There shall be a Health and Human Services Commission of nine
members. The members shall be electors of the Town, and the First
Selectman shall be a member ex officio but shall vote only in case
of a tie. With the exception of the First Selectman, the members shall
serve without compensation and shall hold no other office of trust
or emolument in the Town government. Service on committees of the
Town government is not prohibited by this section, provided that such
service does not create a conflict of interest as defined in the Town
Code of Ethics.
The Selectmen shall annually on or promptly after the first
day in December appoint three members of the Commission, all of whom,
after qualification, shall hold office for a term of three years from
the first day of December until their successors have been appointed
and have qualified.
On or promptly after the first of December in each year, the
Commission shall meet at the call of the First Selectman to choose
one of its members to be Chairman and one of its members to be Secretary.
The Chairman shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the Commission
and shall vote as a member thereof. The Secretary shall file in the
office of the Town Clerk a full and detailed record of all proceedings,
acts and resolutions of the Commission, as required by the Freedom
of Information Act, including the votes of each member on all actions
taken, and such record shall be a public record; provided, however,
that the names of needy persons and confidential matters relating
to their domestic, financial or other private affairs, and the votes
of the members of the Commission in specific instances granting or
refusing welfare, shall not be a public record. The concurrence of
a majority of the Commission shall be necessary for the transaction
of business.
The Health and Human Services Commission shall have the following
general duties and responsibilities in serving Town needs in the areas
of human services, aging services, youth services and assigned public
health services:
The Commission shall possess and exercise all of the powers
and duties relating to the public's general welfare as described
above, imposed upon boards of selectmen or municipalities by the Town
of New Canaan, General Statutes of Connecticut or the United States
Code, as well as those powers and duties that may be imposed on it
by ordinances of the Town.
