Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, the legislative
body of the Town shall be the Town Meeting, with all the powers conferred
by the General Statutes and by this Charter.
[(19)]
Except as otherwise provided herein, Members of the Town Meeting
shall be electors of the Town or property owners entitled to vote
at Town Meetings as prescribed in the General Statutes. Nonresident
trustees holding title to property in Town in their capacity as a
trustee shall not be entitled to vote at Town Meetings or referenda.
[(13)(16)]
The Board of Selectpersons may, in January of each year, appoint
an Annual Town and Budget Meeting Committee. The Committee shall consist
of five electors, each appointed for a one-year term.[(17)(19)]
The Committee shall be responsible for planning the Annual Town
and Budget Meeting. Emphasis should be on promotion, community involvement
and elector attendance.
The Annual Town and Budget Meeting shall be held on the first
Monday of May each year. It shall receive a "State of the Town" address
by the First Selectperson and long- and short-term planning reports
from selected boards. The First Selectperson is charged with noticing
the call of the meeting. [(17)(19)]
The Board of Finance shall present the final budget proposed
for adoption. The Town Meeting shall review and comment on the material
presented for the benefit and guidance of all elected officials, including
the Board of Finance and Board of Selectpersons and shall conduct
and vote on any business that may be outlined in the call.[(19)]
The procedure to be followed in preparation and adoption of the budget shall be as prescribed by law and Article X of this Charter.
[(19)]
Special Town Meetings may be called from time to time by the
Board of Selectpersons and as required by this Charter.
[(15)(16)(19)]
A Town Meeting shall be called by the Board of Selectpersons,
upon receipt of a petition, under the following circumstances:
(a)
For matters involving expenditures up to $250,000, the petition shall
be signed by 2% of the total number of electors as determined by the
last completed registry of the Town as verified by the Town Clerk;
or
(b)
For matters involving expenditures of $250,000 or more, the petition
shall be signed by 7% of the total number of electors as determined
by the last completed registry of the Town as verified by the Town
Clerk; or
(c)
For matters not involving expenditures, the petitions shall be signed
by 2% of the total number of electors as determined by the last completed
registry of the Town, as verified by the Town Clerk.
|
The Town Clerk shall, prior to any action by the Board of Selectpersons
or Board of Finance, verify the petition. The Town Clerk shall then
provide the Board of Selectpersons and the Board of Finance with copies
of the verified petition.[(19)]
|
|
Verified petitions which meet the requirements of (a) or (b) above shall be acted upon in accordance with Section 10-2 (b) of this Charter concerning additional appropriations.
|
|
The Board of Selectpersons shall hold a public hearing regarding
a petition not involving an expenditure of any funds which meet the
requirements of (c) above. Neither the Board of Finance nor the Board
of Selectpersons shall be required to make a recommendation on such
petition. The vote on the subject of the petition shall occur within
45 days of receipt of the verified petition.[(19)]
|
|
All matters which the petitioners for a Special Town Meeting
desire acted upon, and which meet the signature requirements as verified
by the Town Clerk, if they are proper subjects for action at a Town
Meeting determined by the attorney for the Town, shall be put in proper
form for the call of a Town Meeting and for a Town Meeting resolution
with the assistance of the Town Attorney and these matters shall come
first in the Town Meeting. The Board of Selectpersons, at its discretion,
may add other matters to the call of the meeting.[(19)]
|
[(2)(16)(19)]
Legal notice of all Town Meetings shall be advertised in a newspaper
having a general circulation in the Town at least five days prior
to a Town Meeting. Upon authorization of the Board of Selectpersons,
the First Selecperson shall sign a copy of this notice which notice,
shall be posted at a readily accessible place at Town Hall. It shall
be typewritten or printed and must contain place, date and hour of
the meeting and list all articles to be acted upon. Before or on the
date of the meeting, the Board of Selectpersons shall cause the copy
of the notice, along with the return of notice, to be filed with the
Town Clerk, and the Town Clerk shall cause such copy and return to
be recorded in the Town Meeting record book.
[(2)(16)(19)]
The First Selectperson or a representative of the First Selectperson
shall call the meeting to order and the meeting shall choose a moderator.
All business shall be conducted as provided by Chapter 90 of the General
Statutes, as amended, and in accordance with "Robert's Rules of Order
- of latest revision. Unless otherwise provided by this Charter, action
of all Town Meetings shall be by a majority of the members of the
Town Meeting present and voting at the meeting or voting in a referendum
held in accordance with this Charter.
The Town Clerk or Assistant Clerk shall serve as clerk of the
meeting. In their absence, a clerk shall be chosen by the meeting.
Meetings shall be electronically recorded. Such electronic recordings
shall not eliminate the customary written minutes of the meeting,
which shall be made available to the public at a readily accessible
place in Town Hall not later than 48 hours after the meeting.
[(16)]
(a)
The Town Meeting shall have the sole power to enact or repeal ordinances consistent with this Charter and the General Statutes, except as provided in Section 7-4 of this Charter under emergency conditions.
(b)
Any ordinance enactment or repeal may be initiated by the Board of Selectpersons or by a petition, as defined by Section 3-5 of this Charter. The call for the proposed meeting shall state the proposed ordinance in full. No changes, other than technical corrections, shall be made to the proposed ordinance, and the final resolution shall provide for a yes or no vote. Such ordinance, if enacted, shall be published within 10 days in a paper having a general circulation in the Town and shall become effective 15 days after the publication thereof.
[(19)]
[(5)(16)(19)]
The sale, lease or other disposition of real estate of the Town and the purchase or other acquisition of real estate shall require approval of the Town Meeting, except for powers delegated solely to the Board of Selectpersons in Article VII, Section 7-3(h) and (i). The Town Meeting shall consider no proposal to dispose of or acquire real estate of or for the Town excepted as referred to above, unless and until the Board of Selectpersons or other Town agency proposing such disposition or acquisition first shall hold a duly noticed public hearing not less than 10 days prior to the Town Meeting which shall consider such proposal.
[(16)]
The authorization of bonds or notes (except notes in anticipation
of taxes to be paid within the fiscal year in which issued) shall
require approval either at a Town Meeting or by a majority vote in
a referendum, provided, however, any borrowing of $3,000,000 or more
shall require approval by a majority vote in a referendum. The resolution
authorizing the issuance of bonds or notes, shall establish the maximum
principal amount.
The Board of Finance shall make a recommendation for or against
the proposed bond authorization.
[(16)]
Additional appropriations shall be acted on only in accordance with Section 10-2 of this Charter.
Initial application for state or federal grants involving a
local financial share estimated to exceed 1/2 of 1% of the total annual
budget for the then-current fiscal year shall require approval by
vote of Town Meeting.
[(19)]
The creation of any permanent board or Town agency not otherwise
provided for in this Charter shall require approval by vote of the
Town Meeting.
The Town may, by ordinance approved by the Town Meeting and
pursuant to provisions in the General Statutes, join, determine how
it shall choose representatives, or discontinue its membership in
any such regional, intergovernmental organization created by state
law, in such a manner as is consistent with this Charter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Sec. 3-15, Referendum, which immediately
followed this section, was deleted 11-7-2006. See Notes (5) and (15)
at the end of the Charter.
