The governing body of the town shall be the Council, which shall
exercise and perform all the rights, powers, duties and obligations
of the town, except as the same may be assigned by this Charter to
some other officer, board or agency. The Council may provide by ordinance
for the exercise of any of the administrative powers of the former
Board of Selectmen not otherwise assigned by this Charter, by the
Manager or some other officer, board or agency. The legislative power
of the town and final authority concerning the budget and tax rate
are vested exclusively in the Council, except as otherwise provided
in this Charter. It shall have power, subject to the provisions of
this Charter, to create or abolish departments and offices by ordinance.
It shall also have power to authorize employment positions, fix the
compensation of officers and employees of the town, except employees
of the Board of Education, and the charges, if any, to be made for
services rendered by the town. It shall further have power to make,
alter and repeal ordinances, resolutions, enactments, motions and
proclamations and to take such other action not inconsistent with
this Charter and the General Laws of the state for the execution of
the powers vested in the town, as provided in Chapter I of this Charter,
for the government of the town and the management of its business
and for the preservation of the good order, peace, health and safety
of the town and its inhabitants.
The Council shall consist of nine (9) members, who shall be
chosen from the town at large, at each town election, for terms of
two (2) years from the first Monday following the election in November
in each odd-numbered year.
The members of the Council shall serve without compensation,
but shall be entitled to be reimbursed for their just and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
Each newly elected Council shall hold an organizational meeting
in the town hall on the first Monday following the election in November,
in each odd-numbered year. The meeting shall be called to order by
the Town Clerk, who shall administer the oath of office to all members,
provided that in the absence of the Town Clerk, the meeting shall
be called to order and the oath administered by any citizen of Wethersfield
authorized by law to administer oaths. The Council shall then proceed
to the election of a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson to serve for
the ensuing two (2) years, who may also be known, respectively, as
the "Mayor" and the "Deputy Mayor".
The Council shall fix the time and place of its regular meetings
and provide by ordinance a method for the calling of special meetings;
but no business shall be considered at any special meeting, notice
of which has not been included in the call for such meeting. The Council
shall determine its own rules of procedure not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Charter. The presence of five (5) members shall
constitute a quorum; but no ordinance, resolution or vote, except
a vote to adjourn or to fix the time and place of its next meeting,
shall be adopted by less than five (5) affirmative votes, and the
ayes and nays on each vote shall be recorded in the journal. Actions
not required to be taken by ordinance, either by this Charter or the
General Laws of the state, may be made by resolution, proclamation,
motion or other enactment. No action shall be taken or appointment
or removal made except in a meeting of the Council open to the public.
During the term for which elected, no member of the Council
or Board of Education, shall hold any other office, elective or appointive,
or employment in or under the town government.
No member of the Council or Board of Education shall hold any
compensated appointive office or employment with the Town until one
year after the cessation of duties.
All ordinances and resolutions shall be introduced in written
form, at any regular or special meeting of Council, either by a member
of Council or by the Town Clerk, who shall present those ordinances
and resolutions filed with the Town Clerk's office by a member
of Council at any time prior to the meeting. Upon introduction, all
ordinances and resolutions shall automatically be set for public hearing
at the next regular or special meeting of Council, subject to the
notice requirements being met. The Town Clerk shall post in a conspicuous
public place designated for the posting of public notices a copy of
the proposed ordinance or resolution, and shall make sufficient copies
available to the general public.
The Council shall hold at least one (1) public hearing before
acting upon any ordinance or resolution, not less than five (5) days'
notice of such public hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper
having general circulation in the town or by other alternative means
established by the Council by ordinance.. The Town Clerk shall post
in a conspicuous public place designated for the posting of public
notices a copy of the public hearing notice. Notice of the passage
of an ordinance or resolution shall be published once in a newspaper
having general circulation in the town, and an ordinance or resolution
shall not become effective until ten (10) days after such notice is
published. An ordinance or resolution need not be published in full
but may be described by title or subject matter. The foregoing provisions
of the section shall not apply to emergency ordinances. All ordinances
and resolutions, when passed shall be filed with the Town Clerk and
recorded in a book kept for that purpose, with sufficient copies made
available to the general public.
Any ordinance or resolution adopted by the Town Council, with
the exception of matters relating to the annual budget, the tax rate,
the removal of any person or persons, a special appropriation of less
than 0.15% of the appropriated General Fund expenditures for the current
fiscal year or an emergency ordinance as defined in this chapter,
may be reversed by referendum if, during the twelve (12) day period
following the adoption, there is filed with the Town Clerk, in respect
of such ordinance or resolution, a petition signed by electors of
the town, in number equal to at least five percent (5%) of the total
number of electors in the town, as determined by the last final voter
registration list. The Town Clerk shall certify to the Town Council,
within twelve (12) days following receipt of such petition, that sufficient
valid signatures are attached to the petition. The ordinance or resolution
shall not take effect until the same has been submitted at a special
election or referendum, which the council must call, to be held in
not less than thirty (30) nor more than forty-five (45) days after
the filing of such petition. Following such election or referendum,
the ordinance or resolution shall not take effect if a majority voting
thereon shall vote in the negative, such majority consisting of at
least five percent (5%) of the total number of electors in the town,
as determined by the last final voter registration list. Otherwise,
such ordinance or resolution shall take effect. The submission to
the electors provided in this section may be at a regular election
or a special election if the same occurs not more than one hundred
twenty (120) or less than sixty (60) days from the certification by
the Town Clerk to the Town Council.
