All official meetings of the Board shall be open to the public
and the media with the exception of executive sessions. Use of cellular
telephones is prohibited in the meeting. It is the Board's objective
to complete meetings by 10:30 p.m. if possible. The Board will conduct
its business in accordance with all other applicable rules and regulations
including Connecticut General Statues and the Charter.
The Board adopts Robert's Rules of Order as a general guide
for the conduct of all regular and special meetings.
There are two types of Board meetings:
A. For regular Board meetings: the Board shall meet according to their
regular meeting schedule. When a Board meeting falls on an observed
holiday, the Board may determine an alternate day for the meeting
or cancel the meeting.
B. For special meetings: a special meeting may be called by the First
Selectperson or any four Board members. Special meetings may be called
in less than 24 hours, and without notice, for special topics, and
to deal with emergencies involving injury or damage to persons or
property or the likelihood of such injury or damage if the notice
requirements would be impractical.
The First Selectperson ("Selectman," "Selectwoman"), shall be
a voting member and, if present, shall preside as Chair at all meetings
of the Board. In the event of absence or conflict of interest of the
First Selectperson, the Deputy First Selectperson shall preside. In
the event of absence or conflict of interest of both, First Selectperson
and Deputy First Selectperson, the Board shall elect a Chair and the
Town Manager shall call to order the meeting for the election of a
temporary Chair.
A. The First Selectperson shall chair the Board's Personnel Subcommittee.
The First Selectperson may present a "State of the Town Message" at
the beginning of one regular meeting per month.
B. The Chair shall call to order Board meetings. The Chair shall be
responsible for maintaining and preserving order throughout the meeting
and enforcing the rules of decorum. The Chair shall state all questions
submitted for a vote and announce the result. The First Selectperson,
as Chair, may participate in debate and shall refrain from making
a motion or seconding a motion until it is apparent that no other
Board member will do so. The Chair shall determine all motions and
points of order, subject to the right of any Board members to appeal,
by motion, to the Board. If the motion is seconded and passes by a
majority vote, then the ruling of the Chair shall be overruled.
Before presentations begin, the Chair, subject to the concurrence
of a majority of the Board, may establish time limits and otherwise
control presentations by placing parameters and boundaries on them.
There will be no demonstrations during or after the conclusion of
any presentation.
The minutes from each Board meeting shall be open to public
inspection and kept by the Town Clerk. In accordance with Chapter
14, Section 1-225 of the Connecticut General Statutes entitled "Freedom
of Information Act," the votes of each Board member upon any issue
before the Board of Selectmen shall be reduced to writing and made
available to the public within 48 hours. These votes shall also be
recorded in the minutes of the Board meeting. Further, a draft of
the minutes of the Board meeting shall be available for public inspection
within seven days of the session to which they refer. The Town Manager,
in cooperation with the Town Clerk, will post the actions taken by
the Board of Selectmen and both the draft and final version of the
meeting minutes on the Town's website when available.
These Rules of Procedure will be in effect until the end of
the Board's term on December 1, 2025.