Public Notice: Charter Revision Referendum Results

During the Municipal Election held on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, the electors of the Town voted in favor of proposed changes to the Town Charter through a public referendum.

The approved revisions to the Town Charter reflect the community’s commitment to maintaining a responsive, transparent, and effective local government. These changes were the result of a thorough review process conducted by the Charter Revision Commission, followed by public hearings and Town Council approval.

All below changes to the Charter are effective November 5, 2025, except for Section 610 which takes effect on the second Tuesday of November 2027.

Section 203 – Town Officers.

The Commission recommends that this Section be amended to address proposed changes to the elective officers of the Town, by removing references to the Board of Selectman, as no longer being applicable, and Town Treasurer, and Town Clerk, as being changed later in the proposed revised charter to an appointed position as opposed to being an elected position.

The Commission recommends that this Section be further amended by adding language which clarified the duties of Town Constables to be in accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes, and to include a right to first refusal by Town Constables for the service of any tax warrant.

The Commission recommends that this Section be further amended to add language that no political party shall nominate more than 5 candidates to the Town Council, and no elector shall vote for more than 5 members of the Town Council, and that at no time will there be more than a bare majority of any one political party on the Town Council.

Section 204 – Terms of office and minority representation.

The Commission recommends that this Section be amended to address proposed changes to the elective officers of the Town, by removing references to the Board of Selectman, Town Treasurer, and Town Clerk, as being changed later in the proposed revised charter to an appointed position as opposed to being an elected position.

The Commission recommends that this Section be further amended to change the language to reflect that no political party shall nominate more than 5 candidates to the Town Council, and no elector shall vote for more than 5 members of the Town Council.

Section 208 – Vacancies.

The Commission recommends that this Section be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following language:

Vacancies in elective offices, including the Board of Education, from whatever cause arising, shall be filled by the Town Council. In filling any vacancy, the Town Council shall select a person nominated by the political party Town Committee of the former incumbent, at the time of their election, unless the incumbent was an unaffiliated voter, in which case the successor shall also be an unaffiliated voter. All appointments to fill vacancies in any elective Town office shall be for the unexpired portion of the term of the elective office so filled.

In the event of a vacancy of a Town Council seat, the political party Town Committee shall nominate an individual to fill that seat within 10 days of such vacancy, which nominee shall be voted upon at the next regularly scheduled Town Council meeting. If such nominee is rejected by the Town Council, the Town Committee shall nominate a different individual to fill the vacancy within 10 days, which new nominee shall be voted upon at the next regularly scheduled Town Council meeting. If the second nominee is also rejected by the Town Council, the vacancy shall be automatically filled at the next Town Council meeting by a different Town Committee nominee. All appointments to fill vacancies in any elective Town office shall be for the unexpired portion of the term of the elective office so filled.

Section 209 – Voting Districts.

The Commission recommends that this Section be amended to add language which would state that voting locations shall only take place in Federal, State or Town of South Windsor owned buildings according the Federal and State election laws.

Section 301 – Town Council.

The Commission recommends that this Section be amended to remove the Mayor’s compensation of $75 per month and allowing for the reimbursement of only “authorized expenses.” The Section is proposed to read as follows:

There shall be a Town Council, consisting of nine members hereinafter referred to as the "council." The members of the council shall serve without compensation, but they shall be reimbursed for authorized expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. No member of the council shall be elected or appointed to any office in or shall accept employment by the Town during the term of office for which they are elected. This section shall not preclude any council member from being elected to any office upon termination as a member of the council.

Section 302 – Organization.

The Commission recommends that this Section be amended to remove the time of the organizational meeting of the Town Council from “8:00pm” to “a time designated by the Town Clerk.” The Commission further recommends that this Section be amended to incorporate gender neutral language through this Section.

Section 303 – Clerk of the Council.

The Commission recommends that the title to this Section be changed from “Clerk” to “Clerk of the Council” for clarity purposes. No other changes to this Section are recommended.

Section 305 – General Powers and Duties.

The Commission recommends that the reference to “Manager” in the last paragraph be changed to “Town Manager” for clarity purposes. No other changes to this Section are recommended.

Section 306 – Ordinances; public hearing and publication.

