[(4)(16)(18)(19)]
There shall be the following administrative offices and departments
for the Town: Town Treasurer, Town Clerk, Tax Collector, Assessor,
Building Official, Canine Control Officer, Constables, Controller,
Director of Emergency Management, Fire Department, Fire Marshals,
Health Department, Public Services Department, Social Services Department,
Town Attorney and Tree Warden.
The Board of Selectpersons may recommend to the Town Meeting, pursuant to provisions of Section 3-13 of this Charter, the creation of such additional administrative offices and departments as it from time to time may deem appropriate and necessary to the best interest of the Town.
Except as otherwise set forth in this Charter, mandated by State law, or provided by contract, administrative officers and department heads shall be appointed or hired, as applicable, in the manner as provided and shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. Appointees of the First Selectperson shall be appointed and may be removed in accordance with provisions of Section 8-4 of this Charter. Except as provided in this Charter or by vote of the Town Meeting, no administrative officer or department head shall serve as a voting member on any regular Town board during the term of office, and any such officer or department head elected to public office in the Town shall, upon such election, forfeit the position to which the appointment had been made.
Any vacancy in an appointive or hired office, from whatever
cause arising, shall be filled by the appointing authority to such
office. Persons appointed or hired, as applicable, to fill vacancies
in said administrative offices shall serve for the unexpired term
vacated if such office has a fixed term, or shall serve at the pleasure
of the appointing authority in the event no fixed term is provided
for such office.
A Town Treasurer shall be hired as a Town employee with the
approval of the Board of Selectpersons, after concurrence by the Board
of Finance. The Town Treasurer shall be qualified by training and/or
experience in public or private finance or accounting.
The Town Treasurer shall exercise the functions of the agent
of public funds, including the management of the Town’s cash
assets and non-pension investments, and shall have such other powers
and duties as prescribed by Town ordinance and the General Statutes.
The Town Treasurer shall recommend to the Board of Selectpersons the
appointment of a Deputy Town Treasurer who shall, in the temporary
absence or incapacity of the Town Treasurer, be authorized to perform
all of the duties of the Town Treasurer.
A Town Clerk shall be hired as a Town employee with the approval
of the Board of Selectpersons. The Town Clerk shall be qualified by
training and/or experience in the management of public records and
related public record-keeping.
The Town Clerk shall be responsible for all municipal public
record-keeping and for the operation of the Town Clerk’s office.
The Town Clerk shall have such other powers and duties as prescribed
by Town ordinance and the General Statutes.
A Tax Collector shall be hired as a Town employee with the approval
of the Board of Selectpersons, after concurrence by the Board of Finance.
The Tax Collector shall be qualified by training and/or experience
in public or private financial management or accounting.
The Tax Collector shall be responsible for all tax collection
matters and for the operation of the Tax Collector’s office.
The Tax Collector shall have such other powers and duties as prescribed
by Town ordinance and the General Statutes.
An Assessor shall be appointed by the First Selectperson with
the approval of the Board of Selectpersons.
The Assessor shall be qualified by training and experience,
and shall have been certified as a qualified tax assessor by the State
of Connecticut.
A Building Official shall be appointed by the First Selectperson
with the approval of the Board of Selectpersons.
The Building Official shall be qualified in accordance with
the State Building Code and the General Statutes.
A Canine Control Officer shall be appointed by the Chief of
Police in accordance with guidelines established by the Board of Police
Commissioners.
The Canine Control Officer shall have the duties and powers
prescribed by law.
The First Selectperson, with the approval of the Board of Selectpersons,
may appoint and may remove or replace the Constables, whose total
number shall not exceed seven. No more than three-quarters of the
Constables shall be from any one political party. The terms of office
of such Constables shall begin on the second Tuesday of December following
the regular Town election.
A Controller shall be appointed by the First Selectperson, with
the approval of the Board of Selectpersons.
The Controller shall be qualified by training and experience
in public or private finance. The Controller shall submit a monthly
financial statement showing the amount of each appropriation and any
transfers, encumbrances and expenditures therefrom to the Board of
Selectpersons and the Board of Finance, and shall have such other
powers and duties as prescribed by Town ordinance.
The First Selectperson, with the approval of the Board of Selectpersons,
shall appoint a Director of Emergency Management, subject to the provisions
of the General Statutes, Title 28.
The Fire Department shall be responsible for the protection
of life and property from fire and for the enforcement of all laws,
ordinances and regulations relating to fire prevention and fire safety.
There shall be a Chief of the Department who shall be appointed by
the Board of Selectpersons. The Board of Selectpersons shall establish
such rules and regulations, and appoint other officers as may be necessary
for the operation of the Department and shall act as the Fire Commission.
The Board of Selectpersons shall appoint a Fire Marshal and
such deputy Fire Marshals as may be necessary, who shall be certified
by the State Fire Marshal as being qualified for the duties of this
office, in accordance with Section 29-298 of the General Statutes.
The Fire Marshal shall have the powers and duties prescribed by law.
The First Selectperson, with the approval of the Board of Selectpersons,
shall appoint in accordance with the provisions of Section 19a-200
of the General Statutes, as amended, a Director of Health. The Director
of Health shall meet the qualifications of the State Public Health
Council, and shall have all the powers and duties of that office imposed
and conferred by law.
Upon the recommendation of the Director of Health, the First
Selectperson, with the approval of the Board of Selectpersons, shall
appoint a Sanitarian.
The First Selectperson with the approval of the Board of Selectpersons
shall appoint a Director of the Public Services Department who shall
be responsible for the Highway Department, the solid waste operation,
and the maintenance of all Town equipment and Town buildings as assigned.
The Director of Public Services shall appoint and may remove
all deputies, assistants or employees in the Department, and in so
doing shall be subject to such rules and regulations concerning Town
employees as may be adopted by the Board of Selectpersons.
The First Selectperson, with the approval of the Board of Selectpersons,
shall appoint a Director of Social Services, who shall have such powers
and duties as prescribed by law.
The First Selectperson, with the approval of the Board of Selectpersons,
shall appoint a Town Attorney or firm of attorneys to represent the
Town. Said Town Attorney shall be an experienced attorney-at-law admitted
to practice law in this state.
The Town Attorney shall furnish such legal services to the Town,
its officers and Town agencies as the Board of Selectpersons may authorize,
and shall be the legal advisor to such Town officers or Town agencies
in all matters affecting the Town, and shall, upon written request,
provide a written opinion on any question of law within a reasonable
period of time. The Board of Selectpersons may provide for the temporary
employment of counsel other than or in addition to the Town Attorney.
It shall be the responsibility of the Board of Selectpersons
to insure that Town boards have access to such legal services as are
required for the proper interpretation and enforcement of the laws
they administer. For such purposes, boards, within the limits of their
appropriations, and with the approval of the Board of Selectpersons,
may employ specialized legal counsel.
The First Selectperson, with approval of the Board of Selectpersons,
shall appoint a Tree Warden. The Tree Warden shall have the powers
and duties prescribed by law.
Except as otherwise set forth in this Charter, mandated by State statute, or provided by contract, all terms of office for appointed officers and department heads that currently extend beyond January 1, 2019, shall expire on January 1, 2019, and such appointed officers and department heads shall continue thereafter to serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority as provided in Section 9-2.
With respect to the offices of Town Clerk, Tax Collector, and
Town Treasurer, should one or more of these offices be changed from
an elected to a hired position of the Town pursuant to amendments
to this Charter approved by the electors in 2023, such change or changes
shall take effect upon the expiration of the term of office of the
applicable official or officials elected at the Town election in November
2023, or upon an earlier vacancy in such office.
