[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. 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.
[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.