The powers which are conferred and the duties which are imposed upon any commission, board, department, or office under the General Statutes or any ordinance or regulation in force at the time this Charter shall take effect, if such commission, board, department, or office is abolished by this Charter or superseded by the creation herein of a new commission, board, or office to which are granted similar powers and jurisdiction, shall be thereafter exercised and discharged by the commission, board, department, or office upon which are imposed corresponding or like functions, powers and duties under the provisions of this Charter. All commissions, boards, departments, or offices abolished by this Charter, whether elective or appointive, shall continue in the performance of their duties until provisions have been made for the discontinuance of such commissions, boards, departments, or offices and the performance of their duties by other commissions, boards, departments, or offices created under this Charter and until the Town Clerk shall have notified the members of such commissions, boards, departments, or offices as are abolished by this Charter that their successors have qualified.
All employees of the town on the effective date of this Charter, whose positions are not abolished by the provisions of this Charter, shall retain such positions pending action by the Board of Selectmen or the appropriate officer charged by this Charter with powers of appointment and removal. Any provision of law in force at the time this Charter shall take effect, and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter, in relation to personnel, appointments, ranks, grades, tenure of office, promotions, removals, pension and retirement rights, civil rights, or any other rights or privileges of employees of the town or any office, department, or agency thereof, shall continue to be in effect, until or unless amended or repealed in accordance with the provisions of this Charter. Any person holding a position in the classified service as defined in this Charter on its effective date, shall be retained without preliminary or performance tests and shall thereafter be subject in all respects to the provisions of the Charter.
Any elected or appointed officer, any member of any board or commission, or any employee of the town who has a financial interest direct or indirect, in any contract, transaction, or decision of any officer or agent of the town or any board or commission, shall disclose that interest to the Board of Selectmen for recording upon their official records and any such person shall be thereby disqualified from participation in the awarding, assignment, or discussion of any contract, transaction, or decision. Violation of this provision shall be grounds for the removal of any such person.
All records, property, and equipment whatsoever of any commission, board, department or office or part thereof, all the powers and duties which are assigned to any other commission, board, department, or office by this Charter, shall be transferred and delivered intact forthwith to the commission, board, department, or office to which such powers and duties are so assigned. If part of the powers and duties of any commission, board, department, or office are by this Charter assigned to another commission, board, department, or office, all records, property, and equipment relating exclusively thereto shall be transferred and delivered intact forthwith to the commission, board, department, or office to which such powers and duties are assigned.
All appropriations approved and in force, and all funds, including special or reserve funds in the name of the town, at the time of the adoption of this Charter, shall remain in full force and effect unless and until the same shall be amended, transferred, or abolished by the Board of Selectmen under the provisions of this Charter.
No action or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending on the effective date of this Charter brought by or against the town or any commission, board, department, or office thereof, shall be affected or abated by the adoption of this Charter or by anything herein contained; but all such actions or proceedings may be continued notwithstanding that functions, powers, and duties of any commission, board, department, or officer which shall have been a party thereto may, by or under this Charter, be assigned or transferred to another commission, board, department, or the officer to which such functions, powers and duties have been assigned or transferred by or under this Charter.
As of the effective date of this Charter, all general laws and special acts applying to the town, all ordinances and by-laws of the town, and all rules and regulations of commissions, boards, departments, and agencies of the town shall continue in force, except insofar as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter or are repealed.
The Board of Selectmen shall review the several provisions of this Charter from time to time as it deems such review to be in the best interest of the town, but not less than once every five (5) years, said review to be published as part of the Annual Town Report. The amendment of this Charter may be initiated (a) by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire Board of Selectmen or (b) by a petition signed by not less than ten (10) percent of the electors of the town as determined by the last completed registry list of the town, such initiation in either instance to result in the appointment by the Board of Selectmen of a Charter Revision Commission, said Commission to consider any proposed amendments to the then existing Charter. Such proposed amendments shall not become effective until and unless the same shall have been approved by a majority of the town electors voting thereon at a regular election or if approved at a special election by a majority equal to at least fifteen (15) percent of the electors of the town, as determined by the last completed registry list of the town. The provisions of Charter 99 of the General Statutes, as amended, as may now or hereafter apply to the manner of amending said Charter shall prevail in the event of any conflict with the provisions of this section of the Charter.
If any section or part of any section of this Charter shall be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction such holding shall not affect the remainder of this Charter nor the context in which said section or part thereof so held invalid may appear, except to the extent that an entire section or part of a section may be inseparably connected in meaning and effect with the section or part of the section to which such ruling shall directly apply.
When the context so requires the masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural, and the plural the singular.
This Charter is effective November 4, 1975.
This amended Charter was approved and will become effective upon the approval of a majority of the town electors voting herein at a regular election as stated below in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 99 of the General Statutes, as amended, provided, however, no provision of this Charter shall be implemented until the effective date, except for purposes of preparing for the election of officials who shall take office after the first town election held under this Charter. Appointed or elected officials serving a specific term on the effective date shall continue to serve until the expiration of the term unless the office is abolished or made a part of the classified service. As terms expire or are vacated, the selectmen may, as necessary, make appointments for a short term in order to achieve the regular rotation of appointments, and all elected officials shall continue until their successors shall qualify and take office.
Amendments approved at the election on November 6, 1979 became effective on January 7, 1980.
Amendments approved at the election on November 4, 1986 became effective on November 3, 1987.
Amendments approved at the election on November 3, 1992 became effective on November 2, 1993.
Amendments approved at the election on November 5, 2002 became effective on January 1, 2003.
Amendments approved at the election on November 6, 2007 became effective on January 1, 2008.
Amendments approved at the election on November 7, 2017 became effective on January 1, 2018.
Amendments approved at the election on November 6, 2018 became effective on January 1, 2019.