Copies of the current Town Charter, proposed Town Charter, and red-lined version for comparison are available on the Town website.
The following Questions will appear on the Election Day Ballot (November 4, 2014):
Question 1: Shall there be a general revision of the Charter of the Town of Trumbull?
The first question refers to a series of revisions.
Chapter I, Section 4B. Incorporation and General Powers. Defined Terms. (p. 3)
“Days” Unless otherwise specified, all references in this Charter to “day(s)” are business days. Business days are those days that the Town Clerk’s Office is open. All references to “day(s)” in Chapter II of this Charter are calendar days.
Chapter II, Section 5B. Legislative Branch. Meetings (pp. 7-8)
All elected and appointed boards, commissions, and committees, including the Town Council, will post information about meetings as follows:
For all meetings, agendas and all non-privileged supplemental materials will be posted on the Town’s official web site no less than forty-eight (48) hours prior to the posted start time of the related meeting.
Minutes of all meetings will be posted on the Town’s official web site by the end of the seventh (7th) day following the date the meeting ends.
The information posted on the Town’s official web site must be publicly accessible and downloadable.
The posted information must be kept available on the web site for the greater of five (5) years or the minimum required by law.
Such additional requirements under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act as amended.
Chapter II, Section 6. Legislative Branch. Adoption of Legislation (pp. 8-9)
The adoption of the annual budget shall be governed by the provisions of chapter IV, infra. Every other legislative action, except an emergency action, election of Council officers, appointment of the Clerk of the Council, appointment of an acting First Selectman and adoption of rules and procedure, shall, within three (3) days of its passage, be submitted to the First Selectman for his/her approval. The First Selectman shall sign the proposed legislation, if he/she approves it. If he/she disapproves of the proposed legislation, he/she may within five (5) days following receipt of the same veto and return it to the Clerk of the Council with a statement of the reasons for his/her veto which statement shall be transmitted by the Clerk to the Council at its next meeting. The Council may thereafter pass the proposed legislation by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of its entire membership. Final passage shall mean adoption by the Council and approval by the First Selectman as provided herein or, in the event of veto by the First Selectman, a subsequent adoption of such legislation by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire membership of the Council. If the First Selectman neither approves nor vetoes said legislation within the time required, no further action shall be required by the Council for final passage. Unless such legislative action shall be designated emergency legislation as provided herein, or shall specify a later effective date, it shall become effective on the fifteenth (15th) day following publication, except with reference to the annual budget which shall become effective as hereinafter provided. Additionally, the fifteen (15) day period shall not apply to appointments made for members of Boards, Commissions and Committees. Such appointments shall become effective immediately upon publication.
Chapter III, Section G(ii). Executive Branch. Department of Finance. Purchasing contracts and expenditures. (p. 21)
Before any purchase is made or any contract for insurance, public work or services, other than professional services, involving an expenditure of more than three thousand dollars ($3,000.00), is let, said purchasing authority shall procure quotes from at least three (3) sources, whenever practicable, and such quotes shall be open to any bidder who shall conform to the regulations which may be imposed by said purchasing authority when the quotes are requested.
Chapter IV, Section 3B. Adopting the Annual Budget. Duties of the Town Council. (p. 39)
The Town Council shall consider the budget recommended by the Board of Finance and shall adopt a budget by a majority vote of the Town Council members present and voting no later than the 30th day of April, and submit same to the First Selectman within two (2) days of adoption.
Chapter VII, Section 17C. Boards and Commissions. Ethics Commission. Code of Ethics.
(p. 64)
The Town Council shall have the power and the duty to adopt, under its ordinance making power, and subject to the approval of the First Selectman required for ordinances, a code of ethics which shall, as otherwise provided by law, by this Charter, govern the conduct of all elected and appointed Town officials and all Town employees, including the Board of Education and all its employees, which term shall include paid consultants of the Town and all Boards, Commissions and Authorities. The code shall specify and designate ethical standards of conduct required of affected persons, prohibited activities, and the sanctions that may be imposed for violations of the code with the exception of those cases where violations of the code may also involve criminal violations, in which cases the matters involved may be referred to the appropriate criminal authorities. The power to investigate violations, to conduct hearings on any alleged violations, and to impose sanctions or otherwise enforce the code shall be vested in the Ethics Commission and in no other body or official of Town government.
Chapter VII, Section 17D. Boards and Commissions. Ethics Commission. Procedure.
(p. 64-65)
Delete this section.
Chapter IX, Section 7. Adoption and Amendment Procedures. Referendum on Approval of Charter. (p. 94)
This Charter as revised shall be submitted to the electors of the Town for approval at the election to be held on November 4, 2014. If a majority of those voting shall vote in favor thereof, this Charter as revised shall become effective thirty (30) days after the election.
Each year the Town’s Budget funds the pensions for previous retirees of the Town and the Police, and the anticipated contribution necessary for future retirees.
Question 2: Shall there be a revision of the Charter of the Town of Trumbull to provide for the funding of its pension plans for Town employees and police in the annual budget to the annually required contributions (ARC) amounts as determined by the Towns actuaries?
Chapter IV, Section 6. Adopting the Annual Budget. Funding Pension Plans (NEW SECTION) (Should also be added to the Table of Contents) (p. 41)
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions of this chapter or any other provision of this Charter, the budget adopted for each fiscal year shall fully fund the Town’s Retirement Plan and Police Retirement Income Plan based on the Annual Required Contribution for each plan as prepared by the actuaries. The amounts for these Annual Required Contributions shall be included in the proposed budget prepared by the First Selectman pursuant to Section 1 of this chapter, the budget recommended by the Board of Finance pursuant to Section 2 of this chapter, and the budget adopted by the Town Council pursuant to Section 3 of this chapter. However, in any fiscal year in which the Board of Finance determines that economic circumstances so warrant, the Board of Finance may recommend, by a unanimous vote of all six (6) members of the Board, that the budget adopted for that fiscal year shall fund a percentage less than one-hundred percent (100%) of the Town’s Retirement Plan and Police Retirement Income Plan. If said recommendation is made, then the Town Council may approve said recommendation by a vote of no less than eighteen (18) out of twenty-one (21) members of the Council, thereby adopting a budget for that fiscal year that funds less than one-hundred percent (100%) of the Town’s Retirement Plan and Police Retirement Income Plan.