Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in
General Court Assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
The inhabitants of the town of Fitchburg shall continue to be
a body politic and corporate, under the name of the City of Fitchburg,
and as such shall have, exercise and enjoy all the rights and immunities,
powers and privileges, and shall be subject to all the duties and
obligations now incumbent upon and pertaining to the said town as
a municipal corporation.
The administration of all the fiscal, prudential and municipal
affairs of the said city, with the government thereof, shall be vested
in one officer, to be called the mayor, one council of six, to be
called the board of aldermen, and one council of eighteen to be called
the common council; which boards in their joint capacity, shall be
denominated the city council; and the members thereof shall be sworn
to the faithful performance of their respective duties. A majority
of each board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business,
and no member of either board shall receive any compensation for his
services.
It shall be the duty of the selectmen of said town, as soon
as may be after the passage of this act and its acceptance as herein
provided, to divide said town into six wards so that they shall contain,
as nearly as may be consistent with well defined limits to each ward,
an equal number of voters in each ward, which division may be revised
by the city council within two years from the passage thereof. The
city council may, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-five, and
in every fifth year thereafter, make a new division of said wards,
so that they shall contain, as nearly as may be consistent with well
defined limits to each ward, an equal number of voters in each ward
according to the census to be taken in the month of May or June in
said years.
The election of city and ward officers shall take place on the
first Tuesday of December annually, and the municipal year shall begin
on the first Monday of January following.
On the first Tuesday of December annually, there shall be elected
by ballot in each of the said wards, a warden, clerk, and three inspectors
of elections, who shall be different persons, residents in the ward,
who shall hold their offices one year, and until others shall be elected
and qualified in their stead. Said wardens shall preside at all ward
meetings, with the powers of moderators at town meetings; and if at
any meeting the warden is not present, the clerk shall preside until
a warden pro tempore is elected by ballot; if both the warden and
clerk are absent the senior in age of the inspectors present, shall
preside until a warden pro tempore is elected. When any ward officer
is absent or neglects to perform his duty, his office shall be filled
pro tempore. The clerk shall record all the proceedings and certify
the votes and deliver to his successor in office all the records,
journals, documents, and papers held by him in his said capacity.
The inspectors shall assist the warden in receiving, assorting and
counting the votes. All said officers shall be sworn to a faithful
discharge of their duties, said oath to be administered by the clerk
to the warden, and by the warden to the clerk and to the inspectors,
or to either of said officers by any of the justices of the peace
for the county of Worcester. Certificates of such oaths shall be made
by the clerk upon the ward records. All warrants for meetings of the
citizens for municipal purposes to be held either in wards or in general
meetings shall be issued by the mayor and aldermen, and shall be in
such form, and served and returned in such manner, and at such times,
as the city council shall direct. The compensation of the ward officers
shall be fixed by concurrent vote of the city council.
The mayor and aldermen are authorized, when no convenient ward
room for holding ward meetings for the citizens of either wards of
the city can be had within the territory or limits of such wards,
to appoint and direct in the warrant, for calling the ward meetings
to be held in some convenient and approximate place within the limits
of any other of the wards of said city; and for such purposes the
place so assigned for the meetings of such wards shall be deemed and
taken to be included in and part of said ward as though the same was
in the territorial limits thereof.
The mayor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city
at large voting in their respective wards, and shall hold his office
for the municipal year next following his election and until another
shall be elected and qualified in his place.
Six aldermen, one alderman being selected from each ward, shall
be elected by the qualified voters of the city at large, voting in
their respective wards, and shall hold their offices for the municipal
year next following their election, and until a majority of the new
board shall be elected and qualified in their places.
Three common councilmen shall be elected by and from the voters
of each ward, and shall at the time of their election be residents
of the wards respectively in which they are elected; and they shall
hold their offices for the municipal year next following their election
and until a majority of the new board shall be elected and qualified
in their places.
