The powers which are conferred and the duties which are imposed upon any office, agency, board or commission under the General Statutes, as amended, or special acts concerning the Town or City of Putnam or any ordinance or regulation, in force at the time this Charter shall take effect, if such office agency, Board of Selectmen, or commission is abolished by this Charter, shall be thereafter exercised and discharged by the office, agency, board or commission upon which are imposed corresponding or like functions, powers and duties under the provisions of this Charter. All offices, agencies, boards, and commissions abolished by this Charter shall continue in the performance of their duties until provisions have been made for the discontinuance of such offices, agencies, boards, or commissions created under this Charter and until the Town Clerk has notified the members of such offices, agencies, boards, or commissions as are abolished that their successors have been qualified.
All persons holding permanent positions in the service of the Town or City on the effective date of this Charter shall retain such positions until promoted, transferred, reduced in rank, or removed in accordance with the provisions of this Charter. Any provision of law in force at the time this Charter shall take effect, and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter, in relation to personnel, appointment, ranks, grades, tenure of office, promotions, removal, pension and retirement rights, civil rights, or any other rights or privileges of employees of the Town or City or any office, department or agency, shall continue in effect, until or unless amended or repealed in accordance with the provisions of this Charter.
Any elected or appointed officer or any employee of the municipality who has a financial interest, direct or indirect, in any contract, any transaction or any decision of any board or commission to which the municipality is a party shall disclose that interest to the Board of Selectmen or the District Authority, who shall record such disclosure upon the official record of their meetings. Violation by any such officer or employee of the provisions of this section with the knowledge, express or implied, of any person or corporation participating in such contract, transaction, or decision shall render the same voidable by the Board of Selectmen, District Authority or by a court of competent jurisdiction.
All records, property, and equipment of any office, agency, board or commission or part thereof, all the powers and duties of which are assigned to any other office, agency, board, or commission or part thereof are by this Charter assigned to another office, agency, board or commission, all records, property, and equipment relating exclusively thereto shall be transferred and delivered intact to the office, agency, board or commission to which such powers and duties are so assigned.
No action or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending on the effective date of this Charter brought by or against the City or Town of Putnam or any office, agency, board, commission thereof, shall be affected or abated by the adoption of this Charter or by anything herein contained, but all such actions or proceedings may be continued notwithstanding the functions, powers, and duties of any office, agency, board, or commission party thereto may by or under this Charter be assigned or transferred to another office, agency, board or commission, but in the event, the same may be prosecuted or defended by the head of the office, agency, board or commission to which such functions, powers, and duties have been assigned or transferred by or under this Charter.
All general laws of the State of Connecticut applicable to the City and Town of Putnam as of the effective date of this Charter, and all ordinances of the City and Town of Putnam shall continue in full force and effect, except insofar as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter.
This Charter may be amended in the manner prescribed by law.
If any section or part of any section of this Charter shall be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the remainder of this Charter nor the context in which said section or part thereof so held invalid may appear, except to the extent that an entire section or part of a section may be inseparably connected in meaning and effect with the section or part of a section to which such holding shall directly apply.
The provisions of Chapter II shall take effect commencing with the 2019 municipal election. All other provisions of this Charter shall take effect on January 1, 2018.