[HISTORY: Approved 11-4-1958, amended 11-8-1960. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
It is the purpose of this Charter to provide the Town of Branford
with a modern, workable form of government, recognizing that the public
Town Meeting has largely become ineffective because of increasing
population and the complexity of governmental problems. As a first
provision of this Charter, a Representative Town Meeting form of government,
hereinafter referred to as R.T.M., is hereby instituted.
The town, after the effective date of this Charter and the first
election of Town Meeting members hereunder, shall act through and
be bound by its R.T.M. members when acting in meeting assembled which,
when convened from time to time as herein provided, constitute Town
Meetings, and such Representative Town Meetings shall exercise exclusively,
so far as it shall conform to the provisions of this Charter, all
powers vested in Town Meetings except as is otherwise specifically
provided for in this Charter. Action in conformity with all the provisions
of law now or hereafter applicable to the transaction of town affairs
in meeting, when taken by the R.T.M. as so constituted, shall have
the same force and effect as if such action had been taken in a Town
Meeting open to all of the voters of the town as heretofore organized
and conducted, except as specifically provided in this Charter.
Such legislative power shall include the authority:
a.
To create
permanent and temporary committees for such purposes as such R.T.M.
may decide.
b.
To adjourn
such Representative Town Meetings from time to time as such need may
appear.
c.
To designate
the time, place, and date of meetings.
d.
To establish
a schedule of regular Representative Town Meetings insofar as such
need may appear.
e.
To establish
rules and regulations for the conduct of committees as shall from
time to time appear necessary and proper.
f.
The
R.T.M. shall have the power to decrease, increase or add items to
the budget, but in no case shall the total amount of the budget exceed
the total amount recommended by the Board of Finance. If no change
is made by such Town Meeting in any of such recommendations of said
Board of Finance, the appropriation for expenditures of the town so
recommended in such list of said Board shall thereupon become the
specific appropriations for expenditures for the fiscal year beginning
on the following July 1, and, if any change is made by such Town Meeting
in any such recommendation of said Board of Finance, the appropriations
for expenditures of the town as so recommended and as so altered shall
thereupon become the specific appropriation for expenditures for such
fiscal year. The Board of Selectmen, the Board of Education and each
officer, board and department of said town shall not incur, and the
town in any special Representative Town Meeting shall not vote to
incur any liability or expense by contract or otherwise for which
said town shall be responsible in excess of the specific appropriations
as so determined.
1.
The
provisions of Subdivision f of this subsection shall not be construed
to prevent the R.T.M. from making further appropriations upon the
recommendation of the Board of Finance at a special Representative
Town Meeting held after the annual budget meeting and prior to the
laying of the tax for the ensuing fiscal year, and any appropriations
made at such special R.T.M. shall be included in the amount to be
raised by the tax to be laid by the Board of Finance under the provisions
of law.
4.
The
annual budget meeting of the R.T.M. may adjourn from time to time,
provided action shall be taken on the adoption of the appropriations
recommended by the Board of Finance before the Friday following the
second Tuesday of May. Thereafter, but no later than June 1, the Board
of Finance shall determine the rate of taxation for the Town of Branford
for the ensuing fiscal year, based upon the appropriations adopted
by the R.T.M. and the completed taxable grand list. Anything in this
subsection to the contrary notwithstanding, pending the adoption of
the appropriations for the ensuing fiscal year by the annual budget
meeting of the R.T.M., the current operating expenses of the Board
of Education from the following July 1 and the current operating expenses
of all other departments of the town from the following July 1, may
be paid, provided an appropriation for such expenses shall have been
recommended in the budget report submitted by the Board of Finance
to said R.T.M. and filed in the office of the Town Clerk.
a.
Membership.
The Town Meeting membership shall be composed of thirty voting members.
b.
Apportionment
of membership. The above members will be apportioned insofar as is
practicable among the several districts in proportion to the number
of electors registered in each of said districts as certified by the
registrars of voters according to the last completed registry list.
It shall be the duty of the Town Clerk to make such apportionment
under the provisions of this Charter.
c.
Officers.
