[Amended 11-4-2008]
The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) shall be the chief administrative officer of the Town. As such, he or she shall possess, have and exercise the administrative powers as directed by the Mayor or Acting Mayor, except as otherwise limited by this Charter, state law and/or federal law.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
The CAO shall be appointed and may be removed or suspended, with or without pay, by the Mayor. The qualifications of the CAO shall be a Master of Business Administration degree, Master of Public Administration degree, or such other education, general executive and administrative experience and ability as are necessary to perform the duties of the office. The CAO shall be appointed on the basis of such factors including, but not limited to, education, municipal and public experience, professional training, and executive and administrative qualifications, and shall be considered an “at will” employee.
The CAO shall devote his or her entire time and business interest to the management of the town's affairs and shall not, during his or her term of office, be an employee of or perform any executive duty for any person, firm, corporation or institution other than the Town of Stratford.
The Chief Administrative Officer shall have the powers and duties hereinafter enumerated and shall be directly responsible to the Mayor for the proper administration thereof:
1. 
To recommend to the Mayor adoption of such measures as he or she may deem necessary or expedient;
2. 
To assist the Mayor in the submission to the Council of the Annual Budget as by this Charter required;
3. 
To perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or required of him or her by the Mayor;
4. 
To assist the Mayor in all aspects of labor negotiations, personnel issues, financial management, and any other field of public administration commensurate with his or her knowledge and experience.
There shall be six (6) administrative departments as follows: Public Works, Safety, Health, Economic and Community Development, Finance and Office of Town Clerk, the functions of which shall be prescribed by the Council except as herein provided.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
The Fire Chief, Chief of Police, Administrator of Emergency Medical Services, Human Resources director and the heads of each administrative department shall be a director, or the CAO may serve as a director of any or all departments until such time as a director is deemed necessary, unless otherwise precluded by law.
Each director shall be chosen on the basis of his or her general executive and administrative experience and ability and of his or her education, training and experience in the class of work which he or she is to administer.
The directors of departments shall be immediately responsible to the Mayor for the administration of their departments and their advice in writing may be required by the Mayor on all matters affecting their departments. They shall prepare estimates, which shall be open to public inspection, and they shall make all other reports and recommendations concerning their departments at stated intervals or when requested by the Mayor. In the event of a vacancy in any subordinate office as provided by this Charter the directors within their respective departments may exercise the powers and duties of such subordinate offices.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
The Mayor shall appoint a health officer, an animal control officer, a tax collector, a treasurer, and an assessor and may appoint one or two assistant assessors, all of whom shall be employees of the Town. They shall have all the powers conferred and perform all of the duties imposed upon them by the General Statutes.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
A certificate of the appointment of each director and each subordinate employee signed by the Mayor shall be filed with the Town Clerk and recorded in the records of the Council
The Director of Public Works shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties necessary for the administration of the department of public works. The department of public works shall be concerned with (a) maintenance of the streets, highways, buildings, lands, including parks and recreation areas, and all other physical assets of the town; (b) refuse collection and disposal; (c) preparation of data for the expansion, construction or repairing of public buildings and other physical assets of the town, including construction, laying out, expansion or repairing of highways, sidewalks, curbs, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, sewerage treatment facilities, seawalls and devices to prevent shore erosion; (d) administration, compilation, maintenance, review and enforcement of the building code, plumbing code, electrical code, gas and oil burner code, and ordinances of the town and statutes of the State relating thereto to provide minimum standards to safeguard life, limb and property, and to promote the public welfare by regulating and controlling the design, construction and quality of materials of all buildings and structures within the town, and to provide minimum standards for the maintenance, location and use of all buildings and structures within the town; (e) the issuance of permits or licenses for the construction, repair, alteration or remodeling of all buildings, public and private; (f) inspection of all buildings, public and private, for the purpose of ascertaining the existence of fire hazards and hazards caused by rot, deterioration, dilapidation or catastrophe; (g) such other and further matters as prescribed by statutes of the State of Connecticut and local ordinances or as may be referred to it from time to time by the Mayor.
The department of public works shall be composed of the director of public works, the town engineer, the building inspector, the superintendents of highways, wastewater treatment, sanitation, building maintenance, and parks, and their respective employees.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
The Director of Safety shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties necessary for the administration of the department of safety. The department of safety shall be concerned with (a) police protection of the town, its citizens, and their individual and collective property; (b) the extinguishing and prevention of fire; (c) emergency medical services; (d) maintenance of all equipment entrusted to its charge; (e) maintenance of disaster and emergency facilities; (f) instruction of all townspeople in matters of safety and fire prevention; (g) the enforcement of all penal statutes of the state and ordinances of the town; (h) the control of stray dogs; (i) such other and further matters as prescribed by the statutes of the state of Connecticut and local ordinances or as may be referred to it from time to time by the Mayor.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
The department of safety shall be composed of the director of safety, the Chief of Police, the Fire Chief, the Administrator of Emergency Medical Services and their respective employees and/or volunteers.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
The Animal Control Officer and any such Assistant Animal Control officers as are appointed shall be under the jurisdiction, supervision and control of the chief of police. During the absence or disability of the Animal Control Officer, the Assistant Animal Control Officers shall perform all the duties of the Animal Control Officer.
