(Free Petition; Initiative; Referendum; Recall, Open Meeting)
(a) 
Commencement of Proceedings. Initiative procedures shall be started by the filing of an initiative petition with the town clerk. The petition shall be addressed to the town council or the school committee, shall contain a request for passage of a particular measure set forth in the petition and shall be signed by not less than ten percent of the total number of voters.
Signatures to initiative petitions need not be all on one paper. All such papers pertaining to any one measure shall be fastened together and shall be filed in the office of the town clerk as one instrument, with the endorsement thereon of the names and addresses of the persons designated as filing the same. With each signature to the petition, shall be stated the place of residence of the signer, giving the street and number, if any.
Within ten days of the filing of said petition the registrars of voters shall ascertain by what number of voters the petition is signed, and shall attach thereto their certificate showing the result of such examination.
The town clerk shall forthwith transmit the said certificate with the said petition to the town council or to the school committee, as appropriate, and at the same time shall send a copy of said certificate to the persons designated on the petition as filing the same.
When such certificate has been so transmitted, said petition shall be deemed to be valid unless written objections are made with regard to the signatures thereon by a voter within forty-eight hours after such certification by filing such objections with the town council or the school committee, and a copy thereof with the registrars of voters. Any such objection shall be determined forthwith.
(b) 
Referral to Town Attorney. If the town clerk determines that a sufficient number of signers are voters, the town clerk shall transmit a copy of the petition to the town attorney.
Within fifteen days after receipt by the town attorney of the petition the town attorney shall advise the town clerk in writing whether the measure may be proposed by initiative procedures and whether it may lawfully be passed by the town council or the school committee. If the opinion of the town attorney is that the measure may not lawfully be passed, the town attorney shall state the reason or reasons therefor in said reply. The town clerk shall forthwith furnish a copy of the town attorney's opinion to the person designated on the petition as filing the same.
(c) 
Initiative Petition; Requirements For Passage and Submission To Electorate. If any initiative petition is signed by voters equal in number to at least ten percent of the total number of voters, and in the opinion of the town attorney, such measure may lawfully be passed by the town council or the school committee, the town council or the school committee within twenty days after the date of the certificate of the registrars to that effect: (1) may pass said measure without alteration, subject to the referendum vote provided by this charter; or, (2) the town council shall call a special election to be held on a date fixed by it not less than thirty nor more than forty-five days after the date of the certificate hereinbefore mentioned, and shall submit the proposed measure without alteration to a vote of the voters at that election; provided, that if any town election is otherwise to occur within one hundred and twenty days after the date of said certificate, the town council may, at its discretion, omit the calling of a special election and submit the proposed measure to the voters at such approaching election.
The ballots used when voting upon a proposed measure under this section shall state the nature of the measure in terms sufficient to show the substance thereof.
If within ten days after the final passage of any measure a petition signed by voters equal in number to at least five per cent of the total number of voters, and addressed to the town council or to the school committee, as the case may be, protesting against such measure or any part thereof taking effect, is filed with the town clerk, the same shall thereupon and thereby be suspended from taking effect; and the town council or the school committee, as the case may be, shall immediately reconsider such measure or part thereof; and if such measure or part thereof is not entirely rescinded the town council shall submit the same, by the method herein provided, to a vote of the voters either at the next regular town election, or at a special election which may, in its discretion, be called for the purpose and such measure or part thereof shall forthwith become null and void unless a majority of the voters voting on the same at such election vote in favor thereof. The petition described in this section shall be termed a referendum petition and section 8-1(a) shall apply to the procedure in respect thereto, except that the words "measure or part thereof protested against" shall for this purpose be understood to replace "measure" in said section whenever it may occur, and "referendum" shall be understood to replace the word "initiative" in said section.
For any measure to be effective under initiative procedure and for any measure to be declared null and void under any referendum procedure at least twenty percent of the voters shall vote at an election upon which an initiative or referendum question is submitted to the voters.
Measures which include the following subject matter shall not be subject to initiative and referendum procedures: (a) revenue loan orders; (b) appropriations for the payment of debt or debt service; (c) internal operational procedures of the town council and the school committee; (d) emergency measures; (e) the town budget as a whole or the school committee budget as a whole; (f) appropriation of funds to implement a collective bargaining agreement; (g) procedures relating to election, appointment, removal, discharge or any other personnel action; and (h) proceedings providing for the submission or referral of a matter to the voters at an election.
The town council may, of its own motion, and shall, upon request of the school committee if a measure originates with that committee and pertains to the affairs under its administration, submit to a vote of the voters for adoption or rejection at a general or special town election any proposed measure, or a proposition for the repeal or amendment of any measure, in the same manner and with the same force and effect as are hereby provided for submission on petition.