On the first Tuesday of December, annually, the qualified voters
in the several wards shall give in their votes by ballot for mayor,
alderman, and common councilmen, in accordance with the provisions
of this act; and all the votes so given shall be sorted, counted,
declared and recorded in open ward meeting, by causing the names of
the persons voted for, and the number given for each to be written
in the ward record at length. The clerk of the ward, within 24 hours,
thereafter, shall deliver to the persons elected members of the common
council, certificates of their elections respectively, signed by the
warden and the clerk and a majority of the inspectors of elections,
and shall deliver to the city clerk a copy of the record of such elections
certified in like manner. The board of aldermen shall, within ten
days thereafter, examine the copies of the records of the several
wards, certified as aforesaid, and shall cause the person who shall
have been elected mayor to be notified, in writing, of his election;
but if the person elected shall refuse to accept the office, the board
shall issue warrants for a new election and the same proceedings shall
be had in all the respects as are herein provided for the election
of mayor, and, from time to time, shall be repeated until a mayor
shall be elected and shall accept said office. In case of the decease,
resignation, or absence of the mayor or of his inability to perform
the duties of his office or in case of a vacancy in the office of
mayor for any cause, it shall be the duty of the board of aldermen
and common council respectively by vote, to declare that a vacancy
exists and the cause thereof; and thereupon the city council shall,
by concurrent vote, elect a mayor to fill such vacancy and the mayor
thus elected shall hold his office until the inability causing such
vacancy shall be removed, or until a new election. Each alderman shall
be notified in writing of his election by the mayor and alderman for
the time being. The oath prescribed by this act shall be administered
to the mayor by the city clerk or by any justice of the peace for
the county of Worcester. The alderman and common councilmen elect
shall, on the first Monday of January, at ten o'clock in the
forenoon, meet in convention, when the oath required by this act shall
be administered to the members of the boards present, by the mayor,
or by any justice of the peace for the county of Worcester; and a
certificate of such oath having been taken, shall be entered upon
the journal of the mayor, and alderman and of the common council,
by their respective clerks. After the oath has been administered as
aforesaid, the two boards shall separate and the common council shall
be organized by the election of a president and clerk, to hold their
offices respectively during the pleasure of the common council, the
clerk to be under oath faithfully to perform the duties of his said
office; and his compensation shall be fixed by concurrent vote of
the city council. In case of the absence of the mayor elect on the
first Monday of January, or if a mayor shall not then have been elected,
the city council shall organize itself in the manner hereinbefore
provided and may proceed to business in the same manner as if the
mayor were present, and the oath of office may at any time thereafter,
in the convention of the two boards, be administered to the mayor
and any member of the city council who may have been absent at the
organization. In the absence of the mayor, the board of aldermen may
elect a presiding officer pro tempore, who shall also preside at the
joint meetings of the two boards. Each board shall keep a record of
its own proceedings, and judge of the election of its own members;
and in case of vacancy in either board, the mayor and aldermen shall
issue their warrants for a new election.
The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the city.
It shall be his duty to be active and vigilant in causing the laws
and regulations of the city to be enforced, and to keep a general
supervision over the conduct of all subordinate officers; and he may,
whenever in his opinion the public good may require, remove, with
the consent of the appointing power, any officer over whose appointment
he has, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, exercised
the power of nomination. He may call special meetings of the boards
of aldermen and common council, or either of them, when in his opinion
the interests of the city require it, by causing notices to be left
at the usual place of residence of each member of the board or boards
to be convened. He shall from time to time communicate to both boards
such information and recommend such measures as the business and interests
of the city may in his opinion require. He shall preside in the board
of aldermen and in convention of the two boards but shall have a casting
vote only. His salary for the first five years under this charter
shall be fixed by the city council, but shall not exceed the sum of
five hundred dollars per annum. Afterwards it shall be fixed by the
concurrent vote of the city council. It shall be payable at stated
periods, but shall not, at any time, be increased or diminished during
the year for which he is elected. He shall receive no other compensation.
The executive power of said city generally with all the powers
heretofore vested by special statute in the selectmen of the town
of Fitchburg and in the selectmen of towns generally by the laws of
the Commonwealth shall be vested in and exercised by the mayor and
aldermen as fully as if the same were herein specially enumerated.
The mayor and aldermen shall have full and exclusive power to appoint
a constable or constables, a chief of police with all the powers and
duties of a constable and all other police and all subordinate officers,
whose election is not herein provided for, and the same to remove
at pleasure; and they may require any person who may be appointed
a constable or chief of police of the city to give bonds for the faithful
discharge of the duties of the office, with such security and to such
an amount as they may deem reasonable and proper; upon which bonds
the like proceedings and remedies may be had as are by law provided
in case of constables' bonds taken by selectmen of towns. The
compensation of police and other subordinate officers shall be fixed
by concurrent vote of the city council. The city council shall have
the care and superintendence of the city buildings and the custody
and management of all city property, with power to let what may be
legally let, and to sell or purchase property, real or personal, in
the name and for the use of the city, whenever its interests or convenience
may, in their judgment, require it, and they shall as often as once
a year, cause to be published for the use of the inhabitants, a particular
account of the receipts and expenditures, and a schedule of city property,
and of the city debt.
In all cases in which appointments are directed to be made by
the mayor and aldermen, the mayor shall have the exclusive power of
nomination, being subject, however, to confirmation or rejection by
the board of aldermen; and no person shall be eligible by appointment
or election by the mayor and aldermen or city council to any office
of emolument the salary of which is payable out of the city treasury,
who at the time of such appointment or election shall be a member
of the board of aldermen or of the common council. All sittings of
the mayor and aldermen, of the common council and of the city council,
shall be public when they are not engaged in executive business.
