[Adopted 4-29-1974 ATM, Art. 75, approved 7-10-1974 (Ch. 155, Art. I, of the 1983 Code); amended in its entirety 5-4-2015 ATM, Art. 11]
The published warrant for any Town Meeting shall include the
articles listed in the order in which the Selectmen request the Town
Meeting to act, as provided by the General Laws of the Commonwealth.
Each petitioned or requested article received by the Board of Selectmen
for inclusion in the warrant shall be marked with date and time of
receipt. The published warrant shall include the date of receipt of
each petitioned article, along with the name and address of the petitioner.
The published warrant shall also indicate those articles inserted
by the Board of Selectmen at the request of an individual or organization,
and identify the requester.
After each article has been accepted for inclusion in the warrant,
whether by petition or at the request at the Selectmen, copies shall
be forwarded within two working days to the Committee of Finance and
Taxation and the Rules Committee.
[Adopted 4-30-1984 ATM, Art. 48]
[Amended 4-29-1985 ATM, Art. 13, approved 5-7-1985; 6-23-2004 ATM, Art. 43]
A. All department capital outlay purchases in excess of $10,000 or the
threshold for soliciting quotes or responses or for bidding as mandated
by Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 30, Section 39M, Public Works;
Chapter 30B, Uniform Procurement Act for Goods and Services; and Chapter
149, Building Construction Projects, must be approved by a vote of
Town Meeting before such purchases can be authorized. "Capital outlay"
is defined as those items for which borrowing would be authorized
under MGL c. 44, §§ 7 and 8.
[Amended 5-5-2014 ATM,
Art. 20]
B. In the event of an emergency, the requirement of Subsection
A may be waived by a two-thirds vote of the Committee on Finance and Taxation, and all such emergency purchases above the thresholds in Subsection
A shall be reported by the Chairperson of the Committee on Finance and Taxation at the next Annual Town Meeting.
[Added 5-7-1997 STM, Art. 22]
The Board of Selectmen or its designated agent
shall prepare annually a detailed report of the legal expenses incurred
and paid by the Town of Stoughton during the preceding fiscal year.
The first category of said report shall contain an account of all
litigation to which the Town is a party, the amount of Town funds
expended relative to each litigation, the status of each litigation,
and the amount of any judgments or settlements, if any, which pertain
to each litigation. This report shall also include, as a second separate
category, the total fees, salaries, and expenses paid to any legal
counsel, labor counsel, special counsel, and any other legal or necessary
service provider for advising the Town, representing the Town's interest,
or securing information for the Town relative to any legal matters
which are not considered to be in litigation. Legal expenses for collective
bargaining, arbitration, and arbitration awards shall be clearly indicated
as a third separate category. This report shall be distributed to
each Town Meeting member when the Report of the Committee on Finance
and Taxation issues its report to the Annual Town Meeting.
[Added 5-2-2005 ATM, Art. 31]
A. No purchase or contract to purchase supplies or services in excess
of $10,000 or the threshold for soliciting quotes or responses or
for bidding as mandated by Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 30,
Section 39M, Public Works; Chapter 30B, Uniform Procurement Act for
Goods and Services; and Chapter 149, Building Construction Projects,
by any municipal department other than the School Department shall
be valid, and the Town shall make no payment for such purchase, unless
a written purchase order has been issued in advance of such purchase
to the vendor or contractor. Such purchase order shall be certified
by the Town Manager or his/her designee as to compliance with the
state and local procurement statutes and regulations and certified
by the Town Accountant or his/her designee as to the availability
of funds.
[Amended 5-5-2014 ATM,
Art. 21]
B. This requirement shall apply to both single purchases
and blanket purchases. Utility services shall be exempted from this
requirement.
C. Such purchase order shall be issued for any amount
when requested by the vendor or contractor.
D. In case of events where the time required to comply
with the purchase order requirement would endanger the health and
safety of people or property, departments may verbally authorize a
purchase and within five business days after such event request a
written purchase order.
E. The Town Accountant or his designee will be responsible
for recommending policies and procedures to implement this section.