The Commission recommends removing the requirement of posting ordinances and publishing notices for public hearings “in a daily newspaper having a general circulation in said Town” and replacing such requirement with posting notices “in a public place and published as required by law.”

Section 307 – Introduction of ordinances.

The Commission recommends removing the requirement of preparing “at least fifteen” copies of a proposed ordinance, replacing such requirement with “sufficient” copies of the proposed ordinance.

Section 310 – Relations to Administrative Service.

The Commission recommends that the references to “Manager” in this Section be changed to “Town Manager” for clarity purposes. No other changes to this Section are recommended.

Section 315 – Appropriations.

The Commission recommends that this Section be revised to allow for the adoption of a Procurement Ordinance with the approval of six (6) affirmative votes of the Town Council, as follows:

Purchases other than those made by the Board of Education shall be under such rules and regulations as may be established by a Procurement Ordinance, which may be adopted, repealed or amended by the Town Council with no less than 6 affirmative votes by the Town Council. This would include the sale of Bonds, Notes, sale conveyance of real property, annual budget, capital non-recurring expenditures and contracts for Public Works.

Chapter 4 - Town Manager.

The Commission recommends that in all Sections in Chapter 4 of the Charter, Sections 401 through 407,references to “Manager” in these Sections be changed to “Town Manager” for clarity purposes and make similar gender-neutral revisions throughout. Similar changes are made throughout the proposed revised Charter.

Section 404 – Town Manager.

The Commission recommends that the last sentence of this Section be removed, to allow the Town Council to appoint an Acting Town Manager in the Town Manager’s temporary absence, and not have the Town Clerk serve in that capacity.

Section 407 – Appointment of department heads.

The Commission recommends that references to Sanitary Officer, Director of Social Services, and Director of Recreation, be revised to read, respectively, Superintendent of Pollution Control, Director of Human Services, and Director of Parks and Recreation, to accurately reflect current department head titles. The Commission further recommends that the department heads of Town Clerk and Fire Chief be added to this Section.

Section 501- Appointment of Officers.

The Commission recommends that the position of Town Attorney being appointed by the Town Council be removed from this section and be appointed by the Town Manager with the consent of the Town Council as later stated in Section 609.

Section 502 - Appointment of Boards

The Commission recommends that the reference to the Jury Committee and Library Board of Directors be removed, to accurately reflect current board and commissions, and update the name of the Board of Tax Review to the Board of Assessment Appeals.

Section 604 - Department of Public Works.

The Commission recommends that the reference to the Town Dump be replaced with the term Public Works Facilities to accurately reflect current term for such facility.

Section 606 - Director of Human Services.

The Commission recommends retitling this Section from Director of Social Services, to Director of Human Services, and make similar changes within the Section, and also deleting references to the “poor, defective and dependent persons” to be served by this department and replace such language with all “town residents”.

Section 607 - Health Director.

The Commission recommends revising this Section and adding a sentence which states that the Town Manager shall appoint a Public Health Service Director, or Designee” to accurately reflect the current obligations of the Town Manager.

Section 608 - Department of Finance.

The Commission recommends revising this Section to update the language to accurately reflect current operations within the Town, by removing the sentence referencing that the Town Manager may serve as Director of Finance until directed by Town Council otherwise by ordinance; and by adding language to the end of this Section to assign duties previously assigned the Town Treasurer to the Department of Finance, as follows:

The Department of Finance includes any previous duties of the Town Treasurer as provided in the original Charter, and the General Statutes of the State of Connecticut. It does not include any of the duties of the Town Clerk and Registrar of Vital Statistics as provided for in the general statutes of the State of Connecticut. The Town Manager will assign duties of Town Treasurer to Finance Department.

Section 609 - Town Attorney.

The Commission recommends revising this Section to have the Town Attorney be an appointed position by the Town Manager, with the approval of the Town Council.

Section 610 - Town Clerk and Selectmen.

The Commission recommends revising this Section change the title of this Section to only Town Clerk, and to remove all items related to the Selectmen as no longer being applicable, and to restate the position of Town Clerk as an appointed office as follows:

The Town Manager shall have the power to appoint a Town Clerk. The Town Clerk shall be a Department Head. The Town Clerk shall continue in this position until resignation, death, or removal for just cause. The appointed Town Clerk position will become effective the 2nd Tuesday in November 2027. The Town Clerk shall be certified by the State of Connecticut to perform all duties of the Town Clerk within 4 years of the date of appointment and shall remain certified in this position. The present Town Clerk shall not be prohibited from applying for the Town Clerk position. The Town Clerk shall have all the powers and duties as prescribed by the Connecticut General Statutes, this Charter and Town Ordinances.