The members shall elect from their number a Moderator and a Clerk,
no more than one of whom shall be of the same political party. The
Moderator shall not vote except to break a tie. The Clerk of R.T.M.
shall have full voting rights. The Moderator may be removed and replaced
at any time by a two-thirds vote of the entire membership.
d.
Ex officio
members. The following shall be designated as Town Meeting members,
ex officio: the Board of Selectmen, the Town Clerk, the Town Counsel
and the Town Treasurer. Ex officio Town Meeting members shall have
all the rights and privileges of the members elected under this Charter,
except the right to vote.
e.
Tenure
of office. The members from each district so elected shall hold office
for two years or until their successors are elected and have qualified.
Thereafter, at each biennial election of town officers, the electors
in each district shall, in like manner, elect as Town Meeting members
from such district the number of Town Meeting members to which such
district is entitled, who shall hold office for two years and until
their successors are elected and have qualified.
f.
Compensation.
The R.T.M. members as such shall receive no compensation.
g.
Qualification.
The R.T.M. shall be the judge of the election and qualification of
its members.
a.
Election
by voting districts.
1.
The
voting districts of the town for the election of Town Meeting members
shall be as now established or as may be hereafter established by
ordinance.[2] Meetings of electors of the several districts so established
for election of town officers and Town Meeting members, and for voting
upon any question to be submitted to all the electors of the town,
shall be held on the same day and at the same hours and at such place
or places within the district as the Selectmen shall, in the call
for such meetings, direct. Notice of such meetings shall be given
as prescribed by the general statutes with respect to warning of Town
Meetings for the election of officers. The registrars of voters shall
certify to the Town Clerk, not less than seventy days before an election
of Town Meeting members, the number of electors registered in each
district according to the last-completed registry list and such certification
shall be the basis for determining the number of Town Meeting members
which each of the several districts shall be entitled to elect at
such election.
2.
The
nomination and election of candidates as members of the R.T.M. shall
be in the same manner as provided for the nomination and election
of the town officers by the General Statutes so far as they are not
superseded by this Charter.
3.
No
political party shall nominate more candidates for each district than
two-thirds of the members to which such district may be entitled,
such candidates to be resident electors of the district for which
they have been nominated, provided, in the event that the number of
members to which a district may be entitled is not divisible by three,
each political party may nominate the next highest whole number in
excess of such two-thirds.
b.
Petition
candidates. Nomination of a candidate for a Town Meeting member may
also be made by petition signed in ink on forms approved and provided
by the Town Clerk, said petition to be in accordance with Public Act
410 of the January 1957 Session of the General Assembly, as amended,
and shall be filed with the Town Clerk not less than forty-five days
prior to the election. No petition shall be valid in respect to any
candidate whose written acceptance is not thereon or attached thereto
when filed, nor shall a signature be valid if such signature appearing
thereon shall have appeared on other petitions on file with the Town
Clerk for more than the number of candidates which a political party
may nominate under this Charter for the district wherein such signer
shall reside. A petition may contain more than one name but not more
names than the number of candidates which a political party may nominate
under this Charter for the same district at the forthcoming election.
c.
Method
of election.
1.
The
Town Clerk shall, at least twenty-one days before the time of holding
the election, at which the nominees are to be voted for, certify and
transmit the names of the candidates nominated in accordance with
this Charter to the Secretary of the state, and shall prepare separate
sample ballot labels for each district for such election of R.T.M.
members;
2.
The
ballot labels containing the names of the political parties shall
be arranged on the voting machine in column form in the order provided
by law. The ballot label for candidates nominated by petition shall
be identified as such by the words "Petition Candidates'" and
shall be arranged on the voting machine following the political party
labels;
3.
The
ballot labels shall contain the names of the candidates arranged thereon
alphabetically and in horizontal rows on separate ballot labels for
each political party and petition candidates with the name of the
office designated on such labels by the words "Representative Town
Meeting Member". The ballot label shall be printed in such manner
as to indicate that the voter may not vote for more than such number
as he may be entitled to vote for;
4.
At
each biennial election for the election of town officers and Town
Meeting members, held after the adoption of this Charter, voting thereat
shall be governed by the provisions of the general statutes as to
voting and voting machines, except as modified by this Charter;
5.
