All officers and employees in the classified service of the Town, as described in Section 2 below, shall be appointed on the basis of merit and in conformity with recognized principles of public personnel administration.
The classified service shall include appointees to all positions now or hereafter created except the following: elective officers and persons appointed to fill vacancies in elective offices; members of boards and commissions and other officers appointed by the Town Council; employees of the Board of Education; persons employed in a professional capacity to make or conduct a temporary and special inquiry, study or investigation; and persons employed for a temporary period not exceeding three months. It shall be the duty of the Manager to cause to be prepared a statement of the duties and responsibilities of each position in the classified service and of the minimum qualifications for appointment to such positions. These statements shall comprise the classification plan of the Town, which shall become effective upon approval by resolution of the Town Council and which may be amended, upon recommendation of the Manager, by resolution of the Town Council. New or additional positions in the classified service may be created and changes in the duties and responsibilities of existing positions may be made by resolution of the Town Council upon recommendation of the Manager. The Manager shall also cause to have prepared a set of personnel rules which together with any amendments thereto shall become effective upon being approved by the Town Council and filed by the Manager with the Town Clerk. Copies of such rules and any amendments thereto shall be distributed to all members of the classified service.
The provisions of all special acts providing for the retirement of Town employees in effect on the date of the adoption of this Charter shall continue in force as though re-enacted by this Charter but shall be subject to change as provided herein. The Town Council may provide by ordinance a system of retirement allowances for the Town's regular full-time paid employees and for contribution by employees and the Town to a fund from which such allowance shall be paid. The Town may enter into a contract with any insurance company authorized to do business in this state for the purpose of insuring the whole or any part of its retirement plan, may elect to participate in the Connecticut Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund in the manner provided in Chapter 113 of the General Statutes, or elect to participate in the old-age and survivor insurance system under Title II of the Social Security Act in accordance with the provisions of Public Act 277 of 1951.