Serving in North Haven's Government

North Haven's government is made up of a great number of individuals who are either elected by town citizens or appointed, usually by the Board of Selectmen (there are also often appointments made to elected positions when people resign during their terms). Most of us act passively. Election day comes and we vote for people nominated to run for open positions. Someone calls us up -- or usually does not -- to ask us if we would like to be appointed to a board or commission. Unless we are on one of the party town committees (and about 40% of town citizens are not even affiliated with either party, not to mention a member of a party town committee) we are not told what positions are open and we are not asked to apply.
       Now things can change, because everyone now has access to a list of all elected and appointed officials (as of 4/27/07), including information about when each person's term expires (the column entitled "TERM"). To learn more about each of the boards and commissions, check the ordinances and Charter under the Ordinances tab above.
       If you want to participate on a board or commission, and you're a party member, ask the party town committee chairs to have the committee consider nominating you (the Democratic chair is Peter Criscuolo, Jr., 15 Fawn Ridge Rd, 234-7797, and the Republican chair is Elinor Pedalino, 600 Washington Ave., Unit C-4, 239-9229). If you are unaffiliated with a party, you may still ask to be nominated by a party. I hope to add information about running as an independent soon. As for appointed positions, you can ask First Selectman Kevin Kopetz (Memorial Town Hall, 18 Church St, 239-5321) or Democratic Selectwoman Janet McCarty (15 Cella Terrace, 239-1913) to appoint you.
         Some towns actually send out detailed press releases to newspapers, asking for people to apply for positions on boards and commissions. Hamden just did this, and you can see the result by clicking here.
       There are a lot of positions opening up this year. This is a great time to get involved in what we hope will be a new, more open, more democratic, more participatory North Haven government. You can help bring about a new era in our town.
       Click here to read a state guide to campaign finance laws for municipal candidates.

North Haven Town History

North Haven was founded in 1786. It has a population of about 24,000 people
and a total area of about 21 square miles. Its form of government is a town
meeting as legislature, a first selectman as chief executive officer, a
board of selectmen as executive body, and a board of finance as budgetary
body. North Haven is the largest town in Connecticut to have held on to the
selectmen-town meeting form of government, which was intended for small
towns. The budget is approved at referendum.

The Town Meeting

According to the town Charter, last amended in 1981, the Town Meeting has
all powers and rights that are not specifically assigned by the Charter to
another office, board, commission, or agency, including all the powers
assigned to the Town Meeting by the Connecticut General Statutes (see CGS
Sections 7-1 through 7-9d). The Town Meeting's principal role is to approve
bonds and notes (for major expenditures such as the new high school) and
capital and other appropriations (that is, expenditures) added on after the
budget has been approved (in North Haven, unlike in most towns, this
usually occurs at a Special Town Meeting held in August). The Town Meeting
has the power to enact, amend, and repeal all town ordinances, which is
what town laws are called in Connecticut, but it generally limits itself to
simply approving ordinances presented to it by the Board of Selectmen. The
Town Meeting may also establish, abolish, consolidate, and alter offices,
boards, commissions, and agencies and their powers, duties, numbers, and
terms, but it almost never makes use of this power.

Most legislative bodies determine a town's policies and provide oversight
with respect to the town executive. Since our Town Meeting does not fulfill
either of these roles, the Board of Selectmen acts as the town's
legislature as well. The First Selectmen and Board of Selectmen employ
their executive powers without any legislative oversight. The reason this
lack of checks and balances was originally acceptable was that in small
towns everyone knew what was happening, so that citizens themselves
provided oversight without the need for representatives. In a town the size
of North Haven, this is not true, and therefore our government does not
function as it was originally intended.

Those eligible to vote at a Town Meeting (referred to as "electors")
include town residents as well as anyone who owns property in town which
has been assessed for at least $1,000 (CGS §7-6).

There is one Annual Town Meeting in May to discuss and, although it is
rarely done, amend the proposed budget (amendments can only reduce
appropriations, not add or change them). Special Town Meetings may be
called at any time by the Board of Selectmen, with at least five days'
notice. Twenty town residents may apply to the Board of Selectmen, asking
it to call ("warn") a Special Town Meeting, and the Board of Selectmen must
call such a meeting so that it is held within 21 days after receiving this
application. (CGS §7-1), but town residents have rarely taken advantage
of this right.

Robert's Rules of Order govern the conduct of town meetings. They are
presided over by a Moderator elected at the beginning of each meeting. Only
matters contained in the town meeting warning can be discussed.

The First Selectman

The First Selectman is not only the chair of the Board of Selectman, but is
also the chief executive officer of the town and its official head for
ceremonial and military purposes. The First Selectman administers,
supervises and directs all the offices and agencies of the town whose heads
are appointed by the Board of Selectmen, essentially everything but the
schools. The First Selectman is also responsible for all purchasing other
than for the schools. And the First Selectmen is a voting member of the
Board of Finance, the Police Retirement Board, and the Sewer Commission, as
well as an ex officio (that is, non-voting) member of all other boards and
commissions. Voting membership in the Board of Finance makes North Haven's
First Selectman the most powerful first selectman in Connecticut.

Sometimes a First Selectman will hide behind his or her membership of the
Board of Selectmen, but the First Selectman is more powerful than the Board
itself and has a great deal more personal responsibility for the affairs of
the town. The First Selectmen is the only full-time member of the Board of
Selectmen, and determines the Board of Selectmen meeting agendas.

The Board of Selectmen

The Board of Selectmen's powers include the appointment of all personnel
and appointive officials, as well as the filling of the unexpired terms of
all elective officials; the purchase and sale of real property (only the
sale of a public building or of land dedicated for park or recreational
purposes needs to be approved by the Town Meeting); and the submission of a
budget to the Board of Finance. Because town meetings do not meet regularly
(they could if people wanted them to, but people do not even attend the few
meetings that are held each year), the state has given many legislative
powers to boards of selectmen.

The Board of Finance

The Board of Finance prepares a proposed budget after receiving budgets
from the Boards of Selectmen and Education. It also holds a public hearing,
fixes the tax rate in mills, designates an accounting firm to do the annual
audit, recommends bonds and notes, and controls the allocation of the
Capital and Nonrecurring Expenditures Fund, sometimes referred to as a
"rainy day fund."