Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, all appointed officials, boards and commissions and authorities shall have all the powers and duties prescribed by the Connecticut General Statutes. A quorum for a duly called meeting of any board, commission or committee shall consist of not less than a simple majority of that board's, commission's or committee's total membership. All appointed boards, commissions and authorities will establish operational policy directives to meet their duties and the exercise of their powers and shall communicate them to the First Selectman. No later than September 1 following the fiscal year for which the report is based, all such appointed Town officials, boards, commissions and authorities shall also furnish the First Selectman annual report data summarizing progress and programs from which the First Selectman can write the Annual Report of the Town. In addition, all such appointed officials, boards, commissions and authorities covered by these provisions shall provide the First Selectman with job specifications from which formal job descriptions can be produced to meet the needs of their departments. They shall also provide the First Selectman with performance reports of the effectiveness and adequacy of employees, goods and services used in the implementation of policy directives and in servicing the needs of their departments and shall follow the procedures in Chapter VIII, § 7, to obtain goods and services.
The First Selectman shall appoint, subject to the approval of the Council, the following: Zoning Board of Appeals, alternate members of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Board of Police Commissioners, Library Board of Trustees, Board of Assessment Appeals, Parks and Recreation Commission, Conservation and Water Resources Commission, Inland Wetlands Commission, Economic Development Commission, Building Board of Appeals, Board of Health, Historic District Commission, Commission for the Aging and such other Town officials and members of such other boards, commissions and committees as may be established under the provisions of this Charter or by the Connecticut General Statutes. The First Selectman shall supervise and direct the same. All such appointive officers shall be resident electors of the Town of Monroe, except as provided in this Charter.
Appointees shall take office on the day of their appointment and shall serve until they resign or until their respective successors shall have been appointed. Terms of such officers and members of such boards, commissions and committees shall be as specified by ordinance, unless otherwise provided in this Charter. An appointee wishing to resign shall submit such resignation in writing to the First Selectman, Town Clerk and chairman of the respective board, commission or committee. Any appointee may be removed from office by the Council upon the recommendation of the First Selectman for the failure or neglect of such appointee to perform the powers and duties for which appointed. Such neglect shall include but not be limited to absence from meetings, nonparticipation in the work of the board, commission or committee, failure to carry out the functions of the appointed office or failure to carry out such duties as may be assigned by the board, commission or committee. Any vacancy occurring by reason of resignation, removal or death from any board, commission or committee shall be acted upon by the First Selectman in a timely manner.
There shall be a Board of Assessment Appeals consisting of three members for terms of three years. The First Selectman annually shall appoint one member to succeed the member whose term expires. Said Board shall have all powers and duties conferred or imposed by the Connecticut General Statutes on boards of assessment appeals and whose principal function is to hear and decide cases involving alleged inequities in tax assessments.
There shall be a Library Board of Trustees consisting of seven members for terms of six years. Biennially, the First Selectman shall appoint two members to succeed the members whose terms expire. Such Board shall have all the powers and duties conferred or imposed by the Connecticut General Statutes on boards of libraries and shall have such other powers and duties as may be prescribed in this Charter or by ordinance. The Library Board of Trustees shall have the responsibility for policies of the public library.
There shall be a Zoning Board of Appeals consisting of five members for terms of five years. Annually, the First Selectman shall appoint one member to succeed the member whose term expires. Said Board shall have all powers and duties conferred or imposed by the Connecticut General Statutes on zoning boards of appeals.
There shall be three alternates to the Zoning Board of Appeals, each appointed for a term of three years. Annually, the First Selectman shall appoint one member to succeed the member whose term expires. Each member shall, when seated, perform the duties of a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Alternates shall have the privilege of participation in all meetings and hearings without vote until seated. For each regular member of the Zoning Board of Appeals who is absent or disqualified, the Chairman of the Board shall designate one alternate to be seated on the Board. Said Chairman shall choose alternates in rotation so that they shall act as nearly equal a number of times as possible, and if any alternate is not available in accordance with such rotation, said fact shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting in accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
There shall be a Board of Police Commissioners consisting of five members who shall each serve for a term of three years. Vacancies on said Board shall be filled by appointment of the Council upon recommendation of the First Selectman for the balance of the unexpired term. No person shall be appointed to the Board who holds an elective office or other appointive office in the Town of Monroe. No person serving on the Board shall seek elective office or accept another appointive office in the Town of Monroe. The Board shall be the policy-making unit and shall establish operational policy directives to be executed by the Chief of Police and shall have the duties and powers as are conferred or imposed under the provisions of this Charter and the Connecticut General Statutes.
The Board shall create a policy handbook as a record of Departmental policy, to include policy for appointment and promotion by examination, cause for removal in accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes, criteria for fitness for duty and other such policies as are deemed advisable concerning the operation of the Department. The minutes of the meetings of the Board may avoid revealing the details concerning privileged information relating to police investigation that would jeopardize the rights of individuals concerned. The Board shall review the general management and supervision of the Police Department and shall be responsible for property and equipment used in connection with the operation of the Department and shall evaluate the effectiveness and performance of the Department in executing enforcement of laws and ordinances governing the Town of Monroe, the enforcement of rules and regulations concerning the operation of the Department and the conduct of officers and employees with relation to policies set by the Board. The Board of Police Commissioners shall appoint the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police will be responsible for making recommendations concerning the hiring and removal of all Police Department personnel. In the case of sworn personnel, except the Animal Control Officer and Park Ranger, the Board of Police Commissioners will make decisions concerning the hiring and removal of such personnel. In the case of civilian members of the Police Department, the First Selectman will make decisions concerning the hiring and removal of such members of the Police Department, after consultation with the Chief of Police.
