The Board of Selectmen shall appoint a Town Manager
from a list prepared by a screening committee as prescribed by the Town Manager Screening Committee By-Law.[1] The Board of Selectmen shall appoint the Town Manager to serve for a term fixed by contract and shall fix the
compensation for such person annually within the amount appropriated
by the Town. The Town Manager shall be appointed
solely on the basis of demonstrated executive and administrative qualifications
and shall be a person especially fitted by education, training, and
previous experience in public administration to perform the duties
of the office.
The Town may, from time to time, establish by by-law,
such additional qualifications as seem necessary and appropriate.
The Town Manager shall devote full time to the
office and shall not hold any other public office, elective or appointive,
within the Town of Salisbury, nor engage in any other
business or occupation during such service, unless such action is
approved in advance and in writing by the majority of the Board of
Selectmen.
The Board of Selectmen shall provide for an annual review of
the job performance of the Town Manager in accordance
with his or her contract.
The Town Manager shall execute a bond in favor
of the Town for the faithful performance of his duties
in such sum and with such surety or sureties as may be fixed or approved
by the Board of Selectmen.
The Town Manager shall be the chief administrative
officer of the Town, directly responsible to the Board
of Selectmen for the administration of all Town affairs
for which the office of Town Manager is given responsibility
by or under this Charter. The powers and duties of the Town Manager shall include, but are not intended to be limited
to, the following:
(a)
To supervise, direct, and be responsible for the efficient administration
of all functions and activities for which the office of Town Manager is given authority, responsibility or control by this Charter, by by-law, by Town Meeting vote, by
vote of the Board of Selectmen, or otherwise.
(b)
To appoint, and in appropriate circumstances to remove, subject to
the provisions of the civil service law and of any collective bargaining
agreements as may be applicable, all department heads, officers, members
of boards and commissions, and employees for whom no other method
of selection is provided by this Charter, by by-law,
or Town Meeting vote. Copies of the notices of all such
appointments shall be submitted to the Town Clerk to
be publicly posted and to the Board of Selectmen.
(c)
To develop and administer a Town personnel system, including,
but not limited to, personnel policies and practices, rules and regulations,
including provisions for an annual employee performance review, personnel
by-law and collective bargaining agreements entered into by the Town. The Town Manager shall also prepare and
keep current a plan establishing the personnel staffing requirements
for each Town department. The Town Manager
shall have no operational responsibility for schools.
(d)
To attend all regular and special meetings of the Board of Selectmen,
unless unavailable for reasonable cause and shall have a voice, but
no vote, in all of its proceedings.
(e)
To ensure that full and complete records of the financial and administrative
activities of the Town are kept, and to render as often
as may be required by the Board of Selectmen, but not less than once
in each year, a full report of all Town administrative
operations during the period reported on as required by Massachusetts General Laws,[1] which report shall be made available to the public in
print and electronically.
[1]
See Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40, § 49
(f)
To keep the Board of Selectmen fully advised as to the needs of the Town and recommend to the Board of Selectmen and other elected Town officers and agencies for adoption, such measures requiring
action by them or by the Town Meeting as the Town Manager may deem necessary or expedient.
(g)
To have full jurisdiction over the rental and use of all Town facilities and property, except school property. The Town Manager shall be responsible for the maintenance and repair of all Town buildings and facilities placed under the Town Manager's control by this Charter, by by-law, by vote
of the Town, or otherwise.
(h)
To prepare and present, in the manner provided in Article 6, an annual operating budget for the Town and a proposed capital
outlay program for the five fiscal years next ensuing.
(i)
To ensure that a full and complete inventory of all property of the town, both real and personal, is kept.
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Within thirty days of the completion of the annual
inventory, the Town Manager shall submit a list of surplus
property, if any, to the Board of Selectmen. A list of such surplus
items shall also be publicly posted.
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(j)
To negotiate and present to the Board of Selectmen for their ratification,
all contracts involving any subject within the jurisdiction of the
office of Town Manager, including all contracts with Town employees involving wages, hours, and other terms and
conditions of employment.
(k)
To be responsible for purchasing all supplies, material and equipment
for all departments and activities of the Town. The Town Manager shall examine, or cause to be examined, the quantity,
quality and condition of all supplies, material, services and equipment
delivered to or received by any Town department. The Town Manager shall be responsible for the disposal of all
supplies, material and equipment that has been declared surplus by
any Town department.
(l)
To see that all of the provisions of the general laws, of this Charter, Town By-Laws and votes
of the Town Meeting, and votes of the Board of Selectmen
which require enforcement by the Town Manager or officers
subject to the direction and supervision of the Town Manager,
are faithfully executed, performed, or otherwise carried out.
(m)
To inquire at any time into the conduct and operation of any office
or performance of any officer or employee, department, board, commission,
or other Town office.
(n)
To attend all sessions of all Town Meetings and answer
all questions raised by voters that relate to warrant
articles and to matters over which the Town Manager exercises
any supervision.
(o)
To reorganize, consolidate or abolish, in the manner provided in Article 5, Town agencies serving under the supervision
of the Town Manager, in whole or in part, provide for
new Town agencies and provide for a reassignment of powers,
duties and responsibilities among such agencies so established or
existing.
