(a)
There shall be the following administrative officers: Town Attorney;
Assessor; Director of Finance; Director of Health; Fire Marshal; Tree
Warden; Building Inspector; Director of Civil Preparedness and Emergency
Management; Personnel Director; Public Works Director; Sanitarian;
Town Planner, Chief of Police and such other permanent administrative
officers as have been or hereafter may be established in accordance
with this Charter.
All administrative officers shall be appointed by the Mayor
with the approval of the Town Council or such other Board or Commission
as is required by this Charter. All appointments shall be made solely
on the basis of professional qualification, character, training and
experience consistent with the duties granted to such officer.
(b)
The Town Attorney, Director of Health, Tree Warden, and Director
of Civil Preparedness and Emergency Management, shall be appointed
for terms set forth in this Chapter. All other administrative officers
shall be appointed to serve at the pleasure of the Mayor and Town
Council. The latter appointments may be terminated and such officers
discharged from office with or without cause upon the concurrent action
of both the Mayor and Town Council acting by an affirmative vote of
not less than two-thirds of all its members.
(c)
Each administrative officer, with the approval of the Mayor, may
appoint and remove such Deputies, Assistants and employees as may
be authorized by the Town Council and the Town Council shall prescribe
their duties.
A Town Attorney or firm of attorneys to represent the Town shall
be appointed to serve for a term coterminous with the Mayor and until
a successor is appointed and qualified.
The Town Attorney shall be an attorney at law admitted to the
practice in this State.
Except as otherwise provided by law, he shall:
(a)
Represent, appear for and protect the rights of the Town in all actions,
suits, and proceedings brought by or against it or any of its departments,
offices, agencies, boards or commissions.
(b)
Be the legal advisor of the Town Council, Mayor, and all town officers,
boards and commissions in all matters affecting the Town
(c)
Upon written request by or through an Administrative Officer or by
any board or commission, submitted through the office of the Mayor
and Town Attorney, furnish a written opinion, within a reasonable
period of time after receipt of such request, on any question of law
involving their respective powers and duties.
(d)
Upon request, he shall prepare or approve forms of contracts or other
instruments to which the Town is a party or in which it has an interest.
(e)
Have power, with the approval of the Town Council, to appeal from
orders, decisions, and judgments, and subject to the approval of said
Town Council, to compromise or settle any claims by or against the
Town.
If, in special circumstances, the Town Council deems it advisable,
it, by resolution, may provide for the temporary employment of counsel
other than or in addition to the Town Attorney.
The Assessor shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval
of the Town Council for an indefinite term to be the head of the Office
of the Assessor. He shall have all the powers and perform all the
duties imposed on the Assessor according to the Connecticut General
Statutes and as may be prescribed in writing by the Town Council.
The Mayor shall appoint a Director of Finance with the approval
of the Town Council for an indefinite term.
The Director of Finance shall:
(a)
Be the treasurer of the Town of New Milford and shall have all of
the powers, duties and responsibilities imposed upon the Town treasurers
by the Connecticut General Statutes.
(b)
Be the treasurer of all trust funds held by the Town.
(c)
Receive and have custody of all funds belonging to or under the control
of the Town or of any board, commission, department, officer or agency
thereof.
(d)
Require all such boards, commissions, departments, officers and agencies
to report and remit all receipts to him as often as necessary for
fiscal management.
(e)
Make such deposits or investments as he deems in the best interest
of the Town, provided that they are made in compliance with the requirements
of the Connecticut General Statutes and Section 806(e) of this Charter.
(f)
Be responsible for the safekeeping of all bonds, notes or other securities
held by the Town and for the receipt and delivery of such bonds, notes
or other securities for transfer, registration and exchange.
(g)
Work in cooperation with the Tax Collector to develop a program for
the effective collection of delinquent taxes. He may assign one or
more employees from his office to the office of the Tax Collector
to accomplish such purpose.
(h)
Work in cooperation with the Town's land use agencies and other
Boards, Commissions and Departments to develop uniform procedures
designed to prevent the lapse of permit bonds, performance bonds,
letters of credit or other security given to the Town.
(i)
Install, maintain and supervise the general accounting system for
all departments, offices, boards, committees, commissions and agencies
in conformance with the uniform system of accounts for Connecticut
municipalities, or such other system as may be approved by the Board
of Finance and the Tax Commissioner of the State. He shall also prescribe
the form of accounts to be kept by each Department, office, Board,
Committee, Commission and agency of the Town, keep separate accounts
for the appropriations contained in the budget and encumber immediately
with the amount of each purchase order, payroll or contract, and maintain
for each account a record of the amounts paid and remaining unpaid,
all encumbrances and unencumbered balance.
(j)
Audit, before payment, all bills, invoices, payrolls and other evidence
of claims, demands or charges against the Town.
(k)
Compile, for the Mayor and the Town Council, estimates for the budget
and the capital program and shall assist in the preparation of the
annual budget document.
(l)
Advise the Town Council and the Board of Finance of changes in departmental
programs and departmental estimates of revenue and expenditures.
(m)
Submit not less than monthly to the Town Council and Board of Finance
a financial statement showing the amount of each appropriation and
any transfers, encumbrances and expenditures and such other fiscal
data as may be prescribed by the Town Council or the Board of Finance.
(n)
Prepare for the Town Council and the Board of Finance at the end
of each fiscal year a complete financial statement and report.
(o)
Establish procedures designed to provide for the centralized purchasing
of supplies by all Town boards, commissions, departments, including
the Board of Education (if allowed by law and approved by the Board
of Education), agencies or officers and to provide for the management
and supervision of inventories.
