The powers which are conferred and the duties which are imposed upon any commission, board, department or office under the Connecticut General Statutes or any ordinance or regulation in force at the time this Charter shall take effect, if such commission, board, department or office is abolished by this Charter, shall be thereafter exercised and discharged by the commission, board, department or office upon which are imposed corresponding or like functions, powers and duties under the provisions of this Charter. All commissions, boards, departments or offices abolished by this Charter, whether elective or appointive, shall continue in the performance of their duties until provisions shall have been made for the discontinuance of such commissions, boards, departments or offices and the performance of their duties by other commissions, boards, departments or offices created under this Charter and until the Town Clerk shall have notified the members of such commissions, boards, departments or offices as are abolished by this Charter that their successors have qualified.
All employees of the town on the effective date of this Charter whose positions are not abolished by the provisions of this Charter shall retain such positions pending action by the Board of Selectmen or the appropriate officer charged by this Charter with powers of appointment and removal. 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, appointments, ranks, grades, tenure of office, promotion, removals, pension and retirement rights, civil rights or any other rights or privileges of employees of the town or any office, department or agency thereof shall continue to be in effect, until or unless amended or repealed in accordance with the provisions of this Charter.
All records, property and equipment whatsoever of any commission, board, department or office or part thereof, all the powers and duties of which are assigned to any other commission, board, department or office by this Charter, shall be transferred and delivered intact forthwith to the commission, board, department or office to which such powers and duties are so assigned. If part of the powers and duties of any commission, board, department or office are by this Charter assigned to another commission, board, department or office, all records, property and equipment relating exclusively thereto shall be transferred and delivered intact forthwith to the commission, board, department or office to which such powers and duties are so assigned. If part of the powers and duties of any commission, board, department or office are by this Charter assigned to another commission, board, department or office, all records, property and equipment relating exclusively thereto shall be transferred and delivered intact forthwith to the commission, board, department or office to which such powers and duties are so assigned.
All appropriations approved and in force, and all funds, including special or reserve funds in the name of the town, at the time of the adoption of this Charter shall remain in full force and effect unless and until the same shall be amended, transferred or abolished by the Board of Finance under the provisions of this Charter.
No action or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending on the effective date of this Charter brought by or against the town or any commission, board, department or office 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 that functions, powers and duties of any commission, board, department or officer which shall have been a party thereto may, by or under this Charter, be assigned or transferred to another commission, board, department or officer, but in that event, the same may be prosecuted or defended by the head of the commission, board, department or the officer 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 town and all ordinances of the town shall continue in full force and effect, except insofar as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter. The provisions of all Special Acts of the General Assembly relating to the Town of Bethel not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter are hereby retained.
The Board of Selectmen shall review the several provisions of this Charter from time to time as it deems such review to be in the best interest of the town, but not less often than once every five (5) years, said review to be published as part of the annual town report. The Board of Selectmen shall appoint a commission, not later than five (5) years from the effective date of this Charter, to review, amend or revise said Charter in the manner prescribed by the Connecticut General Statutes.
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 the section to which such ruling shall directly apply.
When the context so requires, the masculine gender shall include the feminine, and the singular shall include the plural and the plural the singular.
[Amended 11-7-1978; 11-6-1984]
This Charter shall become effective upon the approval of a majority of the town electors voting hereon at a regular or special election as determined by the Board of Selectmen and in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 99 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
[Added 11-4-2014]
All regularly scheduled and/or special meetings of elected and appointed boards and commissions shall take place at the Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center. School facilities may be used when size and capacity of the meeting rooms are an issue. Additionally, the Bethel Public Library meeting rooms may be used for convenience and overflow purposes.