Section 611 - Tree Warden and Dog Warden.

The Commission recommends repealing this section entirely, as the Tree Warden position is part of the Department of Public Works, and the Dog Warden is now called the Animal Control Officer and part of the Police Department.

Section 612 - Department of Recreation.

The Commission recommends retitling this section the Department of Parks and Recreation, and adding a sentence to the end of this Section which states the Department is also responsible to “provide proper care and maintenance and control of public grounds, parks and open space properties owned by the Town of South Windsor.”

Section 704 - Duties of Council on the budget.

The Commission recommends removing the requirement of posting the time and place of a public hearing for the budget “in a daily newspaper having a general circulation in said Town” and replacing such requirement with posting notices “in a public place and published as required by State law.”

Section 705- Council action on the budget.

The Commission recommends removing the requirement of adopting both the Town Manager’s Budget and the School Budget on the same date, May 22, annually.

Section 710 - Appropriations.

The Commission recommends adding a requirements of six (6) affirmative votes of the Town Council for all appropriations.

Section 712 - Lapse of Appropriations.

The Commission recommends adding the Special Revenue Recreation Fund as a non-lapsing fund.

Section 713 - Purchasing.

The Commission recommends the repeal and replacement of this Section with the process of a Procurement Ordinance adopted by at least 6 votes of the Town Council. The new language reads as follows:

Purchases other than those made by the Board of Education shall be under such rules and regulations as may be established by a Procurement Ordinance, which may be adopted, repealed or amended by the Town Council with no less than 6 affirmative votes by the Town Council. This would include the sale of Bonds, Notes, sale conveyance of real property, annual budget, capital non-recurring expenditures and contracts for Public Works.

Section 714 – Purchasing Procedure – Repealed.

The Commission recommends the repeal of this Section because of the recommended change to Section 713 above and a process of a Procurement Ordinance adopted by at least 6 votes of the Town Council.

Section 715 - Contract for Public Works – Repealed.

The Commission recommends the repeal of this Section because of the recommended change to Section 713 above and a process of a Procurement Ordinance adopted by at least 6 votes of the Town Council.

Section 716 - Payment of Claims.

The Commission recommends revising this Section to allow for modern forms of payment, and for payment of payroll and other bills by electronic fund transfers to be executed by the Director of Finance once approved by the Town Manager, as opposed to being paid by a check signed by the Town Manager and Treasurer. The revised language reads:

No payroll, bill or other claim against the Town, except those of the Board of Education, shall be paid until the same has been audited and endorsed for correctness, legality and payment by the Town Manager or Purchasing Agent. All payments shall be made by check and/or Electronic Fund Transfer EFT, against a Town bank account authorized by the Finance Department and Town Manager. All payrolls, bills or other claims against the Board of Education shall be audited as such Board will provide, and payments shall be made by check and/or Electronic Funds Transfer-EFT, against the Town bank signed by the Finance Department, by the Chair of the Board of Education, or such official as may be designated by the Board of Education for this purpose. If an emergency situation should disable the Chair of the Board of Education, the Vice-Chair of the Board of Education may countersign such checks during the period of the emergency, unless an official has been designated for this purpose.

Section 801 – Mandatory Public Hearing.

The Commission recommends removing the requirement of advertising public hearings “in a daily newspaper having a general circulation” and replacing such requirement with posting notices “according to state law”

Section 802 – When action by a public hearing is required.

The Commission recommends the repeal and replacement of this Section with the process of a Procurement Ordinance adopted by at least 6 votes of the Town Council. The new language of this Section reads as follows:

Purchases other than those made by the Board of Education shall be under such rules and regulations as may be established by a Procurement Ordinance, which may be adopted, repealed or amended by the Town Council with no less than 6 affirmative votes by the Town Council. This would include the sale of Bonds, Notes, sale conveyance of real property, annual budget, capital non-recurring expenditures and contracts for Public Works.