Article 2 Legislative Branch

Election and term — As soon as practicable after the councilors-elect have been qualified following each regular town election, as provided in section 8-10, the members of the town council shall elect from among its members a council president who shall serve during the current term of office.

Powers and duties — The council president shall preside at all meetings of the town council, regulate its proceedings and shall decide all questions of order.

The council president shall appoint all members of all committees of the town council, whether special or standing. The council president shall have the same powers to vote upon all measures coming before the town council as any other member of the town council. The council president shall perform any other duties consistent with the office that may be provided by charter, by ordinance or by other vote of the town council.

Council Vice-President — The members of the town council shall also elect from among its members a council vice-president who shall serve as acting president during the temporary absence or disability of the council president during the current term of office. The powers of an acting council president shall be limited to only those powers of the office indispensably essential to the performance of the duties of the office during the period of temporary absence or disability.

Section 2-3 Prohibitions

Holding other Town office or position — No member of the town council shall hold any other town office or town employment for which a salary or other emolument is payable from the town treasury. No former member of the town council shall hold any compensated appointed town office or appointed town employment until 1 year after the date on which the former member's service on the town council has terminated.

Interference with administration — Except for the purpose of inquiries and investigations under section 2-7, the town council and its members shall deal with the officers and employees serving under the mayor, solely through the mayor, and neither the town council nor any member of the town council shall give orders or directions to any such officer or employee, either publicly or privately.

Section 2-4 Compensation, expenses

Salary — The members of the town council shall receive such salary for their services as may from time to time be set by ordinance. No ordinance increasing the salary of town councilors shall be effective unless it shall have been adopted during the first 18 months of the term for which town councilors are elected and unless it provides that the salary increase is to take effect upon the organization of the town government following the next municipal election.

Section 2-6 Exercise of powers; quorum; rules

Expenses — Subject to appropriation and to prior authorization by the town council, the town council members shall be entitled to reimbursement of their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

Section 2-5 General powers

Except as otherwise provided by general law or by this charter, all powers of the town shall be vested in the town council which shall provide for their exercise and for the performance of all duties and obligations imposed upon the town by law.

Exercise of powers — Except as otherwise provided by general law or by this charter, the legislative powers of the town council may be exercised in a manner determined by it.

Quorum — The presence of a majority of members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a smaller number may meet and adjourn from time to time. Except as otherwise provided by general law or by this charter the affirmative vote of the majority of members shall be required to adopt any ordinance or appropriation order.

Rules of procedure — The town council shall from time to time adopt rules regulating its procedures, which shall be in addition to the following:

(i)

Regular meetings of the town council shall be held at a time and place fixed by ordinance.

(ii)

Special meetings of the town council shall be held at the call of the council president, or, at the call of any 4 or more members, by written notice delivered in hand or to the place of residence of each member and which contains a listing of the items to be acted upon. Except in case of an emergency, of which the council president shall be judge, this notice shall be delivered at least 48 weekday hours in advance of the time set for the meeting. A copy of the notice to members shall immediately be posted upon the town bulletin boards.

(iii)

All sessions of the town council and of every committee or subcommittee of the council, shall at all times be open to the public and to the press, unless another provision is made by law.

(iv)

A full, accurate, up-to-date account of the proceedings of the town council shall be kept, which shall include a record of each vote taken, and which shall be made available with reasonable promptness following each meeting. The minutes of any executive session shall be made available as soon as their publication would not defeat the lawful purpose of the executive session.

(v)

All business which is to come before the town council shall first be assigned to a standing committee for study and a report with its recommendations to the full council.

(vi)

Any citizen of the town may be recognized and speak to any agenda item discussed at town council meetings.

Section 2-7 Access to information

In general — The town council may make investigations into the affairs of the town and into the conduct and performance of any town agency and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and require the production of evidence. Upon completion of the investigation, a report shall be submitted to the town clerk and the report shall be printed in the annual town report.

Town officers, members of Town agencies, employees — The town council may require any town officer, member of a town agency or town employee to appear before it to give any information that the town council may require in relation to the municipal services, functions, powers, or duties which are within the scope of responsibility of that person and within the jurisdiction of the town council.

Section 2-8 Officers appointed by Town Council

Mayor — The town council may require the mayor to provide specific information to it on any matter within the jurisdiction of the town council. The town council may require the mayor to appear before it, in person, to respond to written questions made available to the mayor at the time the request to attend is made to the mayor to provide specific information on the conduct of any aspect of the business of the town. The mayor may bring to this meeting any assistant, department director or other town officer or employee that the mayor may consider necessary to assist in responding to the questions posed by the town council.

(d)

Notice — The town council shall give not less than 5 days notice to any person it may require to appear before it under this section. The notice shall include specific questions on which the town council seeks information, and no person called to appear before the town council under this section shall be required to respond to any question not relevant or related to those presented in advance and in writing. Notice shall be by delivery in hand, or by registered or certified mail to the last known place of residence of that person.

Town Auditor — The town council shall appoint a town auditor to serve for a term of 3 years and until a successor is chosen and qualified. The town auditor shall conduct, or cause to be conducted, financial and performance audits following government auditing standards as promulgated by the comptroller-general of the United States. The town auditor shall make periodic reports to the town council in such detail and with such frequency as the town council shall, by ordinance, by rule or by other vote, direct. All officials of the town shall cooperate with the town auditor in the performance of this audit function. The town auditor shall have such other powers and duties as may be provided by charter, by ordinance or by other vote of the town council.

