The legislative power in the Town shall be vested
in a Town Council consisting of nine members, elected at large, hereinafter
referred to as the "Council." The members of the Council shall serve
without compensation, except for the reimbursement of actual expenses
incurred in the performance of official duties. No member of the Council
shall hold any appointed office of profit under the government of
the Town of Monroe or be appointed to any office of profit under the
government of said Town during the term of office and for one year
thereafter.
Each newly elected Council shall hold its organizational
meeting at 8:00 p.m. on the fourth Monday in November following each
biennial election. At the organizational meeting the Council shall:
1.
Choose one of its members to be the Chairman and a
second of its members to be Vice Chairman of said Council.
2.
Approve a schedule of regular meetings, including
determining the time, dates and places of such meetings.
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The Chairman of the Council shall preside over
all meetings of the Council and perform such other duties consistent
with the office of Chairman as may be imposed by the Council. Neither
the Chairman nor the Vice Chairman shall be deprived of his or her
voting rights on any question as a result of his or her Council office.
The Vice Chairman of the Council shall assume the duties of the Chairman
during the absence or disability of the Chairman. During the absence
or disability of the Chairman, the Chairman's duties shall be performed
by the Vice Chairman or, in the absence or disability of both the
Chairman and Vice Chairman, by a member chosen by the Council.
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Special meetings of the Council shall be held
at the call of the Chairman when the Chairman deems a special meeting
to be necessary and/or when three members of the Council shall sign
and file with the Town Clerk a petition requesting a special meeting,
which petition shall include the reasons for the special meeting.
In the absence or disability of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman may
act in place of the Chairman. In the absence or disability of both
the Chairman and the Vice Chairman, the Acting Chairman of the Council
may act. Written notice of special meetings of the Council shall be
delivered to each member of the Council and posted in a public place
within the Town Hall.
The Council shall, by resolution, determine
and update from time to time its own rules of procedure.
All regular and special meetings of the Council
shall be open to the public, except for executive sessions held pursuant
to the Connecticut General Statutes.
Five members of the Council shall constitute
a quorum for all business to come before the Council; provided, however,
that no ordinance, resolution or vote, except a vote to adjourn or
to fix the time and place of the next meeting of the Council, shall
be adopted by fewer than five affirmative votes.
All ordinances and resolutions shall be limited
to one subject. In the case of ordinances, the subject shall be clearly
stated in the title of the ordinance.
The Council shall keep and maintain on a current
basis for public inspection a written journal of all of its proceedings.
The Council shall have the powers and duties
which, on the effective date of this Charter, were conferred by law
upon officers, boards and commissions of said Town existing immediately
prior to such date, except as otherwise specifically provided in this
Charter. The legislative power of the Town shall be vested in the
Council, except as limited or otherwise provided in this Charter.
The Council's powers shall include but not necessarily be limited
to the following powers, to the extent that the same are not limited
or otherwise inconsistent with this Charter:
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The power to enact, amend or repeal ordinances.
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The power to create or abolish by ordinance
boards, commissions, departments and offices of the Town.
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The power to accept roads.
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The power to approve and authorize contracts
to which the Town is a party or in which the Town has an interest.
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The Council, in adopting ordinances, is authorized
to incorporate by reference any nationally recognized code, rules
or regulations that have been published or any code officially adopted
by any administrative agency of the State of Connecticut or any subdivision
thereof; provided, however, that upon the adoption of any such ordinance
wherein any such code, rules or regulations or portions thereof have
been incorporated by reference, there shall be maintained two copies
of such code, rules or regulations in the office of the Town Clerk
for examination by the public.
The Council shall create, maintain and update
from time to time a policy handbook, which shall be separate and distinct
from the minutes of the Council meetings. Such policy handbook of
the Council shall be a cumulative record of all policy statements
adopted by the Council, and a copy of said policy handbook shall be
available for public inspection in the office of the Town Clerk.
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Upon petition filed with the Town Clerk signed
by 50 electors of the Town of Monroe requesting that a particular
matter be considered by the Council, or upon motion by the Council
itself, the Council will, within 30 days thereafter, hold a public
hearing before the Council and shall advertise said hearing at least
five days in advance in a newspaper having general circulation in
the Town of Monroe. At said hearing, the Chairman of the Council shall
preside, and anyone may speak on the subject matter of the hearing,
after which the Council shall take whatever action it deems appropriate.
Except in the case of emergency ordinances as
hereinafter provided, at least one public hearing shall be held by
the Council prior to the adoption or repeal of a Town ordinance. Notice
of such public hearing shall be given at least five days prior to
the date of such hearing by publication in a newspaper having a general
circulation in the Town and by posting such notice in a public place
within the Monroe Town Hall. Except in the case of emergency ordinances,
each ordinance adopted by the Council shall be submitted to the First
Selectman within three days after adoption. The First Selectman may
approve the ordinance, in which case the First Selectman shall endorse
the approval on the proposed ordinance and within 10 days thereafter
have the ordinance filed in the office of the Town Clerk. The Town
Clerk shall, within 10 days of the First Selectman's approval, publish
the ordinance in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town
of Monroe, except a summary thereof may be published, in accordance
with § 7-157(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes, or
the First Selectman may veto the ordinance, in which case the First
Selectman shall, within five days of the date the proposed ordinance
was submitted, endorse a veto of the proposed ordinance thereon and
submit the vetoed ordinance to Council, together with a statement
of the reasons for the veto, for further consideration by the Council
at its next regular meeting.
In the event that the First Selectman vetoes
a proposed ordinance as aforesaid, the Council, at its next regular
meeting after such veto, may readopt the ordinance by the affirmative
vote of at least 2/3 of the members of the Council. Within 10 days
after such readoption, the First Selectman shall have the ordinance
published in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town
and file the same in the office of the Town Clerk.
In the event that the First Selectman fails
to either approve or veto a proposed ordinance submitted to him or
her as aforesaid, the ordinance shall be deem approved as of the 11th
day after the date submitted, in which event the First Selectman shall,
within 10 days thereafter, file the same in the office of the Town
Clerk. The Town Clerk shall publish the ordinance in a newspaper having
a general circulation in the Town, except a summary thereof may be
published as aforesaid.
Unless an ordinance specifies a later effective
date, all ordinances shall become effective 30 days following the
date of publication in a newspaper having a general circulation within
the Town.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter II,
§ 6, any ordinance stated by the Council to be a public
emergency measure and stating the facts constituting such public emergency
shall become effective immediately after passage and publication thereof
in a newspaper having a circulation in said Town. No public hearing
or notice of public hearing shall be required for any public emergency
ordinance. Every such emergency ordinance, including any amendments
thereto, shall automatically stand repealed at the termination of
the 61st day following final passage of the ordinance unless reenacted
in the usual manner.
The Council may, at any time, require and provide
for the examination or audit by a certified public accountant of the
accounts of any officer or department of the Town. At a meeting of
the Council subsequent to receipt from such certified public accountant
of the report of such examination or audit, the Council shall discuss
the report.
The Council shall not diminish by ordinance,
vote or otherwise the powers and duties vested in the First Selectman
by this Charter.