No
elector shall vote for more than two-thirds of the R.T.M. members
to be elected in the district wherein such elector resides, provided,
where the number of members to which a district may be entitled is
not divisible by three, each elector may vote for the next highest
whole number in excess of such two-thirds;
6.
That
number of candidates in each district sufficient to fill the number
of R.T.M. members to which a district may be entitled, who have polled
the highest number of votes, shall be declared elected.
7.
The
Chief Presiding Officer shall, forthwith, after a biennial election
of R.T.M. members, file in the Town Clerk's office a list of
the members elected by the districts, together with their respective
addresses. The Town Clerk shall, upon receipt of such lists, forthwith
notify each member by mail of his election.
d.
Tie
votes. In case of a tie vote under any section of this Charter affecting
the election of R.T.M. members, the Chief Presiding Officer shall,
immediately after the election, notify the Town Clerk and the Registrar
of voters of any such tie vote, giving the names and addresses of
such candidates affected, and shall also simultaneously notify the
tied candidates so affected. The Town Clerk shall, within two weeks
of such notification by the Chief Presiding Officer, cause a drawing
to be held in the office of the Town Clerk, such drawing to be by
lot in the presence of at least three disinterested witnesses. The
member or members so chosen shall thereupon be deemed elected and
qualified as an R.T.M. member or members, subject to the right of
the town meeting to judge of the election and qualification of members
as set forth in Section 3 of this Charter.
e.
Vacancies.
Any vacancy in the membership of the R.T.M. from any district, whether
arising from a failure of the electors thereof to elect or from any
other cause, shall be filled by the remaining members of said district
from among the electors thereof. Upon petition therefor, signed by
either the Moderator or the Clerk, notice of any vacancy shall promptly
be given by the Town Clerk to the remaining members from the district
in which the vacancy or vacancies exist, and he shall call a special
meeting of such members for the purpose of filling such vacancy. He
shall cause to be mailed to each such member, not less than five days
before the time set for the meeting, a notice specifying the object,
time and place of the meeting. At such meeting, a majority of the
members from such district shall constitute a quorum, and they shall
elect from their number a Chairman and a Clerk whose right to vote
at such meeting shall not be affected by their election to their respective
offices. The election to fill any vacancy shall be by ballot, and
a majority of the votes cast shall be required for a choice, provided,
whenever such vacancy shall exist in the office of a person who had
been elected to membership as a candidate of a political party, such
vacancy shall be filled by the election of a member of the same political
party. Whenever such vacancy shall exist in the office of a person
who had been elected to membership as a petition candidate, such vacancy
shall be filled by the election of an elector unaffiliated with any
political party. The Chairman and Clerk shall count the ballots and
shall make a certificate of the result and forthwith file the same
with the Town Clerk, together with a written acceptance by the member
or members so chosen, who shall thereupon be deemed elected and qualified
as an R.T.M. member or members, subject to the right of the R.T.M.
to judge the election and qualifications of the members as set forth
in Section 3 of this Charter. If such vacancy is not so filled by
the members within thirty days, the Board of Selectmen shall fill
the same provided, whenever such vacancy shall exist in the office
of a person who had been elected to membership as a member of a political
party, the person so named by the Board of Selectmen to fill such
vacancy shall be a member of the same political party.
f.
Resignation.
A Town Meeting member may resign by filling a written resignation
with the Town Clerk, and such resignation shall take effect on the
date of such filing. An R.T.M. member who shall move from the town
shall thereupon cease to be an R.T.M. member, but an R.T.M. member
who shall move from the district from which he was elected may serve
until the next meeting for the election of R.T.M. members.
g.
Diversity
of interest. No person holding any salaried or elective office, nor
any member of any appointive board in the government of the state
or the Town of Branford nor any employee of said state or town shall
be eligible for election as a member of the R.T.M.; and no member
of the R.T.M., except an ex officio member thereof, shall hold any
such salaried, appointed or elected office or position of employment.
a.
Biennial
meetings. The R.T.M. shall hold a biennial meeting two (2) weeks following
the date of the election of its members. Such meeting shall be the
organizational meeting of the R.T.M. The First Selectman shall act
as Chairman, ex officio, of said meeting until the Moderator is elected
and the Town Clerk shall act as Clerk Pro Tempore until the Clerk
is elected and has qualified.
