The Board of Selectmen shall execute a merit system which shall provide that all officers and employees in the classified service of the town, as described in Section 1202, shall be appointed on the basis of merit and in conformity with recognized principles of public personnel administration.
The classified service shall include all full-time employees and regular part-time employees of the town, both now and hereafter hired, but shall not include elective officers and persons appointed to fill vacancies in elective offices; members of boards and commissions; employees of the Board of Education; persons employed in a professional capacity to make or conduct a temporary and special inquiry, study, or investigation; persons employed on a part-time basis; and persons employed for a temporary period not exceeding four (4) months. [Amended 11-5-2002; 11-6-2007]
The Board of Selectmen shall prepare a statement of the duties and responsibilities of each position in the classified service and of the minimum qualifications for appointment to such position. These statements shall comprise the classification plan of the town and may be amended by resolution of the Board of Selectmen. New or additional positions in the classified service may be created or existing positions abolished and changes in duties and responsibilities of existing positions may be made by resolution of the Board of Selectmen.
The Board of Selectmen shall prepare a set of personnel rules and regulations which shall provide, among other things, for the method of holding competitive examinations, probationary periods of employment, hours of work, vacations, sick leaves, and other leaves of absences, removals and such other rules as may be necessary to provide adequate and systematic procedure for the administration of the personnel affairs of the town. Such rules and regulations and any amendments thereto shall become effective upon being approved by resolution of the Board of Selectmen and filed with the Town Clerk. Copies of such rules and regulations and any amendments thereto shall be distributed to all town employees. The Board of Selectmen shall appoint, from within its own ranks, three members to serve on a Personnel Policies Committee whose responsibilities shall be to: advise the Board of Selectmen on problems concerning personnel and administration; make any investigation which it may consider desirable concerning the administration of personnel in the town service; and, at least annually, submit to the Board of Selectmen a report on progress of the merit system program during the past year, with its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for improving the merit system of the town; and administer any appeal process that may be established by the Board of Selectmen for any town employee within the classified system who is dismissed or demoted after completing his or her probationary period of service. [Amended 11-6-2007]
The Finance Officer shall prepare for the First Selectman a proposed standard, systematic schedule of pay for each class of positions in the classified service. The First Selectman shall submit the proposed pay plan to the Board of Selectmen with any changes he or she deems necessary and such proposed plan shall take effect when adopted by resolution of the Board of Selectmen. Amendments to the pay schedule may be adopted by the Board of Selectmen from time to time upon recommendation of the First Selectman. For purposes of Chapter 113 of the General Statutes, as amended, the First Selectman shall have the sole authority to recognize the exclusive bargaining agent for any unit of town employees and shall act as the bargaining agent for the town.
The Board of Selectmen may provide by ordinance a system of retirement benefits for the regular full-time employees and regular part-time employees, including employees of the Board of Education at the request of the Board of Education. The town may operate its own retirement plan, may enter into a contract with any financial institution authorized to do business in this state, may elect to participate in the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement Plan, may elect to participate in the old age and survivor of insurance system under the Federal Social Security Act, or may choose any combination thereof. [Amended 11-5-2002]
All references in this Charter to types and/or amounts of benefits are solely for the purposes of description, identification, and authorization. In all cases, the terms and provisions of the insurance, retirement, or other policies themselves and Internal Revenue Code Rules and Regulations shall govern any claim. [Added 11-5-2002]
All officers and employees as may be required to do so by the Board of Selectmen or by the General Statutes, as amended shall, before entering on their respective official duties, execute to the town, in the form prescribed by the Board of Selectmen and approved by the Town Attorney, and file with the Town Clerk, a surety company bond in a penal sum to be fixed by the Board of Selectmen, conditioned upon the honest and/or the faithful performance of such duties. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the Board of Selectmen, if it deems it to be in the best interest of the town, from prescribing a name schedule bond, a schedule position bond or blanket bond, or from prescribing which departments, officers, agencies, boards, or commissions shall be covered by a specific type of the aforementioned bonds. Premiums for such bonds shall be paid by the town.