An emergency ordinance shall be only for the immediate preservation
of the public peace, health and safety, shall contain an explicit
statement of the nature of the emergency and shall be adopted by not
less than six (6) affirmative votes in the Council, and in no event,
shall the annual budget or any appropriation, except as hereinafter
provided, constitute an emergency ordinance. For the purpose of meeting
an emergency, as herein defined, or to prevent the breakdown of any
essential service rendered by a department, board, commission or agency
of the town, the Council, by an affirmative vote of not less than
six (6) of its members, may appropriate, notwithstanding any other
provision of this Charter, a sum not to exceed 0.15% of the appropriated
General Fund expenditures for the current fiscal year.
No resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds or making a
special appropriation in excess of 0.30% of the General Fund appropriated
expenditures for the current fiscal year shall become effective until
the same has been approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon
at a regular election or a special election or referendum called by
the Council for the purpose. To the extent any appropriation is to
be funded from the proceeds of grants, gifts, insurance or other off-setting
reimbursements, the amount of the appropriation to be funded from
such sources may be approved by the Council in the manner provided
in Section 711 of the Charter and such amount shall not be included
in determining whether the approval of a majority of electors is required
by this section. No more than two (2) special appropriations may be
authorized pursuant to this section during a single fiscal year.
The electors of the town may, in the manner hereinafter provided,
propose and adopt ordinances, except an ordinance or resolution fixing
the tax rate. No ordinance so proposed involving any increase in the
expenditures of the town beyond those budgeted for the current fiscal
year shall take effect until after the adoption of the next annual
budget, unless the Council, subject to the limitations hereinbefore
set forth, shall make a special appropriation for the purpose. The
ordinance shall be proposed by a petition to the Council, requesting
its adoption, setting forth the ordinance in full and shall be signed
by electors of the town, in number equal to at least five percent
(5%) of the total number of electors in the town, as determined by
the last final voter registration list. The petition shall be filed
with the Town Clerk, who shall, within twelve (12) days, examine the
signatures to the same and determine sufficiency. If the Town Clerk
finds that the petition has been signed by the required number of
electors, it shall be so certified by the Town Clerk to the Council,
at its next regular meeting. The Council, shall, within sixty (60)
days after such certification, either adopt the proposed ordinance,
after hearing, as provided in this chapter, or submit the same to
the electors at a special election or referendum to be held within
ninety (90) days from the date of certification by the Town Clerk,
provided that if a regular election or a town election is to occur
within six (6) months of such certification, but not sooner than sixty
(60) days thereof, the ordinance shall be submitted at such election.
If a majority of those voting on the proposed ordinance vote in the
affirmative, the ordinance shall be adopted. Such majority shall consist
of at least ten percent (10%) of the total number of electors, as
determined by the last final voter registration list. No ordinance
which shall have been adopted in accordance with the provisions of
this section shall be repealed or amended except by a vote of the
electors.
The Council may remove any member from any appointed board,
commission, committee, or agency who serves without compensation as
follows: (1) upon such member's unexcused absence from three
consecutive meetings of the board, commission, committee, or agency,
whether regular or special meetings, or, (2) upon such member's
unexcused absence from fifty percent or more of the meetings, whether
regular or special, of the board, committee, commission, or agency
within a calendar year, unless otherwise provided by the General Statutes
of the state.
The Council may remove any officer or employee appointed by
it, provided that such officer or employee is first served with a
statement of grounds for his/her removal and given an opportunity
to be heard by the Council thereon. Such hearing shall be public,
if the officer or employee desires, and shall be held not less than
five (5) nor more than ten (10) days after service of the grounds
for removal. The decision of the Council shall be final. From the
service of the statement of the grounds for the removal until final
action by the Council, the officer or employee shall be ineligible
to perform the duties of that office or employment but shall continue
to receive salary or wages, pending such final action. No further
hearing shall be required for removal if a public hearing is held
at the request of such officer or employee, provided that notice of
such hearing is given in accordance with Section 308 and the public,
as well as the officer or employee, is given opportunity to be heard.
The Council shall have power to investigate any and all departments,
offices, boards, commissions and agencies of the town. Its Chairperson
or Acting Chairperson shall have the power, for the purposes of such
investigation to request any individual appear before the Council
and/or produce any document or other item of evidence to the Council.
Any such individual requested to appear before and/or to produce any
document or item of evidence, who is any officer, director, elected
official, member of any board or commission, or otherwise employed
by the town, who refuses any request by the Council may be censured
or otherwise sanctioned as deemed appropriate by the Council and as
otherwise permitted by this Charter, the Connecticut General Statutes,
and any applicable agreement.