[Amended 11-5-1991]
b.
Annual
budget meeting. The annual budget meeting of the R.T.M. shall be held
on the second Tuesday of May at 8 o'clock P.M. Such meeting shall
be held at some suitable place designated by the R.T.M. The first
such meeting to be held in May, 1961.
c.
Call
for meetings. The Moderator and, in his absence or inability, the
Town Clerk shall call a special R.T.M. meeting upon the application
of twenty electors or twenty persons who, except for the provisions
of this Charter, would be qualified to vote in Town Meeting, said
special Town Meeting shall be held within ten days after receiving
such application. Said application to contain a statement of the matter
on which action is desired and shall contain the names and street
addresses of the signers thereof. The Moderator, Selectmen or ten
members of the R.T.M. may call a special meeting at any time. The
Town Clerk shall notify all R.T.M. members by mail of the time and
place at which each R.T.M. is to be held, at least five days before
such meeting, and a copy of such notice shall be published in a newspaper
having a circulation in the town, at least five days before such meeting.
Such notice shall specify the object for which the meeting is to be
held.
d.
Quorum.
A majority of the R.T.M. shall constitute a quorum for doing business,
provided a smaller number may organize temporarily in order to adjourn
from time to time, but no R.T.M. may adjourn over the date of an election
of R.T.M. members. All R.T.M. meetings shall be public. At any R.T.M.
providing a quorum is present any vote decided by a majority of those
present and voting shall be binding.
e.
Elector's
rights. Subject to such conditions, rules and regulations as may be
established from time to time by the members of the R.T.M. any elector
of the town or persons who, except for the provisions of this Charter,
would be qualified to vote in Town Meeting may speak at any R.T.M.,
but shall not vote but any elector may present at any such meeting
a written request that voting on any question properly before such
Meeting be taken by roll call, and, if such request is supported by
ten percent of the Town Meeting members in attendance at such meeting,
the vote of the R.T.M. members upon any such question shall be taken
by roll call and a record of such vote shall be made by the Clerk.
f.
Absences.
In the event that an R.T.M. member misses three consecutive meetings,
he shall be dropped from the R.T.M.. and a vacancy shall exist.
The Town Clerk shall cause any action of an R.T.M. adopting,
amending or repealing an ordinance to be published within one week
after the adjournment of such meeting in a newspaper having a circulation
in such town. The publication of a brief statement of the subject
matter of such action and the title, if any, of the same shall be
sufficient. No such action or ordinance, shall be effective until
fifteen days after such publication, or, if within that time a petition
for referendum has been filed as hereinafter provided, then unless
and until such action or ordinance shall be approved by such referendum
in the manner hereinafter provided.
Any vote passed at an R.T.M. authorizing the expenditure for
any specific single purpose of fifty thousand dollars or more, or
the issue of any bonds by the town, shall not be effective until the
expiration of fifteen days after the adjournment of such meeting,
or if within that time a petition for referendum has been filed as
hereinafter provided, then unless and until such vote shall be approved
by such referendum in the manner hereinafter provided.