Town Clerk — The town council shall appoint a town clerk to serve for a term of 3 years and until a successor is chosen and qualified. The town clerk shall, with the approval of the town council, appoint an assistant town clerk to serve coterminously with the town clerk. The town clerk shall be the keeper of vital statistics for the town; the custodian of the town seal; shall administer the oath of office to all persons, elected or appointed, to any town office; shall issue such licenses and permits as are required by law to be issued by town clerks; and shall supervise and manage the conduct of all elections and all other matters relating to elections. The town clerk shall have any other powers and duties that are given to municipal clerks by general law, by this charter, by ordinance or by other vote of the town council.

Section 2-9 Ordinances and other measures

Clerk of the Council — The town council shall appoint a clerk of the council to serve for a term of 3 years and until a successor is chosen and qualified. The clerk of the council shall give notice of its meetings to its members and to the public, keep the journal of its proceedings and perform any other duties that may be provided by ordinance or by other vote of the town council.

(d)

Salaries/compensation — The officers appointed or elected by the town council shall receive the salaries or other compensation that may from time to time be provided for these offices, by ordinance.

(e)

Removal/suspension — Any person appointed or elected by the town council may be removed or suspended by the town council by the use of the procedures established in the personnel ordinance for the removal of town employees appointed or elected by the town council.

Emergency ordinances — No ordinance shall be passed finally on the date it is introduced, except in case of emergency involving the health or safety of the people or their property. No ordinance shall be regarded as an emergency ordinance unless the emergency is defined and declared in a preamble to the ordinance, separately voted upon and receiving the affirmative vote of 6 or more members of the town council. Emergency ordinances shall stand repealed on the sixty-first day following their adoption, unless an earlier date is specified in the measure, or unless a second emergency measure adopted under this section is passed extending it, or unless a measure passed under this section has extended it.

Measures, in general — The town council may pass a measure through all of its stages at any 1 meeting, except proposed ordinances, appropriation orders and loan authorizations, if no member of the town council shall object; but, if any single member objects, a vote on the measure shall be postponed to the next meeting of the town council. On the first occasion that the question of adopting any measure is put to the town council, except an emergency measure as defined in section 2-9(a), if a single member objects to the taking of a vote, the vote shall be postponed until the next regular or special meeting of the town council. This procedure shall not be used more than once for any measure notwithstanding any amendments made to the original measure.

Section 2-10 Council review of certain appointments

Publication — Every proposed ordinance, appropriation order or loan authorization, except emergency ordinances under section 2-9(a), shall be published once in full in a local newspaper, and in any additional manner as may be provided by ordinance, at least 10 days before its final passage. After final passage it shall be posted on the town bulletin board and otherwise published as may be required by ordinance. Whenever a proposed ordinance or codification of ordinances or other measure would exceed in length 10 column inches of ordinary newspaper notice print, then, in lieu of publication in a local newspaper, the document may be published and made available at the office of the town clerk in booklet or pamphlet form at least 10 days before its final passage, and this publication shall be considered sufficient notice. Whenever the town council provides for publication in a booklet or pamphlet in lieu of the newspaper publication, it shall, at least 10 days before final passage, prepare and publish in a local newspaper a general summary of the proposed ordinance, or ordinances, and a notice stating the times and places at which copies of the booklet or pamphlet may be obtained by the public.

The mayor shall submit to the town council the name of each person the mayor desires to appoint to any town office, as a department director, or as a member of a multiple-member body, but not including any position that is subject to the civil service law. The town council shall refer each name that is submitted to it to a standing committee of the town council which shall investigate each candidate for appointment and may make a report, with recommendations, to the full town council not less than 7 nor more than 21 days after the referral. The committee may require any person whose name has been referred to it to appear before the committee, or before the town council, to give any information relevant to the appointment that the committee, or the town council, may require.

Appointments made by the mayor shall become effective on the thirtieth day after the date on which notice of the proposed appointment was filed with the clerk of the council, unless 6 members of the town council shall within those 30 days vote to reject the appointment, or unless the town council has sooner voted to affirm the appointment. The question on rejection of any appointment made by the mayor shall not be subject to the procedure of charter objection provided in section 2-9(b) of this charter.

Section 2-11 Filling of vacancies

Councilor-at-Large — If a vacancy shall occur in the office of councilor-at-large during the first 18 months of the term for which councilors are elected, the vacancy shall be filled in descending order of votes received by the candidate for the office of councilor-at-large at the preceding regular town election who received the largest number of votes without being elected, if that person remains eligible and willing to serve and if that person received votes equal to at least 30 per cent of the vote total received by the person receiving the largest number of votes for the office of councilor-at-large at the regular town election. The town clerk shall certify this candidate to the office of councilor-at-large to serve for the balance of the then unexpired term. If a vacancy shall occur in the office of councilor-at-large during the last 6 months of the term for which councilors-at-large are elected, the vacancy shall be filled by the person at the regular town election who receives the highest number of votes for the office of councilor-at-large, and who is not then serving as a member of the town council. This person shall immediately be certified and shall serve for the last 2 months of the current term in addition to the term for which the person was elected.

District Councilor — If a vacancy shall occur in the office of district councilor it shall be filled in the same manner as provided in section 2-11(a) for the office of councilor-at-large except that the list shall be of the candidates for the office of district councilor in the district in which the vacancy occurs. However, if there be no candidate on that list who remains eligible and willing to serve, the next highest ranking candidate from among the candidates for election to the council at large who is a resident of the district in which the vacancy exists, shall be certified and shall serve until the next regular town election if that candidate remains a resident of the district, is willing to serve as a district councilor and received votes in the district equal to at least 30 per cent of the vote total received by the person receiving the largest number of votes for the office of district councilor at the regular town election. The town clerk shall certify that candidate to the office of district councilor to serve for the balance of the then unexpired term.