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Editor’s Note: This article was amended in its entirety
11-7-2023. See also Notes (5), (7), (8), (9), (10), (12), (14), and
(18) at the end of the Charter for prior amendments.
There shall continue to be the following appointive boards:
Commission on the Aging, Architectural Advisory Committee, Building
Code Board of Appeals, Conservation Commission, Commission for Accessibility,
Economic and Community Development Commission, Board of Ethics, Historic
District Commission, Housing Authority, Parks and Recreation Commission,
Pension Commission, Water Pollution Control Authority, and Youth Commission.
Additional appointive boards may be created and their powers
and duties specified by ordinance passed at a Town Meeting. Appointive
boards authorized by this section may be abolished or consolidated,
their powers and duties may be altered and the number or term of office
of their members may be changed by ordinance.
The Board of Selectpersons shall appoint, whether for full terms
or to fill vacancies, the members and alternate members of all boards
authorized by this Charter, herein referred to as appointive boards.
So long as the maximum number of members of the same political
party permitted under the minority representation law is not exceeded,
the Board of Selectpersons may appoint a person to fill a vacancy
without regard to the political party affiliation of the vacating
member. During the last 14 days of its term, the Board of Selectpersons
may make no appointments to appointive boards. The Board of Selectpersons
may not make or substitute appointments for full terms which do not
commence during the term of office of said Board of Selectpersons.
All members of appointive boards shall be electors and residents
of the Town and shall vacate their positions upon the termination
of their status as either electors or residents of the Town. Minors
appointed to the Youth Commission are exempt from the requirement
of being an elector.
All terms shall be established to expire as nearly as possible
at regularly staggered annual or biennial intervals.
A member shall continue to hold office until a successor has
been appointed and has qualified.
Membership on all appointive boards provided by this article
shall be determined in accordance with the minority representation
law as set forth in the General Statutes unless otherwise specified
in this Charter.
The Commission on Aging shall consist of nine members each serving
two-year terms ending April 1. Four members shall be appointed in
even years and five members shall be appointed in odd years.
The Commission on Aging shall study the needs of the elderly
and coordinate municipal programs to meet those needs; and shall have
powers and duties in accordance with the General Statutes and applicable
ordinances.
The Architectural Advisory Committee shall provide timely recommendations
regarding architectural designs and materials of buildings, structures
and/or other construction, landscape and site plans, lighting, and
signage to the Planning and Zoning Commission for the purpose of assisting
the Commission in its responsibility to ensure that the proposed exterior
contained in applications pending before the Planning and Zoning Commission
harmonize with the New England village character of Ridgefield, including
the Village District, its constituent neighborhoods, and surrounding
uses; protect property values; and preserve and improve the Town’s
appearance and beauty.
The Building Code Board of Appeals shall consist of five members
serving five-year terms ending January 1. One member shall be appointed
each year.
The Building Code Board of Appeals shall hear appeals of persons
who feel the building official erred in issuing an order or in failing
to issue a permit to construct, and shall have powers and duties in
accordance with the General Statutes and applicable ordinances.
The Conservation Commission shall consist of nine members serving
three-year terms ending February 1. Three members shall be appointed
each year.
The Conservation Commission shall devote its efforts to insuring
the sound development, conservation, supervision and regulation of
natural resources, including water resources of the Town, and shall
be responsible for the duties of the flood and erosion control board
as prescribed in the General Statutes and applicable ordinances.
The Commission for Accessibility shall consist of nine members
appointed to staggered two-year terms. The Commission shall review
the needs of people with disabilities of the Town and recommend policies
based upon, but not limited to Title II of the Americans with Disability
Act (ADA), and other such civil rights acts such as Fair Housing Act
(FHA), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Rehabilitation
Act (RHA), which apply to all state and local governments and all
departments, agencies, special purpose districts, and other instrumentalities
of state or local government, to the Board of Selectpersons or other
boards duly empowered to implement them. The Commission shall be authorized
to file grant applications on behalf of the Town.
The Economic and Community Development Commission shall consist
of nine members serving two-year terms each. The Commission will seek
to implement orderly and planned economic development in keeping with
the character of the Town. The Commission will seek to involve all
Town agencies, which are involved in, or are affected by, economic
development, as well as the residents of the Town, in its work to
promote economic development.
The Board of Ethics shall consist of five members and one alternate
serving four-year terms ending December 31. Three members or two members
and the alternate shall be appointed every two years. The members,
electors of the Town known for their integrity, shall be appointed
by the Board of Selectpersons, with at least three Selectpersons voting
in favor. Not more than three members of the Board of Ethics, including
the alternate, shall be registered with the same political party.
Members of the Board of Ethics shall not hold other Town office or
be employees of the Town.
The Board of Ethics shall be responsible for objectively interpreting and applying the Standards of Conduct set forth in Article XI in investigating and deciding complaints of alleged violations of the Standards, and in providing advisory opinions on potential ethics conflicts as requested by Town employees, officials, and boards, pursuant to this Charter, Section 7-148h of the General Statutes, and such operating rules as the Board may adopt consistent with the intent of Article XI.