If, at any time before the effective date of any ordinance or amendment thereof, or of any other action or vote described in Section 6 or 7 hereof, a petition, signed by not less than three percent of the electors of each voting district of the town or five percent of the electors of the town at large, containing their names and addresses as they appear on the last-completed registry list, shall be filed with the Selectmen asking that such ordinance, amendment or other action or vote be referred to a vote of the electors of the town, the Selectmen shall forthwith call a special meeting of all such electors, to be held within ten days after receipt of such petition, for the sole purpose of voting approval or disapproval of such ordinance or amendment or of changing the amount of an appropriation or an item thereof in the manner hereinafter provided. At any such special meeting, the polls shall be opened at two o'clock in the afternoon and shall be closed at eight o'clock in the evening, but the hours for voting may be increased at the discretion of the Board of Selectmen. Voting at such meeting shall be by voting machine or printed ballot, at the discretion of the Board of Selectmen. Except as hereinafter provided with respect to referendum affecting town appropriations, the ballot labels or ballots used in such special elections shall state separately each matter to be voted on in substantially the following form; "Shall the following action of a Town Meeting held on (date of the meeting) be approved?" followed by a statement of the action referred to in substantially the same language and form in which the same is set forth in the records of such R.T.M., and the voting machine or printed ballot shall provide means of voting "yes" or "no" on each question so presented. All petitions for referendum on any action of an R.T.M. with respect to any appropriation in the amount required for a referendum under section seven hereof shall set forth each item as to which a vote is desired, with the amount of the item as approved by the R.T.M., and the amount to which the petitioners desire it to be decreased Ballot labels or ballots used for such referendum shall present separately each appropriation so referred, in substantially the following form: "Shall an appropriation approved by the R.T.M. in the sum of $…… for (here the purpose of the appropriation shall be stated be approved", and the voting machine or printed ballot shall provide means of voting "yes" or "no" on each such question so presented. The annual appropriations fixed by the Town Meeting shall be the appropriations for the ensuing year except that any item therein referred to a referendum of the electors as aforesaid, and modified by vote of such referendum of the electors, shall be amended to accord with such vote. In the event a referendum affecting any annual appropriation shall be exercised subsequent to the time fixed by law for laying the town tax, the time within which the town shall lay the town tax for the year following such appropriation as required by law, shall be extended to five days after such referendum vote.
All questions submitted to referendum vote of the electors as
hereinbefore provided shall be decided by majority vote of the electors
voting thereon, provided no action of an R.T.M. shall be reversed
or modified unless the majority vote to so reverse or modify shall
exceed in number fifteen percent of the total number of the electors
of the town.
All ordinance and R.T.M. votes shall be recorded by the Town
Clerk in books kept by him for that purpose. Nothing in this Charter
shall be construed to affect the power and authority of the town,
by its proper officers and agents, to continue and to complete any
improvements heretofore authorized or instituted, pursuant to a vote
of any Town Meeting called and held prior to the effective date of
this Charter, or pursuant to the authority contained in any special
act applicable to said town, nor shall this Charter be construed as
affecting the issuance or validity of bonds heretofore authorized
by the town. All general laws or special acts applicable to the town,
and all ordinances of the town, shall continue in force and effect,
except as same are inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter
and to the extent of such inconsistency they are repealed.
The First Selectman shall continue to be the Chief Administrative
Officer of the town, and all boards, commissions, officers, and agencies
established by general statute or special act and charged with the
administration of the affairs of the town shall continue as now established,
unless inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter hereinbefore
set forth, and all such powers, functions and duties so conferred
are hereby incorporated by reference into this Charter and are made
a part hereof.
[Added 11-5-1991]
a.
There
shall be in the Town of Branford a Board of Finance consisting of
six electors of said town who shall hold no other office in said town
government and who shall be taxpayers in said town. No more than three
members of the six-member Board shall be appointed from the same political
party. The members of the Board shall be sworn to the faithful performance
of their duties, and no member shall receive compensation for his
services, but the necessary expenses of the Board shall be paid by
the town.
b.
The
present members of the Board of Finance shall hold office during the
respective terms for which they were appointed, and in July 1992 and
in each successive July thereafter, the Selectmen shall appoint two
(2) members of said Board for a term of three years from the first
day of August next succeeding. In case of a vacancy in said Board
the Selectmen shall forthwith appoint a successor for the remainder
of the term. The members of said Board shall hold office during the
time for which they are appointed and until their successors are appointed
and have qualified.
c.
The
First Selectman of the town shall be an ex officio member of said
Board, but shall have no vote except in the case of tie. Such Board
shall choose one of its members to be Chairman thereof. The Town Clerk
shall be Clerk of the Board and shall receive such compensation for
his services as may be determined by vote of the Board. Said Clerk
shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his duties, shall keep
a record of all meeting of said Board, shall attend the annual budget
meeting of the Representative Town Meeting and keep a record of all
votes passed and shall report to the Selectmen and Town Treasurer
all appropriations and transfers made in accordance with this Charter.
d.
The
Board may hold such regular and special meetings as may be advisable
in accordance with state statutes providing for public notice. The
Clerk of the Board shall issue a call for a special meeting either
at the direction of the Chairman of the Board or upon written request
of any two members thereof.
e.
