[Ord. No. 91-1 § 1]
The proper operation of the municipal government of the Town of Brooklyn requires that all public officials and municipal employees, whether elected or appointed, paid or unpaid, shall be impartial and responsive to the public interest; that public office and employment should not be used for personal gain of advantage; and that the public have confidence in the integrity of municipal government. Public official and municipal employees should not place themselves in positions where private interests conflict with public duty. The administration of legislative or quasi-judicial power demand the highest public confidence. Anything which tends to weaken such confidence and to undermine the sense of security of individual rights which the citizen is entitled to feel is against public policy.
[Ord. No. 91-1 § 1]
As used in this section:
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Shall mean any information concerning the property, business or affairs of the Town not generally available to the public.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST Shall mean disqualification in matters involving a personal or proprietary interest. No employee or official shall participate in the hearing or decision of the Board or Commission of which he is a member upon any matter in which he is directly or indirectly interested in a personal or financial sense. In the event of such disqualification, such fact shall be entered on the records of the Commission or Board. No employee or official shall appear for or represent any person in any matter pending before the Commission or Board of which he is a member. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as to prevent any elected or appointed official or employee from any Commission, Board or Agency of the Town provided such person does not violate this section.
DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Shall mean that no official or employee shall disclose or use any confidential information obtained in an official capacity for the purpose of advancing the financial or personal interest of himself or others.
DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST Shall mean any official or employee who has, or feels he has a real, pecuniary or personal beneficial interest in any matter coming before any Board, Commission, or Agency of the Town shall make the same known to such body and such interest shall be disclosed on the records of such body.
EMPLOYEE Shall mean any person receiving a salary, wages or compensation from the Town for services rendered.
FAIR AND EQUAL TREATMENT Shall mean that no official or employee shall grant or accept any special consideration, treatment or advantage to or from any person beyond that which is available to every other person.
GIFTS AND FAVORS Shall mean no official or employee or member of his immediate family shall solicit or accept any gift having a substantial value, whether in the form of service, loan, thing, promise or any other form, from any person or persons who to his knowledge is interested directly or indirectly in any manner whatsoever in business dealings with the Town.
OFFICIAL Shall mean any person holding elective or appointive Town office including members and alternate members of Town Agencies, Boards, and Commissions, and Committees appointed to oversee the construction or improvement of Town facilities, or any other Board, Commission or Agency that exercises legislative or judicial functions or financial authority.
REPRESENTATION OF PRIVATE INTERESTS Shall mean no official or employee shall appear on behalf of private interests before any Board, Commission or Agency of the Town, nor shall represent private interests in any action or proceeding against the Town in any litigation when such appearance or representation would be in conflict with or would impair his independence of judgment on an action in the performance of his official duties as such officer or employee.
USE OF INFLUENCE Shall mean that no official or employee shall solicit any business, directly or indirectly, from another official or employee over whom he has any direct or indirect control or influence with respect to tenure, compensation or duties.
USE OF TOWN ASSETS RESTRICTED Shall mean that no official or employee shall use or permit the use of Town funds, services, property, equipment, owned or leased vehicles, or materials for personal convenience or profit, except when such services are available to the public generally or are provided in conformance with established Town policies for the use of such officials or employees.
[Ord. No. 91-1 § 3]
The enforcement of policy shall be the responsibility of the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town in conjunction with the Board of Ethics.
[Ord. No. 91-4 § 1; Ord. 7/16/12; amended 4-7-2022]
Purchases for the Town of Brooklyn shall be made under the following rules:
All purchases of goods or services shall be governed by and comply with the requirements of a written "Purchasing Procedure" to be adopted and amended from time to time by the Board of Selectmen, with the advice of the Board of Finance, provided that the maximum amount of a contract that may be let without Town approval at a Town Meeting be no more than $20,000 without amending this section.
[Ord. No. 97-5 §§ 1-5; Ord. No. 08-01 §§ 3,4]
a. Pursuant to the authority of Connecticut General Statutes 7-131r and 7-131q, there is hereby established the Brooklyn Land Acquisition Fund (hereinafter referenced to as the "Fund") to be used for the purposes of the preservation of open space or agricultural land, the acquisition of land (or any interest in land, including but not limited to easements and development rights) to be used for open space and for recreation or agricultural purposes. The Fund shall not lapse at the close of the municipal year.
b. There shall be appropriated into the Fund such sums as the Town may appropriate for that purpose. There shall also be deposited into the Fund all payments in lieu of the provision of open space made pursuant to any regulations adopted by the Planning and Zoning Commission under the authority of Connecticut General Statutes 8-25 and 8-25b, and any other funds acquired by the Town, whether by gift, bequest, grant or otherwise, for the purpose to be served by the Fund.
c. Expenditures shall be made from the Land Acquisition Fund only in accordance with the following procedures and requirements:
1. Expenditures shall be made exclusively for the appraisal, acquisition and preservation costs relating to the purchase of parcels of land or any easements, interests or rights therein, the use of which shall be limited to retention of the parcel in its natural condition or the protection of natural resources for passive recreational or agricultural purposes.
2. Recommendations for the appropriation of funds to be used for the acquisition of any parcel and/or easement, right, or interest therein, including the sum to be expended, shall be approved by a vote of the Brooklyn Conservation Commission and forwarded to the Planning and Zoning Commission Board for a report in accordance with Section 8-24 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
3. Following a report by the Planning and Zoning Commission and incorporation of any changes approved by the vote of the Conservation Commission, any recommendations for the appropriation of funds shall be forwarded to the Board of Selectmen for their consideration and upon their approval, to the Board of Finance.
4. Following the approval of such recommendation by the Board of Finance for the appropriation of funds, the Board of Selectmen shall schedule a duly-warned and noticed Town Meeting for consideration by the Town's legislative body.
5. Upon recommendation of the Chair of the Conservation Commission, the Board of Selectmen shall have the authority to expend up to $6,000.00 from the land acquisition fund for each potential acquisition, the expenditure to be used to defray the expenses incurred in investigating the suitability of any parcel of land for acquisition by the Town of Brooklyn. Such expenses shall include but not be limited to payment for the services of real estate appraisers, soil scientists and environmental planners.
d. Any monies generated from timber sales from Town-owned open space properties will be deposited into this fund.
[Ord. 8/1/13; Ord. 1/8/14]
Town Meeting approval shall be required before the Town of Brooklyn sells, leases or transfers any real property owned by the Town of Brooklyn.
[Ord. 8/1/13]
Pursuant to the provisions of § 7-157(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes, any ordinance enacted by the Town of Brooklyn legislative body shall be published within 10 in summary form in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town. Each summary shall bear a disclaimer as follows. "This document is prepared for the benefit of the public, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation. This document does not represent the intent of the legislative body of the Town of Brooklyn for any purpose."
The Town Clerk shall make a copy of such ordinance available for public inspection and shall, upon request, mail a copy of the ordinance to any person requesting a copy at no charge to such person. Every ordinance, unless specifying a later date, shall become effective on the 15th day after such publication following passage of the ordinance. Any ordinance making or requiring an appropriation of funds must be published in full.
[Ord. 8/16/16]
Pursuant to Section 12-129 of the Connecticut General Statutes of the State of Connecticut, the Tax Collector for the Town of Brooklyn is hereby authorized to retain payments in excess of the amount due provided the amount of the excess payment is less than $5.00.
[Ord. 8/16/16]
Pursuant to Section 12-144c of the Connecticut General Statutes of the State of Connecticut, the Tax Collector for the Town of Brooklyn hereby waives all taxes due in the amount less than $10.00 provided that the original bill does not exceed $10.00.