[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(A) Composition; Term of Office. There shall be a Select
Board consisting of five (5) members elected by vote of the registered
voters of the town for three-year overlapping terms, so arranged that
the terms of not more than two (2) members shall expire each year.
(B) Powers and Duties
(1)
All executive authority of the town government
shall be vested in a Select Board, hereinafter called Select Board
members. The Select Board members shall have all the powers and duties
conferred upon Select Boards under the Constitution and General Laws
of the Commonwealth, as determined by the Town By-laws and this Charter.
It shall be the responsibility of the Select Board members to provide
executive policy and procedure to be carried out by the Town Administrator.
The Select Board members shall require all offices and municipal agencies
to administer and enforce the laws equally among the public to protect
the general welfare and the Select Board members may bring suit against
any offices or municipal agency if necessary to carry out the rule
of law.
(2)
Commissioners. The Select Board shall have all
the powers and duties of police commissioners, fire commissioners,
road commissioners, and cemetery commissioners.
(3)
Power of Investigation. The Select Board members
may make investigations of the affairs of the town and the conduct
of any town department office, or agency or employee of the town,
whether elected or appointed, serving with pay or without pay, and
any claims against the town, or require the Town Administrator and/or
Town Counsel to make such an investigation. For this purpose, the
investigatory authority may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths,
take testimony, and require the production of evidence. The report
of such investigation shall be placed on file in the office of the
Town Clerk and/or published in the Annual Town Report if the Select
Board members deem such publication necessary to protect the interest
of the town. The Select Board members may take appropriate legal action
as a result of an investigation if they so deem it necessary to protect
the interest of the town and the public.
(4)
Powers of Appointment. The Select Board members,
by a majority vote, shall have power to appoint persons to town office,
authorized or required by the General Laws, this Charter, by by-law
or by Representative Town Meeting:
(a)
For fixed terms unless otherwise governed by
the General Laws: Constables, (after notice having been duly advertised
for one (1) month prior to said appointment), animal control officer,
veteran's agent, emergency management director and, subject to the
Town By-laws, a Town counsel.
(b)
For indefinite terms: Town Administrator, Town
Clerk, Chief of the Police Department, Chief of the Fire Department
and Sealer of Weights and Measures.
(c)
For fixed, overlapping terms, the members of
the: Council on Aging, Board of Appeals, Permanent Building Committee,
Insurance Advisory Committee, Permanent Cable Advisory Committee,
Conservation Commission, Board of Health, Historical Commission, Economic
Development Committee, Recreation Committee, Sidewalk Committee, Town
Report Committee, Trust Fund Commissioners, Registrars of Voters and
such other standing and/or ad hoc committees as may be constituted
from time to time by vote of the Select Board.
(d)
The Chairperson of the Select Board, together
with the Chairperson of the School Committee and the Moderator shall
appoint two (2) members to the Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical
School Committee as provided in 1-A of "AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT",
dated February 28, 1973.
(5)
Powers of contract. Any contracts negotiated
on behalf of the town shall be subject to the final approval of the
Select Board, except for those contracts preempted by state statute.
(6)
Powers to Rescind Appointments. The Select Board members by a majority vote of board's full membership shall have the power to rescind for cause the appointment of any member of any board, commission, committee or individual office, except that of the Town Administrator, the Chief of Police and Chief of Fire Department, made under the authority of this section, provided that the appointee shall first have been served with written notice stating the reasons for rescinding said appointment, and after conducting a hearing if requested by the appointee, as outlined in Article
VII, Section
7-7 of this Charter.
(7)
Licensing Authority. The Select Board members
shall be the licensing authority of the town and shall issue licenses
and/or permits to properly regulate the activities of business in
regard to public health, safety and well-being, except as otherwise
provided by state law. The Select Board members shall make all necessary
rules and regulations regarding the issuance of licenses and permits
and shall attach any conditions or restrictions thereto pertaining
to the manner in which the business may be conducted and shall enforce
the laws relating to business for which such licenses or permits are
issued, except as otherwise provided by state law.
(8)
Independent Audit. The Select Board shall provide for an independent audit of the accounts of the Town as outlined in Article
VI, Section
6-9.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
When a vacancy occurs, for any reason, in an
elected office, the vacancy shall be filled in the following manner:
(A) In the office of Select Board members, the remaining
Select Board members may call a special election to fill the vacancy
and shall call such election upon the request in writing of two hundred
(200) registered voters of the Town, (or twenty percent of the total
number of registered voters of the Town, whichever number is the lesser);
provided that such request, is filed with such remaining Select Board
members not less than one hundred (100) days prior to the date of
the next annual election.
(B) If there is a vacancy on a board or committee consisting
of two or more members, the remaining members shall give written notice
thereof, within one month of said vacancy, to the Select Board members,
who with remaining member or members of such board or committee shall
after one week's notice, fill such vacancy by ballot. The Select Board
members shall fill such a vacancy if said board or committee fails
to give said notice within the time limit herein specified. A majority
of the ballots of the officers entitled to vote shall be necessary
to such election. The person so elected shall be a registered voter
of the Town and shall perform the duties of the office until the next
annual election.