The Director of Health shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties necessary for the administration of the department of health. The department of health shall be concerned with (a) maintenance of all public health facilities; (b) air pollution control; (c) pollution control of streams; (d) instruction of all townspeople in matters of public health; (e) inspection of premises where food is served to the public; (f) inspection of all devices, outlets, and facilities for the dispensing of drinking water to the public; (g) inspection of all premises where food is sold to the public for private consumption; (h) inspection of all premises maintained for the care of sick or aged persons; (i) enforcement of the sanitary code and state laws relating to any of the foregoing concerns; (j) such other and further matters as prescribed by statutes of the State of Connecticut and local ordinances or as may be referred to it from time to time by the Mayor.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
The department of health shall be composed of the director of health, all other employees required by law, and such other employees as have been assigned.
The Director of Finance shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties necessary for the administration of the department of finance. The department of finance shall be concerned with (a) fiscal policy of the town (b) compilation and maintenance of a grand list of property within the town subject to taxation; (c) assessment of valuation of property on the grand list; (d) preparation of data incident to presentation of the annual budget of the town; (e) supervision of the execution of contracts of the town; (f) supervision of payment of debts of the town including bonded indebtedness; (g) supervision of the collection of taxes levied by the town; (h) maintenance of financial records of the town; (i) custody of public funds; (j) such other and further matters as prescribed by the statute of the state of Connecticut and local ordinances or as may be referred to it from time to time by the Mayor.
The department of finance shall be composed of the director of finance, the town treasurer, the tax collector, the assessor, the purchasing agent, and their respective employees.
Accounts shall be kept by the department of finance showing the financial transactions for all departments of the Town. Forms for such accounts shall be prescribed by the director of finance with the approval of the Mayor, which forms shall be adequate to record all cash receipts and disbursements, all revenues accrued and liabilities incurred, and all transactions affecting the acquisition, custody and disposition of values and for the making of such reports of the financial transactions and conditions of the Town as may be required by law or ordinance.
The Purchasing Agent of the Town shall purchase all supplies, materials, equipment and other commodities and services for all departments, agencies, boards or commissions of the Town including that purchasing done for the Board of Education. All purchasing done for the Board of Education shall be done in accordance with the specification as to quality defined by said Board of Education.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
Financial reports shall be prepared for each quarter and each fiscal year, and for such other periods as may be required by the Mayor and/or Council. Said reports shall be provided to the Mayor and the Council.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
Payments by the Town shall be made as certified by the head of the appropriate department or other division of the town government as approved by the director of finance. Payments shall be authorized by the director of finance and the Mayor. The director of finance shall examine all payrolls, bills and other claims and demands against the town, and shall issue no warrant for payment unless he or she finds that the claim is in proper form, correctly computed and duly certified, that it is justly and legally due and payable, that an appropriation has been made therefor which has not been exhausted or that the payment has been otherwise legally authorized and that there is money in the town treasury to make payment. He or she may require any claimant to make oath to the validity of the claim. He or she may investigate any claim and for such purposes may examine witnesses under oath and if he or she finds it is fraudulent, erroneous or otherwise invalid he or she shall not issue a warrant therefor.
[Amended 11-4-2008]
(a) 
The Town shall conduct an audit upon any of the following: (a) after the close of the fiscal year, an annual audit will be conducted; (b) upon the death, resignation, removal or expiration of the term of any director of the Town or such other employee as determined by the director of finance, the director of finance shall make an audit and investigation of accounts of such director or employee and shall report such findings to the Mayor and the Council; (c) upon the death, resignation, removal or expiration of the term of the director of finance, the Mayor shall direct that an independent audit be made of his or her accounts, and the findings of such audit shall be reported to the Mayor and the Council; and (d) upon the authorization of the Council, at any time, the accounts of any officer or department head of the Town may be audited.
(b) 
The annual audit required by Section 5.6.7 (1)(a) shall be made by Certified Public Accountants, selected by the Council, who have no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the financial affairs of the Town or any of its officers or employees.
The Town Clerk shall exercise the powers and perform the duties of a Town Clerk as provided by the General Statutes, except as herein otherwise provided, and shall perform such other duties required by this Charter. The fees or compensation provided by the General Statutes to be paid to the Town Clerk shall be collected by him or her in accordance with the provisions of the General Statutes or this Charter or ordinances of the town; shall be deposited with the treasurer of the town as required by the director of finance; and at the time of making each such deposit, the Town Clerk shall file with the treasurer a full statement of such receipts. The Town Clerk shall also keep a record of receipts in his or her office in book form, which record shall show the name of each person from whom money is received, the amounts thereof and for what received.