[HISTORY: Adopted by the Special Town Meeting of the Town
of Putnam 2-2-1987. Amendments noted where applicable.]
There is hereby created a regional resource recovery authority
pursuant to Sections 7-273aa to 7-273oo of the Connecticut General
Statutes to be known as the Northeastern Connecticut Regional Resource
Recovery Authority, principal office address being P.O. Box 198, Brooklyn,
CT 06234, subject to the modifications and limitations set forth in
this ordinance. The Northeastern Connecticut Regional Resource Recovery
Authority shall have all the powers and duties of a municipal authority
and of a regional authority pursuant to Chapters 103b, 446d (formerly
361a) and 446e (formerly 351b) of the Connecticut General Statutes.
The first members of the Authority are: the Town of Canterbury,
Canterbury Town Hall, P.O. Box 26, Canterbury, CT 06331, whose initial
representative's term of office shall be one year; the Town of
Killingly, Killingly Town Hall, 127 Main Street, Danielson, CT 06239,
whose initial representative's term of office shall be two years;
the Town of Plainfield, Plainfield Town Hall, 8 Community Avenue,
Plainfield, CT 06374, whose initial representative's term of
office shall be three years; the Town of Pomfret, Pomfret Town Office
Building, R.F.D. #1, Pomfret Center, CT 06259, whose initial representative's
term of office shall be one year; the Town of Putnam, Putnam Town
Hall, 126 Church Street, Putnam, CT 06260, whose initial representative's
term of office shall be two years; and the Town of Thompson, Thompson
Municipal Building, North Grosvenordale, CT 06255, whose initial representative's
term of office shall be three years. In the event that any of the
above named municipalities do not adopt this ordinance, the terms
of office of the initial representatives as shown above shall be redefined
according to Section 3 of this ordinance for any of the above named
municipalities which adopt this ordinance.
Membership in the Authority shall consist of those municipalities
that adopt this Joint Resolution as set forth in paragraph 6 of this
resolution. The representative to the Authority from each member Town
shall be appointed by the Board of Selectmen of each municipality,
except for the representative of the Town of Killingly which shall
be appointed by the Town Council. The Board of Selectmen or Town Council
of each member Town shall be authorized to attend meetings and vote
in the place of an absent representative. Representatives shall serve
without compensation but may be reimbursed by the Authority for necessary
expenses incurred in conducting Authority business. Any representative
may be removed with or without cause by a majority vote of the Board
of Selectmen or Town Council of the Town which appointed the representative.
Each member municipality shall be entitled to one representative
on the Authority and to one alternate, who may vote only in the absence
of the regular representative. Representatives and alternates shall
serve for three-year terms, except that the initial appointments shall
be for one, two or three-year terms based on alphabetical assignment
of those municipalities comprising the Authority. Thereafter, initial
terms for representatives of new municipal members shall rotate among
one, two and three-years in the order of adoption of the Joint Ordinance.
All initial terms shall be deemed to begin on the day the Authority
is created.
The Northeastern Connecticut Regional Resources Recovery Authority
shall operate with one hundred voting units which shall be assigned
to member municipalities in proportion to each municipality's
share of the total population of all members of the authority as determined
by the latest decennial federal census of population. There shall
be no fractional votes. Each municipality shall have a minimum of
one vote. The distribution of voting units among members shall be
recomputed following each decennial federal census and upon the withdrawal
or termination of any member municipality or the admission of a new
member. Action by the Authority shall require the affirmative action
of at least 60% of the total voting units present and voting at a
duly called meeting of the Authority at which a quorum is present.
The presence, at a meeting, of representatives from a majority of
the member municipalities shall be necessary for a quorum.
A member municipality shall not assume any liabilities or responsibilities
of the Northeastern Connecticut Regional Resource Recovery Authority
or created by the action of said Authority, or be responsible for
payment of any expenses of said Authority unless an appropriation
for the Municipality's proportionate share of such expenses has
been approved by the municipality or a contract setting forth such
liabilities and responsibilities for expenses has been approved by
the municipality.
This ordinance shall take effect when it has been adopted by
five or more towns in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region.
No municipality may withdraw its membership in the Authority
without a vote of its legislative body to withdraw from the authority
and giving at least six months notice to each of the other participating
municipalities and to the Northeastern Connecticut Regional Resource
Recovery Authority. Such withdrawal of membership will not in any
manner relieve the municipality of liabilities or responsibilities
assumed prior to withdrawal, including, without limitation, contracts
and agreements to supply municipal solid waste, to pay tipping fees
or other charges, and to make landfill space available.
That only the Towns of Putnam and Pomfret be allowed to use
the Town of Putnam dumping site until a solid waste recovery unit
is built. Once the resource recovery unit is operating, any solid
waste disposal in Putnam will require Town Meeting approval. The incinerator
will not be located in Putnam.