Not
less than two weeks before the annual budget meeting of the Representative
Town Meeting, said Board shall hold a public hearing, which may adjourn
from time to time, at which itemized estimates of the expenditures
of the town for the ensuing fiscal year shall be presented, and shall
give notice to each board or department of the town of the time and
place of meeting to consider the needs of such board or department.
After such public hearing, the Board shall hold a public session,
at which it shall consider the estimates so presented and any other
matter brought to its attention, and shall thereupon prepare an estimate
and recommendation of the amount of money necessary to be appropriated
for the expenses of the town for the ensuring fiscal year. Such estimate
shall include the amount of revenue to be received during the ensuing
year from all sources except from taxes to be raised on the grand
list and shall contain an itemized list of the debts and obligations
of the town. Such estimate, with the recommendation of the Finance
Board, shall be submitted to the Representative Town Meeting for appropriate
action in accordance with this Charter. The Board shall set the tax
rate in accordance with Section 2f4 of this Charter.
f.
If
the electors of such town shall, at a legal meeting held for such
purpose, vote to issue or authorize the issue of bonds, the interest
on such bonds and an appropriation for a sinking fund sufficient to
pay the same at maturity shall be included in the budget as a fixed
charge.
g.
The
Board of Finance shall have the authority to recommend to the Representative
Town Meeting the transfer of any unexpended balance from one appropriation
to the other. No recommended transfer by the Board of Finance shall
be effective unless approved by the Representative Town Meeting.
|
If any occasion arises whereby an additional appropriation is
needed by the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Education or any officer,
board or department of said town, the Board of Finance shall be notified
of such fact, and the Chairman of such Board shall forthwith call
a meeting of such Board to consider recommending to the Representative
Town Meeting the proposed additional appropriation. No recommended
additional appropriation by the Board of Finance shall be effective
unless approved by the Representative Town Meeting.
|
h.
If
a special appropriation is required for any purpose, an estimate of
the same shall be prepared and submitted to said Board of Finance
at a special meeting called for that purpose, and said Board at such
meeting, or any adjournment thereof, shall have power to make any
such appropriation and to lay a special tax to meet the same; but
no such appropriation shall be made unless a special tax is laid sufficient
to cover the amount when such appropriation is in excess of the unappropriated
revenue of said town. Such appropriations and the rate of taxation
so recommended by the Board of Finance shall be submitted to the Representative
Town Meeting at a meeting called for that purpose, and said Representative
Town Meeting shall have the power to decrease the appropriation of
any item thereof, or the rate of taxation recommended by said Board
of Finance, or said Representative Town Meeting may vote not to make
such appropriation or levy such tax, but in no case shall any Representative
Town Meeting have power to increase any special appropriation or any
rate of taxation recommended by said Board of Finance. The provision
of this section shall not be construed as applying to any appropriation
or expenditure which is to be met by the proceeds of a bond or note
issue, and which shall have been recommended by said Board of Finance
and authorized in accordance with law.
i.
Except
as otherwise provided by law, no officer of the town shall draw any
order upon the Treasurer unless there shall have been appropriated
sufficient money for the object for which such order is drawn, and
each order shall designate the object for which and the account upon
which it is drawn. The Town Treasurer, unless otherwise provided by
law, shall not pay any order unless there shall have been sufficient
funds appropriated for such object.
j.
The
Board of Finance of the Town of Branford shall have charge of the
investment and control of all sinking funds, amortization funds, deposit
funds and all other trust funds which shall have been placed in the
hands of the Town of Branford for some special purpose. Said Board
or its designee shall keep all necessary books and records, which
shall be open, during business hours, to the inspection of the Selectmen
and Town Treasurer. The Town Treasurer shall have the custody of all
cash, stocks, bonds and other property belonging to any such funds
and shall keep said funds separate and distinct from all other funds
and property of the Town of Branford and shall only invest or dispose
of said funds or any part thereof upon the written order of said Board.
A special report of the condition and investment of each of said funds
shall be made and published in the annual report of the Town of Branford.
k.
Any
officer of said town who shall violate any provision of Section 11j
of this Charter shall be subject to the penalties provided in C.G.S.
§ 7-349.
[Amended 11-5-1991]
This charter is to take effect December 12, 1991.
