An Annual Town Meeting for the consideration of the budget and
the transaction of other Town business shall be held on a date set
by ordinance. Special Town Meetings shall be called by the Board of
Selectmen when required under the terms of this Charter and in the
manner provided by the General Statutes, as amended. The Board of
Selectmen shall convene a Special Town Meeting on petitions of 50
qualified voters within 21 days after receipt of such petition by
the Town Clerk. Any Town Meeting may be adjourned as the interests
of the Town may require.
By a petition signed by 200 or more electors of the Town, any
item(s) on the call of a Town Meeting shall be submitted to a referendum
not less than seven or more than 14 days thereafter on a date to be
set by the Town Meeting or, if the Town Meeting does not set a date,
by the Board of Selectmen. Such petition shall be submitted to the
Town Clerk not less than 24 hours prior to the Town Meeting. Such
referendum shall be conducted under the provisions of the Connecticut
General Statutes, Section 7-7.
All Town meetings shall be called to order by the Mayor or his
designated representative. A Moderator shall be elected and all business
conducted in the manner provided by Chapter 90 of the General Statutes,
as amended, except as otherwise provided in the Charter. The Town
Clerk shall serve as Clerk of all Town meetings, but in the Clerk's
absence, an acting Clerk may be designated by the meeting.
The electors of the Town shall have the power to approve or
reject at a referendum any ordinance adopted by the Town Meeting,
except an emergency ordinance adopted in accordance with the provisions
of Section 6, Chapter VII of this Charter. Ordinances submitted to
the Town Meeting by initiative petition as provided in Section 4 of
this chapter and adopted by the Town Meeting shall be subject to a
referendum in the same manner as other ordinances. Within 20 days
after the publication of any ordinance as provided in this Charter,
which ordinance may be subject to referendum, a petition requesting
that such ordinance be either repealed or submitted to a vote of the
electors may be filed by any elector of the Town with the Town Clerk.
Any such petition shall conform to the requirements of the General
Statutes, as amended, except as provided herein. Said petition shall
contain the full text of the ordinance to be repealed or submitted
to referendum and shall be signed in ink or indelible pencil by qualified
electors of the Town equal in number to at least 200 electors registered
at the last regular municipal election. Said petition shall be accompanied
by affidavits signed and sworn to be each circulator as provided in
the General Statutes, as amended. The Town Clerk shall, within five
days after receipt of the last page of said petition, determine the
petition and the affidavits to be sufficient in the manner prescribed
in this Charter and certify said petition to the Mayor. Upon filing
of such petition with the Town Clerk, the effective date of such ordinance
shall be postponed if necessary to the certification by said Clerk
that the petition is not sufficient or to the certification of the
results of such referendum. The question of repeal shall be submitted
to the electors at a referendum called by the Board of Selectmen and
held within 30 days after the petition for referendum has been certified
to the Mayor. A majority vote of the electors to repeal such ordinance
shall not become effective unless a total of at least 15% of the electors
entitled to vote on the question shall have voted.