The city council shall annually, as soon after their organization
as may be convenient, elect by joint ballot in convention, a treasurer
and collector of taxes, city clerk, one or more superintendents of
streets, a city physician, a chief engineer of the fire department
and as many assistant engineers, not exceeding eight, as they may
deem sufficient; and by concurrent vote, a city solicitor and city
auditor, who shall hold their offices for the term of one year next
ensuing, and until others shall be elected and qualified in their
stead; provided, however, that either of the officers named in this
section may be removed at any time by the city council for sufficient
cause. Vacancies occurring in the above named offices may be filled
at any time. The compensation of the officers mentioned in this section
shall be fixed by concurrent vote of the city council.
The city clerk shall also be clerk of the board of aldermen
and shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his duties. He shall
perform such duties as shall be prescribed by the board of aldermen
and he shall perform all the duties and exercise all the powers incumbent
by law upon him. He shall deliver to his successor in office, as soon
as chosen, and qualified, all the records, journals, documents and
papers held by him in his said capacity.
The city council elected in December in the year eighteen hundred
and seventy-two shall, as soon as may be convenient after their organization,
elect by joint ballot three persons to be water commissioners; one
for three years, one for two years, and one for one year; and thereafter
the city council shall annually as soon after their organization as
may be convenient, elect in the same manner one person who shall hold
his office for the term of three years next ensuing, and until another
shall be elected and qualified in his stead. Vacancies occurring in
the commission may be filled by joint ballot of the city council at
any time. The city council may at any time remove any member of said
commission from office for cause. The compensation of the water commissioners
shall be fixed by concurrent vote of the city council.
The act entitled "An Act to authorize a fire department in the
town of Fitchburg," passed the third day of April, in the year one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue in force; and
all power and authority now vested in the selectmen of said town in
relation to the fire department in said town shall be transferred
to and vested in the mayor and aldermen; but the city council shall
have power to establish fire limits within the city, and from time
to time change and enlarge the same; and by ordinance they shall regulate
the construction of all buildings erected within the said fire limits,
stipulating their location, sizes and the materials of which they
shall be constructed, together with such other rules and regulations
as shall tend to insure the same from damage by fire. They shall also
have the sole care, superintendence and management of the public grounds
belonging to said city and of all the shade and ornamental trees standing
and growing thereon, and also of all the shade and ornamental trees
standing and growing in or upon any of the public streets and highways
of said city.
The city council elected in December, in the year eighteen hundred
and seventy-two, shall as soon after their organization as may be
convenient, elect by joint ballot, in convention, three persons, to
be overseers of the poor, one for three years, one for two years,
and one for one year; and thereafter annually the city council shall,
as soon after their organization as may be convenient, elect in the
same manner one person who shall hold his office for the term of three
years next ensuing, and until another shall be elected and qualified
in his stead; but no more than one of the three members so to be elected
shall be eligible from any one ward of said city. The persons so elected
shall, with the mayor and president of the common council, constitute
the board of overseers of the poor. The mayor shall be ex officio
chairman of the board. Vacancies occurring in the board may be filled
by joint ballot of the city council at any time; the member so elected
to hold office only for the unexpired term of the member who has ceased
to hold office. The city council may at any time remove any elected
member of the said board from office for cause. The compensation of
the overseers of the poor shall be fixed by the concurrent vote of
the city council.
The city council elected in December in the year eighteen hundred
and seventy-two shall as soon as convenient after their organization,
elect by concurrent vote three persons to be assessors of taxes, one
for three years, one for two years, and one for one year; and thereafter
the city council shall annually as soon after their organization as
may be convenient, elect in the same manner, one person who shall
hold his office for the term of three years next ensuing, and until
another shall be elected and qualified in his stead.
The persons so elected shall constitute the board of assessors,
and shall exercise the powers and be subject to the liabilities and
duties of assessors in towns. Vacancies occurring in the board may
be filled by concurrent vote of the city council at any time, the
member so elected to hold office only for the unexpired term of the
member who has ceased to hold office. All taxes shall be assessed,
apportioned, and collected in the manner prescribed by the general
laws of the Commonwealth, provided, however, that the city council
may establish further or additional provisions for the collection
thereof. The compensation of the assessors shall be fixed by the concurrent
vote of the city council.
The city council shall, annually as soon after their organization
as may be convenient, elect by concurrent vote, one person from each
ward to be an assistant assessor; and it shall be the duty of the
person so elected to furnish the assessors with all necessary information
relative to persons and property taxable in their respective wards
and they shall be sworn to the faithful performance of their duty.
Vacancies occurring may be filled by concurrent vote of the city council
at any time. The compensation of the assistant assessors shall be
fixed by the concurrent vote of the city council.
