The City Council shall be composed of ten members at large and one member from each ward of the city, who shall be elected as follows: At the first municipal election held under this act said ten members at large of the City Council shall be elected by the qualified voters of the entire city, five to serve for the term of two years and five to serve for the term of one year, beginning with the first Monday in January next ensuing, and thereafter five members at large of said City Council shall be elected in like manner at each annual municipal election, to serve for the term of two years, beginning with the first Monday in January next ensuing. At said first municipal election one member of the City Council from each ward shall be elected by and from the voters of each ward, to serve for the term of one year, beginning with the first Monday in January next ensuing and thereafter one member of the City Council from each ward shall be elected by and from the voters of each ward at each annual municipal election, to serve for the term of one year, beginning with the first Monday in January next ensuing. At said first municipal election no voter shall vote for more than three of the candidates for members at large of the City Council to be elected for each term, and the five candidates for members at large of said Council having the highest number of votes for each term shall be declared elected. At all municipal elections, except an election to fill a vacancy, subsequent to the first municipal election, no voter shall vote for more than three of the candidates for members at large of the City Council to be elected at an annual municipal election on one ballot, and the five candidates for members at large of the Council having the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. The members at large of the City Council shall hold office for two years, except as is herein otherwise provided, and the members of the City Council from the wards shall hold office for one year, beginning with the first Monday in January next succeeding their election, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. In case it should become necessary to fill at an election a vacancy or vacancies in the City Council a voter may vote for the City Councilor necessary to fill such vacancy or vacancies, in addition to the number to be voted for, as above-provided. In case any City Councilor elected by the voters of any ward shall remove to another ward in the city subsequent to his election, such removal shall not disqualify him from performing the duties of his office during the term for which he was elected.
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Editor's Note: Chapter 271, Acts of 1941, provided for nonpartisan elections; Chapter 25, Acts of 1943, changed the terms of office to two years; and Chapter 315, Acts of 1948, changed the number and method of electing Aldermen.
The Mayor-Elect and the City Councilors-Elect shall, on the first Monday in January, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, meet and be sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties. The oath shall be administered by the City Clerk or by any justice of the peace, and a certificate that such oath has been taken shall be entered in the journal of the City Council. In case of the absence of the Mayor-Elect on the first Monday in January, or if a Mayor shall not then have been elected, the oath of office may at any time thereafter be administered to him in the presence of the City Council, and at any time thereafter in like manner the oath of office may be administered in the presence of the City Council to any member of the City Council who has been previously absent or who has been subsequently elected, and a certificate of every such oath shall be entered in the journal aforesaid.
After the oath has been administered to the City Councilors present they shall be called to order by the City Clerk, or in case of the absence of the City Clerk by the oldest senior member present. The City Council shall then proceed to elect by ballot one of its own number President of the Council. No other business shall be in order until a President is chosen. The President shall be sworn by the City Clerk, or in case of the absence of such Clerk by any Justice of the Peace. The President may be removed from the presidency of the City Council by the affirmative vote of two thirds of all the members thereof, taken by roll call. The President of the Council shall have the same right to vote as any other member thereof.
The City Council shall hold regular meetings at such times as may be designated by the Council by general rule. The Mayor may at any time call a special meeting of the Council, and shall call a special meeting upon the request in writing of one third of the members. Such request shall state the subjects to be considered at the meeting. The Mayor shall cause a written notice of such special meeting, stating the subjects to be considered thereat, to be given in hand to each member or to be left at his usual place of residence, or at any address designated by him in a writing filed with the City Clerk, at least twenty-four hours previous to the time appointed for the meeting, and no final action shall be taken at such special meeting on any business not stated in such notice, except with the unanimous consent of all the members of the Council. For the purpose of drawing jurors it shall not be necessary to formally call a meeting of the Council, but a majority of the members of the Council, meeting with the Mayor and the City Clerk in the Council chamber, may draw jurors whenever required, in the manner provided by law, and a record thereof, containing the names of the Councilors present, shall be entered by the City Clerk upon the records of the Council.
The City Council shall determine the rules of its own proceedings and shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its own members. In case of the absence of the President the Council shall choose a President Pro Tempore, and a plurality of the votes cast shall be sufficient for a choice. All meetings of the Council shall be public, and a journal of its proceedings shall be kept, which journal shall be open to public inspection. The vote of the Council upon any question shall be taken by roll call when the same is requested by at least three members. A majority of the members of the Council shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day. The Council shall, so far as is not inconsistent with this act, have and exercise all the legislative powers of towns and of the inhabitants thereof, and shall have and exercise all the powers now vested by law in the City of Chicopee and in the inhabitants thereof, as a municipal corporation, and be subject to all the liabilities of City Councils and of either branch thereof, under the general laws of the commonwealth, and it may by ordinance prescribe the manner in which such powers shall be exercised. Its members shall receive no compensation for their services as members of the City Council or of any committee thereof.
