The Municipal Ethics Commission will hold education sessions on the newly proposed Municipal Code of Ethics at Town Hall in the time running up to Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, when the Code will on the ballot.

The Q&A sessions, the first of which was held on Oct. 5, outlines the basics of the Code, its purpose, and functionality in applying it in a practical manner. Interested town residents can learn about how the Code governs town official and employee activity, in what scenarios certain sections of the document may apply, and whether the Code practically applies to non-government activity by private citizens. According to Luther Moen, a member of the Commission, several questions at the first session were raised regarding the Code’s governance over volunteering members of the community, including those who own local businesses.

“It’s more of a scenario-based exploration of ‘is what I’m currently doing OK to do’ type of thing,” said Moen.

According to First Selectman Angus McDonald, several questions brought up by session attendees on the procedure of raising an ethics concern were answered by the Commission, explaining the guidelines of the complaint forum aspects of the Code, which are meant to walk people through the application process of a ethics concern. Both of those parts of the Code are not attached to the proposal up for a vote on Election Day, and are in the process of being formulated by the Commission.

Moen said that clarification over concerns that were raised by to the Commission during the first session will be reported on by the next education session on the course.

“These meetings are great because it allows us to consider concerns of the community, and it’s also an opportunity for to re-think,” said Moen.

The Commission will hold two more Q&A sessions prior to Election Day, the next to be held as an agenda item for a Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The final session will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 2, less than a week before town resident will vote on its implementation as part of Town operations.

McDonald expressed the importance of the Q&A sessions.

“An educated voter is a good voter,” said McDonald “If people are going to vote on a question, they should understand the question. Folks should read [the Code] and see if it’s something they are in favor of or not.”

The Code is available for review on the Town website.