The Town Council passed unanimously the following resolution on Tuesday, January 12, 2012.
“BE IT RESOLVED, THAT NO MONETARY PAYMENTS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER FOR SALARY, STIPEND, WAGES, FRINGE BENEFITS, AND THE LIKE, EXCEPT FOR REIMBURSEMENT FOR OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES PAID TO THIRD PARTIES, MAY BE MADE TO THE MAYOR EXCEPT UPON SPECIFIC AUTHORIZATION OF THE VERNON TOWN COUNCIL”.
CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF VERNON: CHAPTER X. THE MAYOR
Section 1. Election and qualifications.
From among the electors of the town, a mayor shall be chosen each two (2) years by election at large. Such mayor shall serve for a term of two (2) years and until a successor shall be elected and qualified and shall take office. The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the town and shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed by the town council. The mayor shall be recognized as the official head of the town for all ceremonial purposes and for military purposes.
By Charter, the Mayor is only entitled to the $20,749 the Town Council approved for him. Any other compensation he directed the Town Finance Office and Town Administrator to pay him should be returned to the Town of Vernon.
To fire a Director of Data Processing, the Charter states:
(d) Removal of the qualified officers outside the classified service. Power to remove the qualified officers outside the classified service shall rest solely with the mayor.
The mayor may act to remove the qualified officers outside the classified service as follows:
At least thirty (30) days before the proposed removal date the mayor shall notify each member of the town council by certified mail of intent to remove any qualified officer and said notification shall include a statement of the reasons for the proposed removal. The mayor at the same time shall serve on any qualified officer or to such officer’s usual place of residence a copy of said notice with the reasons for the proposed removal.
Within ten (10) days of receipt of said notice, such qualified officer, by written request to each member of the town council, may demand a public hearing on the proposed removal, such public hearing to be conducted by the town council which shall designate one of its elected members to preside. In the event a public hearing is called for, such qualified officer shall not be removed until such public hearing is held.
The town council shall convene such hearing not earlier than five (5) days nor later than ten (10) days after receipt of the request for the hearing. At the discretion of the town council, said hearing may be recessed and continued as required, but the town council shall conclude the hearing and by majority vote either confirm or disapprove the removal action of the mayor within twenty (20) days after the day of first convening the hearing.
During the period between the date of notice of intent to remove said qualified officer and the date of the hearing, the mayor shall have the right to suspend such officer.
During the period of suspension or of removal proceedings, said qualified officer’s salary shall continue. The action of the mayor and town council in removing any qualified officer shall be final. Upon suspension of any qualified officer, the mayor may appoint an acting substitute for such qualified officer to serve at the mayor’s pleasure but for not more than one hundred twenty (120) days.
Almost none of this was done. There was no letter, no reasons, so nothing to appeal. It appears that a town attorney has come up with the idea of claiming a conflict with state law to supersede and deny a town employees’ rights under the Town Charter. However, there is no state statute that can be (mis)used to deny town councilors their right under the Charter to the certified letter giving the reasons for the termination of a town officer.
Amarjit S. Buttar
- Board of Education Chair, 1999-2001
- Board of Education Committees: Personnel Policy, Library and Media Negotiation, Policy Revision (Chair)
- Liaison to Northeast School PTO
- Retired, Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission
- BA, MA, and JD, Punjab University
- Master of Laws, University of Michigan
Michele Arn
- Board of Education Chair, 1995-1997
- Board of Education, 1989-1999
- Member, Lions International
- Medical Practice Manager
- Supervisor of Ultrasound and Echocardiology, ECHN
- RHS Graduate
- Springfield College Graduate
Thomasina Russell
- Past Member, Vernon Board of Education
- Past Member, Tolland Grievance Judicial Commission
- Past Member, Hockanum Valley Community Council
- Member, Cornerstone Foundation
- Girl Scout Leader (15 Years)
- Sunday School Teacher (15 Years)
- Married to Walter Russell; 5 Children
- 38-Year Vernon Resident
- Christian
Ginny Gingras
COMING SOON
Thomas A. DiDio
- Past Member, Vernon Town Council
- Past Chair, Vernon Democratic Town Committee
- Past Chair, Vernon Water Pollution Control Authority
- Activities Chair, July in the Sky Downtown 2011
- Events Chair, National Night Out
- Events Chair, Rockville Fest/Car Show
- Co-Chair, Vernon Winter Fest 2011
- Member, Rockville Community Alliance
- Member, Dickens Day Committee
- Past Chair, Community First Committee
- Past Chair, Vernon Recycling Committee
- The Elm Press, Account Manager for Healthcare
- MBA, University of Hartford
- BS, University of Connecticut
Terri Goldich – Vernon, CT Board of Education Candidate
tgoldich@snet.net
- Member, Vernon Board of Education
- Past Member, Vernon Planning and Zoning Commission
- Lay Leader and Sunday School teacher, Rockville United Methodist Church
- Co-Chair, Connecticut Children’s Book Fair
- Librarian and Curator, Northeast Children’s Literature Collection, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, 1996-Present
- UConn Libraries
- RHS Graduate and Mother of RHS Graduate
- BA, UConn; MLS, Southern Connecticut State University
Michael Winkler – Vernon, CT Town Council Candidate
- Member, Vernon Town Council
- Past Member, Zoning Board of Appeals
- Member, Community Voice Channel Board of Directors
- Member, Friends of Valley Falls
- First Vice-President, Administrative and Residual Employees Union
- Masters Degree in Political Science (Public Administration), UConn
