[Amended by referendum 11-4-2003; amended by referendum11-8-2022]
At the meeting of the Board of Directors on the first Monday in November, 1948, or as soon thereafter as possible, the Board of Directors shall appoint a Town Manager who shall be chosen on the basis of their executive and administrative qualifications with special reference to their actual experience in, and their knowledge of, accepted practices in respect to the duties of their office as herein set forth. At the time of their appointment, the Town Manager need not be a resident of the Town or state, but within one (1) year of appointment the Town Manager shall reside within the Town. No member of the Board of Directors shall receive such appointment during the term for which they shall have been elected, nor within one (1) year after the expiration of their term.
[Amended by referendum 10-5-1964; amended by referendum11-8-2022]
The Town Manager shall be appointed for an indefinite term. The Town Manager may be removed by the affirmative vote of five (5) members of the Board of Directors. At least thirty (30) days before such removal may be made effective, the Board of Directors shall, by such a majority vote of its members, adopt a preliminary resolution stating the reasons for the proposed removal, and a copy of such resolution shall forthwith be mailed by registered mail to the Town Manager at their usual place of abode. The Town Manager may reply and may appear and be represented by counsel at a public hearing which shall be called by the Board of Directors if requested by the Town Manager. Such a request shall be made by the Town Manager not more than thirty (30) days after the adoption of such preliminary resolution. Such hearing shall be held not more than twenty (20) days from the date of such request. After such public hearing, the Board of Directors, by majority vote of all its members, may adopt a resolution removing the Town Manager from office, which may be made effectively immediately. If no request for a hearing is made by the Town Manager, the Town Manager's removal from office shall be effective thirty-one (31) days from the date of said preliminary resolution. By the preliminary resolution, the Board of Directors may suspend the Town Manager from duty; but the Town Manager shall be entitled to his regular compensation until the Town Manager shall have been removed from office, and until such removal the Town Manager shall have access during regular business hours to all records, files and documents in the custody of any Town official pertaining to his conduct as Town Manager. If the Town Manager shall be found guilty by any court of misfeasance or malfeasance in office or of any felony, the Town Manager may be summarily dismissed by the Board of Directors, and the Town Manager shall not be entitled to any salary other than any unpaid balance which may be due the Town Manager.
[Amended by referendum11-8-2022]
The salary of the Town Manager shall be fixed by the Board of Directors, and it shall not be decreased except at the beginning of a fiscal year of the Town.
[Amended by referendum11-8-2022]
To perform the duties of the Town Manager pending the appointment of a Town Manager or during the Town Manager's temporary absence or disability, the Board of Directors may appoint an Acting Manager, who shall not be one of its own members, to perform the duties of the Town Manager.
[Amended by Sp. Act, Jan. Sess., 1949, Sp. No. 475, Sec. 4, 25 C.S.A. 1194, effective 7-1-1949; amended by referendum 10-1-1962; amended by referendum 10-5-1964; amended by referendum 11-5-1991; amended by referendum11-8-2022]
The Town Manager shall be the chief executive officer and the head of the administrative branch of the Town government, and none of the administrative duties of the Town shall be performed by any member of the Board of Directors. All administrative rights, powers and duties of the Town not otherwise vested by this Charter are exclusively vested in the Town Manager. Except for the appointment of boards, agencies and commissions provided for by the General Statutes and except as herein provided, he shall exercise the powers and perform the duties in and for the Town of Manchester which are conferred and imposed by law upon selectmen, except as to the filling of vacancies in elective offices as set forth in § 2-11 hereof and to the delivery and filing of the welfare reimbursement agreements and liens referred to in Sections 17-280 and 17-281, 1958 Revision of the General Statutes.[1] The service of any process against or notice to the Town, and any notice which the General Statutes may provide, should be served upon the selectmen or any selectman of a Town shall, in the case of the Town of Manchester, be served upon the Town Clerk. The Town Manager shall have charge of the preparation of the annual report of the Town required by law, shall attend meetings of the Board of Directors, may participate in any discussion and may make recommendations but shall not have the right to vote at such meetings. In addition to the duties prescribed by this Charter, the Town Manager shall perform such other duties as may be required of the Town Manager by the Board of Directors not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now C.G.S. §§ 17b-125 and 17b-126.
[Amended by referendum11-8-2022]
Unless otherwise specially provided for in this Charter, the Town Manager shall have the power to delegate any person to be the acting head of any department, commission, bureau or board appointed by the Town Manager during the period of any vacancy, absence or disability and until a new appointment shall have been made.