Minority representation on any elective or appointive board,
commission, committee or similar body of the Town, except the Board
of Education, shall be determined in accordance with the provisions
of Section 9-167a and other relevant provisions of the Connecticut
General Statutes as amended. Minority representation on the Board
of Education shall be determined in accordance with the provisions
of Section 9-204 of the Connecticut General Statutes as amended. An
elector shall not vote for more candidates for the Town Council than
a political party can elect pursuant to Section 9-167a of the General
Statutes, as amended, provided that the number of such candidates
that an elector can vote for be deemed to include the Mayor.
When any regular or special municipal election, primary election
or referendum conducted pursuant to the provisions of this Charter
results in a tie, an adjourned election shall be conducted in accordance
with the provisions of Section 9-332 of the Connecticut General Statutes,
as amended, to determine who shall be elected, or in the case of a
question at referendum, whether it shall be accepted or rejected,
provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to questions
at referendum which, under the provisions of this Charter or of the
Connecticut General Statutes, require a minimum number of electors
voting in favor of such questions in the event that the number of
electors voting in favor of such question does not equal the said
minimum number required by such provision.
Any vacancy, from whatever cause arising, in any elective Town
office other than Town Council or Mayor, including the Board of Education,
shall be filled within forty-five (45) days of such vacancy by appointment,
by the Town Council, for an unexpired portion of the term or until
the next regular municipal election, as defined in Section 9-1 of
the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, whichever shall first
occur. In filling any vacancy, the Town Council shall select an eligible
elector from the same political party as the former official, if any,
or an elector nominated by that political party regardless of the
nominee's political affiliation, provided that the obligation
of minority representation is maintained. Except as otherwise provided
in this Charter, if there shall be a regular municipal election, as
defined in Section 9-1 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended,
before the expiration of the term of any office in which a vacancy
occurs, such office shall be filled until said election by appointment
as provided herein and subsequently by the election of a person to
fill that office for the remaining portion of the term, such person
to take office immediately upon his election.
The Town Clerk and Registrar of Voters shall constitute the
Board for Admission of Electors in accordance with the provisions
of Section 9-15a of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
Electors or voters shall have the right to petition the Council
in accordance with the provisions of this Charter and Section 7-9
of the Connecticut General Statutes to hold a referendum only for
the purposes of adopting or repealing ordinances passed by the Council.
The electors of the Town shall have the power to petition for
the adoption or repeal of ordinances in the following manner:
(a) a petition may be filed by any elector of the Town with the Town
Clerk and, except as otherwise provided herein, such petition shall
conform to the requirements of Sections 7-9 and 7-9a of the Connecticut
General Statutes, as amended;
(b) said petition shall contain the full text of the ordinance proposed
or the ordinance proposed to be repealed and shall be signed in ink
or indelible pencil by qualified electors of the Town equal in number
to at least five (5) percent of the total electors of the Town as
determined from the latest official lists of the registrars of voters;
(c) said petition shall be accompanied by affidavits signed and sworn
to by each circulator as provided in said Section 7-9;
(d) the Town Clerk shall determine whether said petition and affidavits are sufficient as prescribed by law, shall keep a cumulative count of the number of signatures filed with each page of said petition, and within five (5) days after receipt of the page bringing the number of valid signatures included in the petition to the number required by subsection
(b) of this section, shall so certify to the Town Council; no signatures submitted more than thirty (30) days after the submission of the first page of the petition shall be counted by the Town Clerk as described herein; if upon such thirtieth (30th) day the petition remains insufficient, it shall have no force or effect;
(e) if the Town Council fails to adopt, without any substantive change, an ordinance so proposed, or fails to repeal an ordinance proposed for repeal within thirty (30) days after petition making such a proposal shall have been certified to the Town Council as provided herein, a second petition may be filed within thirty (30) days of the end of the period in which the Town Council have to act on said proposed ordinance by any elector of the Town with the Town Clerk in accordance with the provisions outlined in subsections
(a),
(b),
(c), and
(d) of this section;
(f) upon receipt of the certification by the town clerk of said second
petition, the Town Council shall call a special Town referendum, at
which referendum all electors of the Town as determined from the latest
official lists of the Registrars of Voters shall be eligible to vote,
to be held within sixty (60) days after said certification of such
second petition provided, however, if a regular election, as defined
by Section 9-1 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, shall
occur within ninety (90) days of the certification of such second
petition, such proposed ordinance, shall be placed on the ballot at
said regular election;
(g) such proposed ordinance shall become effective, or such ordinance
proposed for repeal shall be deemed repealed, upon approval by a majority
of those electors voting thereon, provided such number of electors
approving said ordinance is equal to at least ten (10) percent of
the total electors of the Town, as determined from the latest official
lists of the Registrars of Voters. Said ordinance shall become effective
on the thirtieth (30th) day after publication, provided, however,
that said ordinance shall be considered approved upon certification
of the results of the voting thereon regardless of any defeat in the
petition submitted in accordance with the provisions herein. No ordinance
which shall have been adopted or repealed by referendum in accordance
with the provisions of this section may be repealed, amended or reenacted
by the Town Council during its then current term in office.
All ordinances adopted by the Town Council pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, except emergency ordinances adopted in accordance with Section
2.12 of this Charter shall be subject to overrule by a special Town referendum in the following manner:
(a) if, within fifteen (15) days after the publication of any such ordinance,
a petition conforming to the requirements of Section 7-9 and 7-9a
of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, and signed in ink
or indelible pencil by qualified electors of the Town, equal in number
to at least five (5) percent of the total electors of the Town as
determined from the latest official lists of the Registrars of Voters,
is filed with the Town Clerk requesting its reference to the Town
voters at a special referendum, the effective date of such ordinance
shall be suspended;
(b) said petition shall be accompanied by affidavits signed and sworn
to by each circulator as provided in said Section 7-9;
(c) the Town Clerk shall determine whether said petition and affidavits are sufficient as prescribed by law, shall keep a cumulative count of the number of signatures filed with each page of said petition, and within five (5) days after receipt of the page bringing the number of valid signatures included in the petition to the number required by subsection
(a) of this section, shall so certify to the Town Council; no signatures submitted more than thirty (30) days after the submission of the first page of the petition shall be counted by the Town Clerk as described herein; if upon such thirtieth (30th) day the petition remains insufficient, it shall have no force or effect;
(d) if, within thirty (30) days of the certification of said petition
by the Town Clerk, the Town Council fail to repeal such ordinance,
they shall then fix the time and place of such special referendum,
at which referendum all electors of the Town as determined from the
latest official lists of the Registrars of Voters shall be eligible
to vote, which shall be held within forty-five (45) days of the end
of the period in which the Town Council has to reconsider such ordinance,
and notice thereof shall be given in the manner provided by law for
the calling of a Town referendum provided, however, if a regular election
as defined by Section 9-1 of the General Statutes, as amended, shall
occur within ninety (90) days of the end of the period in which the
Town Council has to reconsider said ordinance such proposed overrule
action shall be placed on the ballot at said regular election. An
ordinance so referred shall take effect upon the conclusion of such
referendum unless a majority of those persons voting thereon, such
majority being equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the qualified
electors of the Town as determined from the latest official lists
of the Registrars of Voters, shall have voted in favor of overruling
such ordinance and in such event said ordinance so referred shall
be deemed null and void and repealed or revoked upon the conclusion
of such referendum.