The Chairman of the Board of Public Welfare and the member of the School Committee appointed for that purpose shall be respectively entitled to seats with the City Council, and shall have the right to discuss all matters relating to their respective departments of city affairs, but without the right to vote. They shall be notified in like manner with members of the Council of all special meetings in which action may be taken affecting the interests of their respective departments.
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Editor's Note: Chapter 26, Acts of 1923, changed Overseers of the Poor to Board of Public Welfare; and Chapter 512, Acts of 2008, also changed "Overseers of the Poor" to "Public Welfare."
The City Council shall annually in the month of January elect by ballot a City Auditor, a City Collector, and a City Messenger, each of whom shall hold his office for the term of one year, beginning with the first Monday in February in the year of his election and until his successor is elected and qualified, unless sooner removed. Said City Council shall also annually in the month of January elect by ballot one Assessor of Taxes, one member of the Board of Health, one Trustee of the Public Library, each of whom shall hold his office for the term of three years, beginning with the first Monday in February in the year of his election and until his successor is elected and qualified, unless sooner removed. Any of said officers may be removed at any time by the City Council for sufficient cause, after hearing. The present Assessors of Taxes, members of the Board of Health, and members of the Library Committee, shall continue to hold their respective offices, unless sooner removed, for the terms for which they were originally elected, the Library Committee to be hereafter known as Trustees of the Public Library. Elections to the Board of Health shall be so made that at least one member thereof shall be a doctor of medicine.
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Editor's Note: Chapter 373, Acts of 1905 (MGL c. 41, § 48), changed the City Auditor's term to three years from the date of election; Chapter 355, Acts of 1924, placed the City Messenger under civil service; Chapter 44, Acts of 1925, changed the City Collector's term to three years; Chapter 172, Acts of 1930, changed the method of filling vacancies in the office of the City Auditor and City Collector; Chapter 414, Acts of 1941 (MGL c. 31, § 49A), put the City Auditor under civil service; Chapter 43, Acts of 1945, provided for the election of the City Collector by popular vote for a term of four years; and Chapter 44, Acts of 1945, provided for the election of Assessors by popular vote for two-year and four-year terms.
Neither the City Council nor any member or committee thereof shall directly or indirectly take part in the employment of labor, the making of contracts, the purchasing of materials or supplies, the construction, alteration or repair of any public works, buildings or other property, or the care, custody or management of the same; or in the conduct of any of the executive or administrative business of the city, or in the expenditure of public money, except as herein otherwise provided, and except such as may be necessary for the contingent and incidental expenses of the City Council; nor in the appointment or removal of any officers, except as is herein otherwise provided. But nothing in this section contained shall affect the powers or duties of the Council in relation to aid granted under the laws relating to state aid, military aid, soldiers' relief, and from the war relief fund of the city.
The City Council shall appropriate annually in the month of March the amount necessary to meet the expenditures of the city for the current municipal year, and shall fix by order or otherwise the appropriations for the several departments and officers which may be expended during the year. It shall take care that no money is paid from the treasury unless granted and appropriated, and shall secure a just and proper accountability by requiring bonds with sufficient penalties and sureties from all persons intrusted with the receipt, custody or disbursement of money. It shall, as often as once in each year, and not later than the fifteenth day of November, cause to be published for the use of the inhabitants a complete account of the appropriations, receipt and expenditures of the city, and a statement of the city debt.
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Editor's Note: Chapter 473, Acts of 1941 (MGL c. 44) changed the manner of making appropriations
The City Council shall have the power within said city to make and establish ordinances, and to affix thereto penalties for the violation thereof, as herein or by general law provided, without the sanction of any court or Justice thereof.
The City Council may establish a Fire Department for said city, to consist of a Chief of the Fire Department and such other officers and members as the City Council by ordinance shall from time to time prescribe; and said City Council shall have authority to fix the time of their appointment and the term of their service, to define their powers and duties, and in general to make such regulations concerning the pay, conduct and government of such Department, the management of fires and the conduct of persons attending fires, as they may deem expedient, and may fix such penalties for any violation of such regulations, or any of them, as are provided for the breach of the ordinances of said city. The appointment of all officers and members of such Department shall be vested in the Mayor exclusively, who shall also have authority to remove from office, after hearing, any officer or member for such cause as he shall deem sufficient. The engineers so appointed shall be firewards of the city; but the Council may authorize the appointment of additional firewards. The compensation of the officers and members of the Department shall be fixed by ordinance.
