[HISTORY: Adopted as Ch. V of the Town Bylaws. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Town Accountant — See Ch. 5.
Finance Committee — See Ch. 79.
Officer and employee regulations — See Ch. 130.
No officer of the Town shall, in his official capacity, make or pass upon, or participate in making or passing upon, any sale, contract or agreement or the terms or amount of any payment in which the Town is interested and in which such officer has any personal financial interest, direct or indirect.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 2, regarding additional compensation of officers and employees, which followed this section, was moved to Ch. 130, Officer and Employee Regulations, Art. I, Powers and Duties, in conjunction with the 2002 recodification.
No contract involving an obligation of the Town in excess of $10,000 shall be binding upon the Town unless it is in writing and signed by at least a majority of the board or committee duly authorized or having control of the appropriation against which such obligation is incurred; and such board or committee shall make a record of every such contract in a book which shall be the property of the Town.
Every contract exceeding $1,000 shall be accompanied by a suitable bond for the performance of the same, or by the deposit of money or security to the amount of such bond if so requested by the officer or board authorized to make the contract.
[Amended 4-1-1991 ATM, Art. 9]
No board or officer shall make any contract on behalf of the Town, the execution of which shall necessarily extend beyond three years from the date thereof, subject to the appropriation of funds, except as otherwise provided by law, as allowed under MGL c. 30B, § 12.
A. 
No contract shall be awarded for any work or service to be performed for the Town, other than professional service or service performed by a person regularly employed by the Town as part of the duties of such employment, the estimated cost of which is $50,000 or more, and no purchase of materials, supplies or equipment shall be made which is estimated to cost $50,000 or more, unless competitive bids for such contract or purchase have first been obtained.
[Amended 4-9-2002 STM, Art. 3; 5-22-2021 ATM by Art. 21]
B. 
The provisions of the preceding subsection shall not apply in cases of special emergency requiring immediate action for the preservation of life or the protection of property; in the case of the purchase of materials, supplies or equipment for which there is no reasonable substitute by reason of natural or actual monopoly, peculiarity of design or type of article, patent right or copyright; in the case of work or service of a specialized nature for which fair and reasonable competition cannot be obtained.
C. 
If a contract or purchase is made without competitive bids under the exceptions allowed in Subsection B, such contract or purchase shall have attached to it, prior to its audit by the Town Accountant, a certificate by the officer, board or committee authorizing the same, setting forth the reasons why competitive bids were not obtained.
D. 
Competitive bids shall be published at least once, not less than two weeks prior to the time specified for the receipt of bids in at least one newspaper of general circulation. This requirement shall be considered a minimum and nothing shall preclude publication outside the general area or more than once prior to receipt of bids. The same notice shall be posted by the Town Clerk on the Town Bulletin Board in the Town Hall and shall contain the following minimum information:
(1) 
A statement of where, when, and for how long IFBs may be obtained;
(2) 
A description of the supply or service desired (e.g., a summary the detailed purchase description included in the IFB);
(3) 
A notice that your jurisdiction reserves the right to reject any or all bids;
(4) 
The identification of any board, committee, commission or other body which must approve the contract.
E. 
Every invitation for competitive bids shall state the time and place where plans and specifications of proposed work or materials, supplies or equipment may be obtained, and the time and place at which bids will be opened, and shall reserve to the Town the right to reject any or all such bids.
F. 
All proposals shall be opened in public at the time and place specified therefor. No purchases and no service or work for which a contract is proposed shall be split or divided for the purpose of evading the provisions of this bylaw.
G. 
All plans and specifications, bids on which awards have been made, certificates required by Subsection C, and contracts shall be kept on file and shall be open to public inspection at reasonable times.
[Amended 5-22-2021 ATM by Art. 1]
Any board or officer in charge of a department of the Town may, with the approval of the Select Board, sell any personal property of the Town within the possession or control of the department which has become obsolete, or is not required for further use by the department, and which does not, in the opinion of the Select Board, exceed $500 in value, said notice of sale to be posted in Town Hall at least 14 days before sale.
[Added 2-25-1992 STM, Art. 6]
No Town department or board shall sign any contract in excess of $10,000, including, without limitation, collective bargaining agreements, without first submitting any such proposed contract to the Finance Committee for its review, and for a determination of the financial impact of the proposed contract on the Town. Within 14 days of its receipt of any proposed contract, the Finance Committee shall provide the contracting department or board, in writing, with a statement outlining the financial impact of the contract on the Town and its recommendation as to whether the contract should be signed. In the event of a negative recommendation, the Finance Committee shall specifically state its reasons therefor. The Finance Committee shall be deemed to have issued a favorable recommendation if the Committee does not issue a recommendation within 14 days of its receipt of the proposed contract. The recommendation of the Finance Committee shall be solely advisory in nature. This bylaw is not intended, nor shall it be construed, to limit, modify, or amend the authority of any Town department or board to enter into contracts. In the event of emergency or other circumstances making it not reasonable for a Town board or department to submit a proposed contract to the Finance Committee as provided herein, said board or department shall give the Finance Committee a copy of said contract with as much notice as possible prior to the signing of said contract, or if prior notice is not possible, a copy of the signed contract within seven days of signing accompanied by a statement explaining why shortened notice, or no notice, of said contract was given to the Finance Committee.