The First Selectman shall appoint an Economic Development Commission consisting of seven members serving terms of five years each and who shall be appointed at the expiration date of the terms of the current members. The Council may, by legislative action, create and appoint an Economic Authority in accordance with the Connecticut Statutes.
The Commission shall conduct research into the economic conditions and trends in its municipality, shall make recommendations to appropriate officials and agencies of its municipality regarding action to improve its economic condition and development, shall seek to coordinate the activities of and cooperate with unofficial bodies organized to promote such economic development and may advertise and may prepare, print and distribute books, maps, charts and pamphlets which in its judgment will further its official purposes.
There shall be a Historic District Commission appointed by the First Selectman consisting of five members and three alternates. One or more members or alternates of the Historic District Commission shall reside in a historic district under the jurisdiction of the Commission, if any persons who reside in any such district are willing to serve on such Commission. The Commission is charged with the preservation and protection of buildings and places of historic interest in the district and shall perform the duties and functions of a historic district commission as provided in the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, and by such ordinances as the Council shall enact. Each appointment shall be for a five-year term.
There shall be a Conservation and Water Resources Commission consisting of seven members appointed by the First Selectman, each for a term of four years. The Commission shall have the powers and duties set forth in the Connecticut General Statutes and applicable ordinances.
There shall be an Inland Wetlands Commission consisting of seven members appointed by the First Selectman, each for a term of four years. The Commission shall have the powers and duties set forth in the Connecticut General Statutes and applicable ordinances. Upon the ratification of this Charter the seven members of the former Conservation and Water Resources and Inland Wetlands Commission will become the members of the Inland Wetlands Commission and serve out the remainder of their original terms.
The First Selectman shall appoint a Board of Health consisting of five members who shall serve terms of three years. One of the five members of the Board shall be the Director of Health of the Town of Monroe. The Board of Health shall coordinate Town activities relating to public health. The Council may specify by ordinance additional duties and powers of the Board.
There shall be a Parks and Recreation Commission consisting of nine members, who shall serve terms of four years, to be appointed by the First Selectman. The Parks and Recreation Commission shall plan, promote, organize, supervise, develop and carry out parks and recreational programs and facilities for the Town. The Council may specify by ordinance additional duties and powers of the Commission.
The First Selectman shall appoint a Building Board of Appeals consisting of five members for a term of five years each to fill the seats of incumbent Board members. Each member shall meet the requirements of the Connecticut General Statutes for members of building boards of appeals.
Each member shall serve until a successor has been appointed. If a resident appointee cannot be found in the Town of Monroe to satisfy the requirements of the Connecticut General Statutes for membership, then the Council is authorized to make such appointment from qualified residents in contiguous communities. In the absence or disqualification of a member, the First Selectman shall designate a qualified substitute. No member of the Board shall vote on any question in which the Board member is engaged as contractor, dealer, consultant, or preparer of plans or specifications or in which the Board member has any personal interest.
There shall be a Commission for the Aging which shall develop and coordinate programs for the aging, consisting of seven members appointed by the First Selectman for terms of three years each. The Council may specify by ordinance additional duties and powers of the Commission and any special membership requirements applicable. The Commission shall study the needs of the elderly and coordinate municipal and state programs to meet such needs and shall have the powers and duties in accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes and applicable ordinances.
There shall be an Emergency Medical Services Commission consisting of five members appointed by the First Selectman for terms of three years each. The Commission shall function pursuant to the Connecticut General Statutes and applicable ordinances.
There shall be a Housing Authority of the Town of Monroe appointed by the First Selectman and consisting of five members, each serving a term of five years. One of the five members shall be a tenant of a property overseen by the Authority. The Authority shall have the powers and duties set forth in the Connecticut General Statutes and applicable ordinances.
There shall be an Architectural Review Board consisting of five members appointed by the First Selectman for terms of three years each. The membership of the Board shall include an architect or design professional, if any such persons are willing to serve on such Board. The purpose of the Architectural Review Board is to raise the general aesthetic level of the building development in Town by reviewing proposals for new nonresidential buildings, alterations or additions and by promulgating regulations concerning the aesthetics for building design and site layout, to be submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission for consideration and approval.
Any applicant submitting plans for nonresidential development to the Planning and Zoning Commission must contemporaneously therewith provide a copy of such application to the Architectural Review Board. The Architectural Review Board shall review such application and make whatever recommendations it deems appropriate, if any, concerning such application to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Architectural Review Board must provide its recommendations to the Planning and Zoning Commission within 30 days after receiving such application or prior to the close of the public hearing concerning such application, whichever occurs first.
There shall be a Water Pollution Control Authority consisting of five members appointed by the First Selectman for terms of four years each. The Authority shall function pursuant to and in accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes, the Monroe Town Charter and applicable ordinances.
There shall be a Youth Commission consisting of seven members appointed by the First Selectman for terms of two years each. The membership of the Commission shall include at least one member currently under 21 years of age, a representative of the school system, a representative of the Police Department, and a representative of a private youth serving agency. The Youth Commission shall function pursuant to and in accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes, the Monroe Town Charter and applicable ordinances.