The qualified voters of the city of Fitchburg at the annual
municipal election occurring in the year eighteen hundred and eighty-five
shall elect nine persons inhabitants of the city to constitute with
the mayor of said city, who shall be ex officio chairman thereof,
and the president of the common council, the board of school committee
of said city, the members of which shall serve without compensation.
Three of said persons shall be elected to serve for the term of three
years, three for the term of two years and three for the term of one
year from the first Monday in January in the year eighteen hundred
and eighty-six; and thereafter the qualified voters of said city shall
annually elect three persons, inhabitants of the city, to serve as
members of the board of school committee for the term of three years.
The said board shall appoint from their own number or otherwise a
superintendent of schools, to be under the direction and control of
said board, who shall be ex officio secretary of said board, and the
compensation of said superintendent shall be determined from year
to year by the said board. Vacancies occurring among the elected members
of said board may be filled by the joint ballot of the city council
and board of school committee at any time, the member or members so
elected to hold office only for the remainder of the municipal year.
(Acts 1885, c. 363, Sec. 1.)
The city council shall take care that no money be paid from
the treasury unless granted or appropriated, and shall secure a just
and proper accountability, by requiring bonds with sufficient penalties
and sureties from all persons entrusted the receipt, custody or disbursements
of money.
The city council shall have exclusive authority and power to
lay out any new street or town way, and to estimate the damages any
individual may sustain thereby; but all questions relating to the
subject of laying out, accepting, altering or discontinuing any street
or way, shall first be acted upon by the mayor and aldermen, and any
person dissatisfied with the decision of the city council in the estimate
of damages, may make complaint to the county commissioners of the
county of Worcester, at any meeting held within one year after such
decision, whereupon the same proceedings shall be had as are now provided
by the laws of this Commonwealth, in cases where persons are aggrieved
by the assessment of damages by selectmen, in the forty-third chapter
of the General Statutes.
The city council may make by-laws, with suitable penalties,
for the inspection, survey, measurement and sale of lumber, wood,
hay, coal and bark brought into or exposed in said city for sale,
and shall have the same powers as the town had in reference to the
suspension of the laws for the protection and preservation of useful
birds, and of all other laws, the operation or suspension of which
is subject to the action of the town thereon. The city council may
also make all such salutary and needful by-laws as towns, by the laws
of this Commonwealth, have power to make and establish, and to annex
penalties, not exceeding twenty dollars, for the breach thereof; which
by-laws shall take effect and be in force from and after the time
therein respectively limited, without the sanction of any court, but
subject to the approval of the mayor; provided, however, that all
laws and regulations in force in said town, shall, until they shall
expire by their own limitation, or be revised or repealed by the city
council, remain in force. All fines and forfeitures; for the breach
of any-by law or ordinance shall be paid into the city treasury.
All elections of national, state, county and district officers
who are voted for by the people, shall be held at meetings of the
citizens qualified to vote at such elections in their respective wards,
at the time fixed by law for these elections respectively.
Prior to every election, the mayor and aldermen shall make out
lists of all the citizens of each ward qualified to vote in such elections,
in the manner in which selectmen of towns are required to make out
lists of voters; and, for that purpose, they shall have full access
to the assessors' books and lists, and are empowered to call
for the assistance of the assessors, assistant assessors, and other
city officers; and they shall deliver the list so prepared and corrected
to the clerks of the several wards, to be used at such elections;
and no person shall be entitled to vote whose name is not borne on
such list. A list of the voters of each ward shall be posted in one
or more public places in each ward: provided, however, that any person
whose name shall not be borne on the list of the ward in which he
is entitled to vote, when it shall be placed in the hands of the clerk
of said ward, shall have the right to have his name entered thereon,
at any time thereafter before the closing of the polls, upon presenting
to the ward officers a certificate, signed by the mayor or city clerk,
setting forth his right to have his name so entered.
General meetings of the citizens qualified to vote, may from
time to time be held to consult upon the public good, to instruct
their representatives, and to take all lawful means to obtain redress
for any grievances, according to the rights secured to the people
by the constitution of the Commonwealth. And such meetings may and
shall be dully warned by the mayor and aldermen, upon the request,
in writing, setting forth the purposes thereof, of fifty qualified
voters.
All power and authority now vested by law in the board of health
for said town, or in the selectmen thereof, shall be transferred to
and vested in the city council, to be by them exercised in such manner
as they may deem expedient.
The power and authority vested in said Town of Fitchburg by
Chapter ninety-five of the acts of the year one thousand and eight
hundred and seventy, entitled "An act for supplying the town of Fitchburg
with pure water," and by the vote of said town passed in accordance
with the provisions of said act, shall continue in force.
