All General Laws, special laws, town bylaws, votes, rules and
regulations of or pertaining to the town which are in force when the
Charter takes effect and which are not repealed directly or indirectly
hereby shall continue in full force and effect until amended or rescinded
by due course of law or expire by their own limitation.
All committees, commissions, boards, departments, offices and
other agencies of the town shall continue to perform their duties
until reappointed, reelected or until successors to their respective
positions are duly appointed or elected or their duties have been
transferred in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.
[Amended by Chapter 163 of
the Acts of 2020]
Any person holding an office or position in the administrative
service of the town or any person serving in the employment of the
town shall retain such office or position and shall continue to perform
the duties until provisions shall have been made in accordance with
the Charter for the performance of the said duties by another person
or agency; provided, however, that no person in the permanent full-time
service or employment of the town shall forfeit such person's pay
grade or time in service. All such persons shall be retained in a
capacity similar to their former capacity as it is practical so to
do.
All records, property and equipment whatsoever of any office,
department or agency or part thereof, the powers and duties of which
are assigned in whole or in part to another office or agency shall
be transferred forthwith to the office, department or agency to which
such powers and duties are assigned.
(a)
Partial repeal of certain special acts. The following special acts,
insofar as they confer power upon the Town of Easton which the town
would not otherwise hold under the Charter, General Laws or the Constitution,
are retained; otherwise, they are hereby repealed, it being the explicit
intention of this paragraph that portions of any special acts retained
which limit or restrict a power conferred or the manner in which it
is to be exercised be repealed and that powers so conferred are to
be exercised in accordance with the Charter:
Chapter 169 of the Acts of 1887; Chapter 279 of the Acts of 1916; Chapter 444 of the Acts of 1923; Chapter 251 of the Acts of 1926; Chapter 147 of the Acts of 1931, as amended by Chapter 323 of the Acts of 1935; Chapter 18 of the Acts of 1933; Chapter 312 of the Acts of 1933; Chapter 220 of the Acts of 1935; Chapter 36 of the Acts of 1936; Chapter 322 of the Acts of 1936; Chapter 408 of the Acts of 1950; Chapter 748 of the Acts of 1951; Chapter 487 of the Acts of 1952; Chapter 557 of the Acts of 1957.
(b)
Full repeal. The following special act is hereby repealed; provided,
however, that such repeal shall not be construed to invalidate, revoke
or otherwise alter acts done in compliance with or under the authority
of said chapter: Chapter 21 of the Acts of 1945.
(c)
Special act specifically retained. The following special act is hereby
recognized, confirmed and retained: Chapter 13 of the Acts of 1725,
Province of Massachusetts Bay.
This Charter shall take effect upon its adoption by the voters
of Easton except as is hereinafter provided:
(a)
All town officers and all members of all boards, commissions and
committees who have heretobefore been elected and who will henceforth
be appointed under the provisions of this Charter shall serve for
the balance of the term for which they were elected by[1] their successors shall be appointed.
[1]
Editor's Note: So in original. Apparently should be "but."
(b)
The select board shall forthwith
commence to seek qualified candidates to be appointed to the office
of Town Administrator. Such appointment shall be made effective not
later than the September 15 following the election at which the Charter
is adopted.
[Amended by Chapter 163 of
the Acts of 2020]
(c)
The position of administrative assistant to the select board created by vote of the Town Meeting in March 1970 is hereby abolished. Nothing contained in the Charter shall be construed as to grant to the incumbent of that office at the time the Charter is adopted any right or privilege to be retained in the employment of the town. It is the specific intention of this provision that such person not automatically be continued in office under the designation of Town Administrator, which office is created by Article 4 of the Charter. There shall be a widespread search for candidates to be considered for appointment to the office of Town Administrator. The incumbent administrative assistant may be such a candidate.
[Amended by Chapter 163 of
the Acts of 2020]
(d)
The provisions of the Charter which relate to the establishment of
a combined Department of Public Works shall not become effective until
one year after the election at which the Charter is adopted; provided,
however, that no further elections to the offices to be included under
the said Department shall be held. Upon the expiration of the said
one year, the terms of office of the remaining members of the Water
Commission, if any, shall be terminated, and the powers and duties
of the said Commission shall be transferred to the select board and
to the Director of Public Works. The Town Administrator of the Town
of Easton shall appoint to the office of Tree Warden for a three-year
term of office, and the town shall adopt a bylaw providing for such
appointment and setting forth the powers and duties of such office.[2]
[Amended by Chapter 163 of
the Acts of 2020]
(e)
Within six months following the date on which the Charter is adopted
a special committee of five members to revise the bylaws of the town
shall be appointed by the select board and shall submit a report and
recommendations to the Town Meeting for adoption by a warrant article
at a session of the Town Meeting held not more than two years following
the election at which the Charter is adopted.
[Amended by Chapter 163 of
the Acts of 2020]
(f)
The provisions of §§ C6-2 and C6-6 of the Charter
shall not become effective until the operative date of Chapter 849
of the Acts of 1969. Until the change in the fiscal year of municipal
governments which that act establishes is in force, the proposed budget
and proposed capital outlay program as prepared by the Town Administrator
shall be submitted to the select board and the Finance Committee not
later than the last day of December.
[Amended by Chapter 163 of
the Acts of 2020]