(p)
Assist the Mayor in the development, updating and maintenance of
the five (5) year capital improvement plan required to be presented
as part of the annual budget pursuant to the provisions of Section
802.
(q)
Prepare a cost analysis of all labor contracts, pension plans and
insurance plans prior to the signing of any such contracts or plans.
He shall assist in all labor negotiations and shall serve as a consultant
to the labor negotiators representing the Town.
(r)
In addition to the powers, duties and responsibilities as are prescribed
by this Charter, the Director of Finance shall have such other, duties,
powers and responsibilities as lawfully may be delegated to him by
Town Meeting, the Mayor, or the Town Council.
(s)
The Director of Finance may, with the approval of the Mayor and of
the Town Council and within the limits of the appropriations made
to his office, appoint qualified administrators, including a Comptroller,
to whom he may delegate specific functions of the aforesaid duties.
Each such appointee may be terminated and discharged from office with
or without cause upon the concurrent action of both the Mayor and
the Town Council acting by an affirmative vote of not less than a
majority of all of its members.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Director of Finance shall
at all times remain fully responsible for the performance of the duties
and responsibilities imposed upon him by this Charter.
The Director of Health shall serve a term of four (4) years
and until a successor is appointed and qualified. The Director of
Health shall have such powers and duties as prescribed by the Connecticut
General Statutes for local directors of health and such other powers
and duties as this Charter or the Town Council may prescribe.
The Fire Marshal shall be appointed for an indefinite term and
have all the powers and duties conferred upon fire marshals by the
Connecticut General Statutes and such other powers and duties as this
Charter or the Town Council may prescribe.
The Tree Warden shall serve for a term coterminous with the
Mayor and until a successor is appointed and qualified. The Tree Warden
shall have all the powers and duties relating to said office as prescribed
by the Connecticut General Statutes for tree wardens and such other
powers and duties as this Charter or the Town Council may prescribe.
The Building Official shall be certified with the State of Connecticut.
He shall be appointed for an indefinite term and have the powers and
duties to enforce the State Building Code as conferred by the Connecticut
General Statutes and shall have such other powers and duties as this
Charter and the Town Council may prescribe.
The Director of Civil Preparedness and Emergency Management
shall serve for a term coterminous with the Mayor and until a successor
is appointed and qualified. The Director of Civil Preparedness and
Emergency Management shall have such powers and duties as are provided
by Chapter 517 of the Connecticut General Statutes and such other
powers and duties as this Charter and the Town Council may prescribe.
The Personnel Director shall serve an indefinite term and be
the head of the Personnel Department and shall have such powers and
duties as this Charter and the Town Council may prescribe.
The Public Works Director shall serve for an indefinite term
and be in charge of the Department of Public Works and shall exercise
his powers and discharge his duties under the supervision of the Mayor
in accordance Section 1002 of the Charter and as prescribed by the
Town Council and in accordance with Town Ordinances.
The Sanitarian shall serve for an indefinite term and have all
of the powers and duties conferred upon sanitarians by the Connecticut
General Statutes and such other powers and duties as this Charter
and the Town Council may prescribe.
The Town Planner shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval
of the Town Council for an indefinite term. The Town Planner shall
have responsibilities, including but not limited to, performing and
supervising technical and professional work with respect to long-range
planning in the town and in the development and implementation of
land use and related policies and regulations. The Town Planner shall
also have the powers and duties not inconsistent with this Charter
as the Town Council may prescribe.
The Chief of Police shall be appointed by the Mayor, with the
approval of the Town Council, for a definite term not to exceed four
years, and upon the expiration of any such term, may reappoint the
Chief of Police in like manner for successive terms not to exceed
four years each. During any such term or appointment, the Town Council
may remove the Chief of Police from office for cause upon written
charges presented by the Mayor in the procedural manner prescribed
by Section 7-278 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
(a)
The Chief of Police shall execute all powers concerning the management
and supervision of the Police Department hereafter conferred on the
Mayor or otherwise conferred by law.
(b)
The Chief of Police shall be directly responsible to the Mayor for
the proper execution of the Town of New Milford's organized police
department, which shall be responsible for the preservation of the
public peace, prevention of crime, apprehension of criminals, regulation
of traffic, protection of rights of persons and property, and enforcement
of the laws of the State and the ordinances of the Town and all rules
and regulations made in accordance therewith.
(c)
All members of the Department, except clerical and other personnel
without law enforcement responsibilities, shall have the same powers
and duties with respect to the service of criminal process and enforcement
of criminal laws as are vested in police officers by the Connecticut
General Statutes.
(d)
The Mayor, acting through the Chief of Police, shall have the general
management and supervision of the Police Department and of the equipment
and facilities used in connection therewith. He shall make all needful
regulations for the government thereof not contrary to law and may
prescribe suitable penalties for the violation of any such regulation,
including suspension or removal from office of any officer, member
or employee of such Police Department.
(e)
The Mayor shall establish a system for the review of civilian complaints
against officers, members and employees of the Police Department and
shall submit the procedures establishing such system for the review
of civilian complaints to the Town Council for its approval.
(f)
Except as provided for the Chief of Police, all appointments, promotions
and removals from office of officers, members and employees of the
Police Department shall be made by the Chief of Police with the approval
of the Mayor, under such procedures as are adopted for such purpose,
and the appointees shall hold office during good behavior and until
removed for cause upon written charges and after hearing.