(a) 
Individual Petitions, Action Discretionary. The town council and the school committee shall receive all petitions which are addressed to them and signed by a voter and may, in their discretion, take such action with regard to such petitions as they deem necessary and appropriate.
(b) 
Group Petitions; Action Required. The town council or the school committee, as the case may be, shall hold a public hearing and act by taking a vote on the merits of every petition which is addressed to it and which is signed by at least one-hundred fifty voters. The hearing shall be held by the town council or the school committee, or, in either case, by a committee or subcommittee thereof and the action by the town council or school committee shall be taken not later than three months after the petition is filed with the town clerk. Hearings on two or more petitions filed under this section may be held at the same time and place. The town clerk shall mail notice of the hearing to ten petitioners whose names first appear on each petition at least seven days before the hearing. Notice by publication at least seven days prior to all such hearings shall also be made, and shall be at public expense. No hearing shall be heard upon any one subject more than once in any given twelve month period.
(a) 
Application. Any holder of an elected office in the town, with more than six months remaining in the term of office for which the officer was elected, may be recalled therefrom by the voters of the town in the manner provided in this section. No recall petition shall be filed against an officer within six months after taking office.
(b) 
Recall Petition. A recall petition may be initiated by the filing of an affidavit containing the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for recall, provided that, the affidavit is signed by at least one hundred voters for any officer elected at large and at least fifty voters for any officer elected by precinct.
The town clerk shall thereupon deliver to said voters making the affidavit, copies of petition blanks demanding such recall, copies of which printed forms the town clerk shall keep available. Such blanks shall be issued by the town clerk, with signature and official seal attached thereto. They shall be dated, shall be addressed to the town council and shall contain the names of all the persons to whom they are issued, the number of blanks so issued, the name of the person whose recall is sought, the office from which removal is sought and the grounds of recall as stated in the affidavit. A copy of the petition shall be entered in a record book to be kept in the office of the town clerk. Said recall petition shall be returned and filed with the town clerk within ten days after the filing of the affidavit, and shall have been signed by at least ten per cent of the registered voters of the town for any officer elected at large. For any officer elected by precinct, said recall petition shall be returned and filed with the town clerk within ten days after the filing of the affidavit, and shall have been signed by at least ten per cent of the voters from the precinct the officer to be recalled represents.
The town clerk shall forthwith submit the petition to the registrars of voters in the town, and the registrars shall, within five working days, certify thereon the number of signatures which are names of registered voters of the town.
(c) 
Recall Election. If the petition shall be found and certified by the town clerk to be sufficient, the town clerk shall submit the same with such certificate to the town council within five working days, and the town council shall forthwith give written notice of the receipt of the certificate to the officer sought to be recalled and shall, if the officer does not resign within five days thereafter, order an election to be held on a date fixed by them not less than forty-five and not more than sixty days after the date of the town clerk's certificate that a sufficient petition has been filed; provided, however, that if any other town election is to occur within sixty days after the date of the certificate the town council shall postpone the holding of the recall election to the date of such other election.
The recall election for any officer elected by precinct, shall only be held in the precinct that the officer represents.
If a vacancy occurs in said office after a recall election has been ordered, the election shall not proceed as provided in this section.
(e) 
Office Holder. The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the office until the recall election. If said incumbent is not recalled, the incumbent shall continue in office for the remainder of the unexpired term subject to recall as before. If recalled the officer shall be deemed removed and the office vacant. The vacancy created thereby shall be filled in accordance with this charter. Any person appointed to fill the vacancy caused by such recall shall hold office for the unexpired term of the officer recalled.
(f) 
Ballot Proposition. The form of the question to be voted upon shall be substantially as follows:
"Shall [here insert the name and title of the elective officer whose recall is sought] be recalled?"
If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of recall is in the affirmative, such elected officer shall be recalled.
No recall election shall be effective unless at least twenty percent of those entitled to vote shall have voted.
(g) 
Repeat of Recall. In the case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not recalled thereby, no recall petition shall be filed against such officer until at least sixty days after the election at which the officer's recall was submitted to the voters of the town.
(h) 
Office Holder Recalled. No person who has been recalled from an office or who has resigned from office while recall proceedings were pending against such person, shall be appointed to any town office within one year after such recall or such resignation.
The town council may call meetings of the voters of the town. Upon the request in writing of three hundred voters setting forth the purpose (the specific purposes) thereof, the town council shall call a meeting of the voters. The president of the town council or other designee of the town council, shall preside and regulate the proceedings of such meetings. The president of the council shall cause the attendance of town officials and employees necessary to respond to the issues and concerns raised by petitioners.