(p)
To coordinate the activities of all Town departments serving under the office of Town Manager and the office
of Board of Selectmen with those under the control of other officers
and multiple member bodies elected directly by the voters. For this purpose, the Town Manager shall
have the authority to require the persons so elected, or their representatives,
to meet with the Town Manager at reasonable times for
the purpose of effecting coordination and cooperation among all agencies
of the Town.
(q)
The Town Manager shall, with the approval and at the
direction of the Selectmen, have the authority to prosecute, defend
or compromise all litigation of the Town.
(r)
Subject to the approval of the Board of Selectmen the Town Manager may, with compensation, if any, as determined by the Board
of Selectmen, assume the powers, duties and responsibilities of any
office which he is authorized to fill by appointment. Such assumption
to be evidenced by and effective upon the filing with the Town Clerk of a written declaration of such assumption signed by the Town Manager, except he shall not appoint himself as a member
of any board or committee.
(s)
It shall be the responsibility of the Town Manager on
his own initiative, or upon the request of any Town officer, to seek out and review those state, federal, regional and all other
grants which may be of benefit to the Town. The Town Manager shall be the authority responsible for reviewing
and completing all applications for such grants, except as otherwise
authorized by statute. Once drafted, the Town Manager
shall notify the Board of Selectmen of all grant applications and
shall submit for their approval all grant applications requiring a
financial commitment from the Town.
(t)
To perform any other duties as are required to be performed by the Town Manager by by-laws, administrative code, votes of the Town Meeting, or votes of the Board of Selectmen, or otherwise.
(u)
The Town Manager shall ensure that the Board of Selectmen
is kept fully informed of the Town's emergency preparedness
planning. In time of public danger or emergency, the Town Manager shall direct and oversee the management of Town resources pursuant to any applicable state law, regulation,
or other protocol(s), directive(s), or agreement(s) to which the Town is a signatory and/or participant. Should the Town Manager be unavailable, the Board of Selectmen shall perform such
duties as may be necessary in such circumstances.
The Town Manager may authorize any subordinate
officer or employee to exercise any power or perform any function
or duty except the power to enter into contracts or the power to transfer
funds which is assigned to the office of Town Manager,
provided however, that all acts performed under any such delegation
shall at all times be deemed to be the acts of the Town Manager.
(a)
Temporary Absence – By letter filed with the Town Clerk, the Town Manager shall designate a qualified Town administrative officer or employee to exercise the powers
and perform the duties of Town Manager during a temporary
absence. During a temporary absence, the Board of Selectmen may not
revoke such designation until at least ten working days have elapsed, whereupon it may appoint another qualified Town administrative officer or employee to serve until the Town Manager shall return.
(b)
Vacancy – Any vacancy other than
a temporary absence in the office of Town Manager shall
be filled as soon as possible by the Board of Selectmen but, pending
such regular appointment, the Board of Selectmen shall appoint a qualified
individual, not excluding a Town administrative officer
or employee, to perform the duties of the office on an acting basis.
Such temporary appointment may not exceed three (3) months, but one
renewal may be voted by the Board of Selectmen not to exceed a second
three (3) months. Compensation for such person shall be set by the
Board of Selectmen.
(c)
Powers and Duties – The power of temporary or acting Town Manager, under (a) and (b) above, shall be limited to
matters not admitting of delay and shall include authority to make
temporary, emergency appointments or designations to Town office or employment but not to make permanent appointments
or designations.
The Board of Selectmen may, by a four-fifths vote of the full
board, terminate and remove, or suspend, the Town Manager
from office in accordance with the following procedure:
(a)
The Board of Selectmen shall adopt a Preliminary Resolution of Removal
by the affirmative vote of a majority of all its members, which must
state the reason or reasons for removal. This Preliminary Resolution
may suspend the Town Manager for a period not to exceed
forty-five days. A copy of the resolution shall be delivered
to the Town Manager forthwith.
(b)
Within five days after receipt of the Preliminary Resolution,
the Town Manager may request a public hearing by filing
a written request for such hearing with the Board of Selectmen. This
hearing shall be held at a meeting of the Board of Selectmen not later
than thirty days after the request is filed, nor earlier
than twenty days. The Town Manager may file
a written statement responding to the reasons stated in the Preliminary
Resolution of Removal with the Board of Selectmen, provided the same
is received at its office more than forty-eight hours in advance of
the public hearing.
(c)
The Board of Selectmen may adopt a Final Resolution of Removal by
the four-fifths affirmative vote of the full board not less than ten days nor more than twenty-one days, following
the date of delivery of a copy of the Preliminary Resolution to the Town Manager, if the Town Manager has not requested
a public hearing; or within ten days following the close
of the public hearing if the Town Manager requested one.
Such Final Resolution of Removal may be made effective immediately.
Failure to adopt a Final Resolution of Removal within the time periods
as provided in this section shall nullify the Preliminary Resolution
of Removal and the Town Manager shall, at the expiration
of said time, forthwith resume the duties of the office.
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The Town Manager shall continue to receive a salary
until the effective date of a Final Resolution of Removal.
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The action of the Board of Selectmen in suspending or removing
the Town Manager shall be final, it being the intent
of this provision to vest all authority and fix all responsibility
for such suspension or removal solely in the Board of Selectmen.
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