The Board may adopt changes to its operating rules after publication
of the proposed changes with at least 10 days’ notice and a
public hearing. Changes shall become effective on the date the full
text of any amendments is filed with the Town Clerk.
The Historic District Commission shall consist of five members
who hold no salaried municipal office, serving five-year terms ending
January 1. One member shall be appointed each year. Preferably, at
least one member of the commission shall be an architect.
The Historic District Commission may prevent erection, reconstruction,
alteration, razing of buildings and other structures in the historic
districts, and shall have powers and duties in accordance with the
General Statutes and applicable ordinances.
The Housing Authority shall consist of five members serving
five-year terms ending October 31. One member shall be appointed each
year.
The Housing Authority shall be responsible for the administration
and operation of public housing projects, and shall have powers and
duties in accordance with the General Statutes and applicable ordinances.
The Parks and Recreation Commission shall consist of seven members
serving three-year terms ending April 1. Two or three members, as
appropriate shall be appointed each year.
The Parks and Recreation Commission shall maintain a comprehensive
recreational program; shall be responsible for all park properties;
shall prescribe a system of regulations, permits, and fees for recreational
and park uses; shall appoint and employ a full-time superintendent
and such other staff as is needed; and shall have duties and powers
in accordance with the General Statutes and applicable ordinances.
The Parks and Recreation superintendent and his/her staff shall be
deemed a department of the Town of Ridgefield for the purposes of
general administration and human resources.
The Pension Commission shall consist of seven members serving
staggered three-year terms ending June 1. The Pension Commission shall
be responsible for the management and oversight of the investment
activities of those trusts that fund the retirement-related benefit
programs for Town employees and elected officials, as are assigned
from time to time to its purview by resolution of the Board of Selectpersons.
The Commission shall have powers and duties in accordance with the
General Statutes and as enumerated in applicable ordinances and written
Trust Agreements.
The Water Pollution Control Authority shall consist of five
members and two alternates each serving four-year terms ending April
1. At least two members must possess formal technical training appropriate
to understanding the operation of sewer plants. At least one member
shall reside in a dwelling connected to the sewer and at least one
reside in a dwelling serviced by septic.
The authority shall have powers and duties in accordance with
the General Statutes and applicable ordinances.
The Water Pollution Control Authority shall be responsible for
supervision of the Town's sewer plant(s) and system of sewer pipes
and mains. The Authority shall formulate and approve a fee schedule.
The Authority shall formulate and periodically update a water pollution
control plan for the Town. Such plan shall designate and delineate
the boundary of: areas served by municipal sewerage systems; areas
where sewerage facilities are planned and the schedule of design and
construction anticipated or proposed; areas where sewers are to be
avoided; areas served by community sewerage systems not owned by the
Town and areas to be served by any proposed community sewerage system
not owned by the Town. The Authority shall determine any excess capacity
of the existing systems and determine the appropriate use of such
capacity.
The Youth Commission shall consist of 12 members and two alternates
each serving two-year terms ending July 1. Six regular members and
one alternate member shall be appointed each year.
The Youth Commission shall act as an advocate for the youth
of Ridgefield, and ensure participation, planning and development
by the community of youth services, and shall have powers and duties
in accordance with the General Statutes.
Minors/youth are permitted to be members of the Youth Commission.
Committees may be established by vote at a Town Meeting or by
vote of the Board of Selectpersons. Committees established by vote
at a Town Meeting may be either temporary or permanent. Committees
established by the Board of Selectpersons shall terminate 30 days
after the next regular election of the Board of Selectpersons, unless
renewed by the vote of the Board of Selectpersons.
Appointments and terms: Except as otherwise provided by the
ordinance or resolution establishing a committee, the term of office
of appointees to committees shall terminate 30 days after the next
regular Town election, and the Board of Selectpersons shall act as
the initial appointing authority, shall choose successors, and shall
fill all vacancies, except that: If the committee was established
by vote at a Town Meeting and the members of that committee were either
elected or confirmed by the Town Meeting, the Selectpersons shall
call a special Town Meeting for filling any vacancy or choosing successors,
and the incumbents may remain in office until their successors have
been duly chosen in this manner.
Powers: Committees established by vote of the Board of Selectpersons
shall have only those powers and duties which may be delegated to
them by the Board of Selectpersons or the First Selectpersons; committees
established by vote at a Town Meeting shall have such powers and duties
as the Town Meeting shall determine, except that no committee shall
infringe on the powers or impede the duties which the General Statutes
or this Charter assigns to Town agencies or boards.
A member of an appointive board may be removed for cause by
the Board of Selectpersons, but no such removal for cause shall be
effected unless the member:
(1)
Has received a statement in writing, prepared either by the First
Selectperson or by the remaining members of the appointive board,
of the reasons why such member should be removed; and
(2)
Has, not less than 15 days after the delivery of the statement of
reasons, been afforded an opportunity for a hearing before the Board
of Selectpersons, at which the member may appear with counsel.
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Any member of an appointive board who does not attend at least
2/3 of the regular meetings scheduled during the calendar year, shall
be considered removed from such board and his or her place shall be
considered vacant. It shall be the duty of the Chair of that board
to give prompt written notice of such a vacancy to the Board of Selectpersons.
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