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Editor's Note: Chapter 320, Acts of 1884, included members of the Fire Department under civil service rules; Chapter 58, Acts of 1923, changed the Chief Engineer to the Chief of the Fire Department; Chapter 218, Acts of 1928, established a reserve force in the Fire Department; and Chapter 512, Acts of 2008, also changed "Chief Engineer" to "Chief of the Fire Department."
The City Council shall have power to establish fire limits within the city, and from time to time change or enlarge the same; and by ordinance it may regulate the construction of all buildings, erected within said fire limits, stipulating their location, size, and the material of which they shall be constructed, and may make such other rules and regulations as shall tend to prevent damage by fire; provided, that such rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with the laws of the commonwealth.
The City Council shall establish by ordinance a Police Department, consisting of a Chief of Police and of such subordinate officers and other members of the police force as it may prescribe, and may make regulations for the government of said Department. The power of appointment of said Chief of Police, subordinate officers and members of the police force shall be vested in the Mayor exclusively, and he shall have power to remove the members of the regular police force, after hearing, for such cause as he shall deem sufficient. All the members of the present regular police force except the Chief of Police or Marshal, and such members as may hereafter be appointed except the Chief of Police, shall hold office during good behavior, and be subject to removal in the manner above-provided. The Mayor shall have the power to remove the Chief of Police at any time. The Chief of Police shall give a bond to the city in such sum and with such sureties as the City Council may from time to time require.
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Editor's Note: Chapter 314, Acts of 1896 (MGL c. 147, § 11), established a reserve force in the Police Department; Chapter 320, Acts of 1884, included members of the Police Department under civil service rules; Chapter 468, Acts of 1911, placed the Chief of Police under civil service; Chapter 59, Acts of 1923, changed City Marshal to Chief of Police; and Chapter 512, Acts of 2008, also changed "City Marshal" to "Chief of Police."
The City Council shall, with the approval of the Mayor, have exclusive authority and power to order the laying out, locating anew, altering or discontinuing and the making of specific repairs and alterations in all streets, ways and highways within the limits of the city, and to assess the damage sustained by any person thereby, and further, except as is herein provided, to act in all matters relating to such laying out, locating anew, altering or discontinuing. Any person aggrieved by the assessment of his damages, or other action of the City Council under this section, shall have all the rights and privileges now allowed by law in such cases in appeals from decisions of Selectmen of towns.
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Editor's Note: Chapter 386, Acts of 1953, provided for repairs on private ways.
The City Council may, with the approval of the Mayor, cause suitable sidewalks to be laid, curbstones to be set between such sidewalks and the portion of the streets used by vehicles, and grass plots to be laid out and graded between such sidewalks and curbstones, and shall assess one half the expense thereof upon the persons owning lands and estates against which such sidewalks are to be made, apportioning the same equitably where there are two or more adjacent owners.
Any ordinance, order, resolution or vote involving the appropriation or expenditure of money to an amount which may exceed two hundred dollars shall require for its passage the affirmative votes of a majority of all the members of the City Council, and every such ordinance, order, resolution or vote shall be read twice, with an interval of at least two days between the two readings, before being finally passed, and the vote on its final passage shall be taken by roll call; provided, however, that upon the written recommendation of the Mayor, the City Council may pass such ordinance, order, resolution or vote on the same day by a two-thirds yea and nay vote.
No member of the City Council shall, during the term for which he is elected, hold any other office in or under the city government, have the expenditure of any money appropriated by the City Council, or act as counsel in any matter before the City Council or any committee thereof; and no person shall be eligible for appointment to any municipal office established by the City Council during any municipal year within which he was a councilor, or until the expiration of the succeeding municipal year.
Every ordinance, order, resolution or vote of the City Council, except such as relates to its own internal affairs or to its own officers or employees, shall be presented to the Mayor. If he approves thereof he shall signify his approval by signing the same, but if not he shall return the same with his objections, to the City Council, which shall enter the objections of the Mayor at length upon its records, and proceed to reconsider said ordinance, order, resolution or vote, and if after such reconsideration two thirds of the City Council, notwithstanding such objections, vote to pass the same, it shall be in force. In all cases the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays. If such ordinance, order, resolution or vote shall not be returned within ten days after it shall have been presented to the Mayor the same shall be in force. He may except from his approval of any ordinance, order, resolution or vote which he has the power to veto, any portion involving a distinct item of expenditure, and in such case instead of returning the original he shall transmit a copy of such portion not approved, which portion shall be reconsidered in the manner and with the effect above-provided. The veto power of the Mayor shall not extend to elections.