Amendments to this Charter shall be made in the manner provided by the Constitution of the state in Article of Amendment, Article XXVIII, § 8.
To the extent that any specific provision contained in this Charter conflicts with any provision expressed in general terms, the specific provision shall prevail.
(1) 
Any powers, duties or functions which are required by law to be exercised, performed or administered by a particular officer or officers of the Town shall be carried out by the officer or officers who by this Charter or by ordinance or by law are responsible for the same, regardless of the title or designation of the office.
(2) 
To the extent permitted by state law, all Town officers shall be qualified electors of the Town.
[Amended 11-10-2002; 11-2-2010]
(3) 
The term "officer or officers" as used in this Charter shall refer only to the Town Administrator, members of the Town Council, the Town Clerk and the Finance Director. This section shall control the use of the term "officer(s)" as to any other usage in this Charter that is inconsistent herewith.
[Amended 11-10-2002]
[Amended 11-2-2010]
Every officer of the Town shall, before entering upon the duties of his/her office, take and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation, to be filed and kept in the office of the Town Clerk:
"You (naming the person) do solemnly swear (or, affirm) that you will be true and faithful unto this state, and support the laws and Constitution thereof, and the Constitution of the United States; and that you will well and truly execute the office (naming the office) for the term for which you have been elected (or appointed), or until another be engaged in your place, or until you be legally discharged therefrom; so help you God (or this affirmation you make and give upon peril of the penalty of perjury)."
The Town Council shall require a bond, in such amount and with such surety as the Town Council may specify, from all persons entrusted with the collection, custody or disbursement of any of the Town moneys and may require such bond from such other officials and employees as it may deem advisable and all as required by law. The premiums on such bonds shall be paid by the Town unless provided otherwise.
[Amended 9-15-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-11]
(1) 
The Town Council may provide by ordinance a system of retirement allowance to augment federal social security or other pension plan payments, if any, for the Town's regular full-time paid employees, and for the contribution by employees and the Town to a fund from which such allowance shall be paid. The Town may enter into a contract with any insurance company authorized to do business in this state for the purpose of insuring the whole or any part of its retirement plan.
(2) 
Exemption of "applicant" and/or "new hire" currently "vested" with a minimum of 10 years' qualified prior employment in the State of Rhode Island Municipal Retirement System (MERS).
(a) 
The Town may elect to waive required enrollment into a Deferred Compensation Plan 457B, for nonunion classified employees hired after July 1, 2008, only if the applicant for consideration is currently enrolled in the Rhode Island MERS or equivalent State of Rhode Island retirement plan and has prequalified as a "vested" participant in the system. The Town may then allow the employee in question to maintain his/her enrollment in the MERS pension plan and make all contributions in accordance with the plan.
Unless and as otherwise provided by law, all records and accounts of every office, department or agency of the Town shall be open for inspection by the public at all reasonable times and under reasonable regulations established by the Town Council, except records and documents the disclosure of which would tend to defeat the lawful purpose which they are intended to accomplish. A copy of all such rules or regulations made by any department or agency, except those which relate to its internal organization or management, shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk.
If any section or part of a section of this Charter shall be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction such holding shall not affect the remainder of this Charter, nor the context in which such section or part of section so held invalid may appear, except to the extent that an entire section or part of section may be inseparably connected in meaning and effect with the section or part of section to which such holding shall directly apply.
No officer or employee of the Town government, including the members of the School Committee, shall be financially interested in the profits of any contract, job, work or service to be performed for the Town or in the voluntary sale to the Town of a land, property, materials, supplies or equipment, other than as the beneficiary of a patent or copyright or as a minority stockholder with ownership of not exceeding 5% of such stock outstanding. Any Town officer or employee found guilty of a willful violation of said provisions shall be personally liable to the Town to the extent that the Town suffers loss thereby.
The Town Council, not later than January 1, 1962, and at least every 10th year thereafter, shall cause to be prepared a revision or codification of the ordinances of the Town which are appropriate for continuation as local laws of the Town. Such revision or codification shall be prepared under the supervision of the Town Solicitor, but the Town Council may authorize the Town Solicitor to contract for the services of persons or organizations experienced in the revision and codification of ordinances and statutes.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § C17-11, Appointment and discharge of subordinates, was repealed 11-2-2010.
[Amended 11-2-2010]
The membership of any appointive board or commission shall not be composed entirely of members of the same political party, and any minority member shall be a bona fide member of his/her party. Recommendation of candidates for appointment shall be made by the respective Town party chairperson.
[Amended 7-1-1971; 11-10-2002]
No person shall be eligible to hold any paid office or employment or to serve on any board or commission in the Town government who holds any other Town office or serves on any other board or commission, or holds any civil office, legislative, executive or judicial, in either the state or federal government, except that of notary public or member of the National Guard or Military Reserve, and except as otherwise provided in this Charter or by general law.
[Amended 11-2-2010]
No employee of the Town shall hold an elective office in the Town government while he/she is in the employ of the Town.
[Amended 11-10-2002; 11-2-2010]
It shall not be necessary for the full text of a Charter or amendments to a Charter to be printed upon the ballot. Any digest or description thereof or any question or statement which substantially expresses the purpose or identifies the subject matter to be voted upon shall be sufficient. When any question is to be submitted to the voters, the Town Council shall approve the statement of the question as it shall appear upon the ballot. The Town Council shall provide exact wording of all proposed Charter changes to the public at least 60 days prior to the general election. The said information shall be available for public review in the office of the Town Clerk, on the Town web site and at the public library.
[Amended 11-2-2010]
All paid personnel holding office or employment in the Town government, other than an elective office, shall be required to engage in the actual work of their offices or employments during regular business hours to the extent that their services may be necessary for the full and complete discharge of their duties. The Town Council, upon recommendation of the Town Administrator, shall determine which officials and employees of the Town shall not be required to devote their full-time to the duties of their respective offices, except as provided by this Charter.
All elected and appointed officers of the Town of Lincoln shall be qualified electors of said Town.
[Amended 11-10-2002]
The Town Council, in 1975 and, at a minimum, in every fifth year thereafter, shall make a comprehensive review of the Town Charter and shall recommend whatever amendments it shall deem necessary or desirable and provide for such amendments to be submitted to the electors at a general or duly called special local election. If in any year that such review is required hereunder the Town Council shall conclude that no Charter amendments are necessary or desirable, the Town Council shall pass a resolution to that effect, which resolution shall be evidence of compliance with this section.
Unless and as otherwise provided by law, all boards and committees will keep minutes of their meetings including therein all votes taken. The minutes shall be filed with the office of Town Clerk and available for inspection by the public at the Town Hall at all reasonable times and under reasonable regulations as established by the Town Clerk.
[Added 11-2-2010]
Any member of an appointed department, office, commission, committee, council, board, agency or authority, or any person who has been appointed who does not attend at least 2/3 of regularly scheduled meetings, actually convened, during any one-year period, unless excused by the Chairperson, shall be reported to the Town Council. The Town Council may take any and all appropriate action, including removal of that person from the body on which they sit. It shall be the duty of the Chairperson to give prompt written notice of such absenteeism to the Town Council or the Administrator.