prior to passage,
any ordinance other than an emergency ordinance, is sought to be amended,
the council shall have the option to accept or reject the amendment
at that meeting, or to reassign the entire matter for public hearing
as an original ordinance. If the amendment is approved and, in the
opinion of the corporation counsel changes the substance or effect
of the ordinance, the proposed ordinance, as amended, shall be republished
and assigned for public hearing, as provided in the case of a newly
introduced ordinance, and shall not be finally passed prior to the
next regular meeting following such amendment and public hearing thereon.
If the amendment is defeated, the ordinance may be finally passed
at the meeting at which the amendment was introduced. If in the opinion
of the corporation counsel such amendment is merely in form and does
not change the substance or effect of the ordinance, the requirements
of republication and delay in passage shall not apply. The provisions
of Section 6 shall not apply to the budget ordinance or the resolution
establishing the tax rate, or amendments to or substitutions of said
ordinance or resolution.
Emergency ordinances for the immediate preservation
of the public peace, health or safety may be introduced and passed
with or without amendment at any regular or special meeting without
public hearing and shall become effective immediately after publication
thereof in full in a newspaper having general circulation in the town.
An emergency ordinance shall contain a specific statement of the emergency,
six affirmative votes shall be required for passage, and it shall
take effect upon passage. Every such emergency ordinance including
any amendments thereto shall stand repealed at the termination of
the ninety-first day following final passage of said ordinance.
Whenever a public emergency exists or threatens
to arise involving lives or property within the town, the mayor may
declare a state of emergency and direct the town manager to mobilize,
organize and direct the forces of the town and to call upon and cooperate
with the forces of the federal government, the state and other political
subdivisions. The town manager may impose and lift curfews, may summon,
marshal, deputize or otherwise employ other persons, or do whatever
he or she may deem necessary for the purpose of meeting the emergency.
The town manager may obligate the town in an amount of money not to
exceed one hundred thousand dollars to cope with such emergency until
the council convenes. The termination of the state of emergency shall
be determined and declared by the mayor.
Every ordinance, except bond ordinances and
the annual budget ordinance, after passage shall be given a serial
number, and recorded by the town clerk in a book kept for that purpose
which shall be properly indexed. All ordinances for the violation
of which a penalty is imposed or which impose any burden on or limit
the use of private property shall be published in their entirety after
final passage. A codification of all ordinances in force, except bond
ordinances, and the annual budget ordinance, eliminating all obsolete
and conflicting provisions shall be passed by the council as a single
ordinance and without prior publication within one year from the effective
date of this charter, provided, after passage it shall be printed
in loose-leaf form, copies of which shall be made available for distribution
within a reasonable time after passage. Copies of all ordinances shall
be printed for distribution as promptly as possible after their passage
in the same loose-leaf form as the codification. A similar recodification
shall be prepared, passed and published as above provided, every ten
years thereafter.
Neither the council nor any of its members shall
direct the appointment of any person to, or his or her removal from,
office by the manager or any of his or her subordinates, or in any
manner take part in the appointment or removal of officers and employees
in the administrative service of the town. Except for the purpose
of inquiry or investigation, the council and its members shall deal
with the administrative service solely through the town manager.
The council shall annually designate an independent
certified public accountant or firm of independent certified public
accountants to audit the books and accounts of the town in accordance
with the provisions of Chapter 111 of the General Statutes, Revision
of 1958, as amended.
