The Town Council shall appoint by a majority vote of the full Council a Town Administrator for a term of not more than three (3) years. The Town Administrator shall be a person of proven administrative ability, especially qualified by education and training with at least five (5) years full time paid experience as a city or town administrator, an assistant city or town administrator, or the equivalent public or private sector level experience, and has performed the functions anticipated under this charter. The Town Council may from time to time establish such additional qualifications as seems necessary and appropriate. The Town Council shall appoint a screening committee to assist in the recruitment and selection of the Town Administrator.
The Town Administrator shall devote full time to the duties of the office and shall not hold any other elective or appointive office, nor shall the Town Administrator engage in any other business unless such action is approved in advance in writing by the Town Council.
(a) 
In General. Except as otherwise provided by this charter, by by-law, or by other vote of Town Meeting, the Town Administrator shall appoint, based upon merit and fitness alone, all department heads, officers, subordinates, employees and all members of appointed multiple member bodies for whom no other method of selection is provided in this charter, except employees of the school department.
(b) 
Specific Town Administrator Appointments. Without restricting the Town Administrator's general appointment powers provided by this charter, the Town Administrator shall appoint the following Town positions: Town Accountant, Town Accountant's staff (after consultation with the Town Accountant), Town Clerk's staff (after consultation with the Town Clerk), Board of Assessor's staff, Treasurer's staff (after consultation with the Treasurer), Tax Collector's staff (after consultation with the Tax Collector), Board of Health staff, Building Inspector's clerical staff (after consultation with the Building Inspector), all police department non-civil service positions (after consultation with the Police Chief), all fire department non-civil service positions (after consultation with the Fire Chief), Recreation Department staff (after consultation with the Recreation Director), Council on Aging's staff (after consultation with the Director of the Council on Aging), the Department of Public Works staff (after consultation with the Director of Public Works), the conservation agent and any other staff of the Conservation Commission, the Town Council's staff, and the Town Administrator's staff.
[Amended 11-17-2008 RTM by Art. 16]
(c) 
Appointments Subject To Approval Of The Board Of Town Council
[Amended 11-17-2008 RTM by Art. 16]
Without restricting the Town Administrator's general appointment powers provided by this charter, the Town Administrator shall appoint, subject to approval of the Town Council, the following Town positions: Police Chief, Fire Chief, all police department civil service positions (after consultation with the Police Chief), all fire department civil service positions (after consultation with the Fire Chief), Building Inspector, Plumbing Inspector, Wiring Inspector, Parking Clerk, Recreation Direction, Director of Assessments (after consultation with the Board of Assessors), and the Health Agent (after consultation with the Board of Health).
Except as otherwise provided by this charter, appointments made by the Town Administrator shall become effective upon the approval of the Town Council, provided, however, that such approval is received within fifteen (15) days of filing such notice of appointment. If the Town Council shall fail to act within fifteen (15) days of such filing, such appointments made by the Town Administrator shall be deemed approved. For the purpose of this section, notice of appointment shall be considered filed with the Town Council when such notice is filed with the office of the Town Council, with a copy sent to the Chairperson of the Town Council.
(d) 
Town Administrator Approval of Appointments. Except as otherwise provided by this charter, department heads shall appoint all officers, subordinates and employees within their department subject to the approval of the Town Administrator.
The Town Administrator shall be the chief administrative officer of the Town and shall be responsible to the Town Council for the proper operation of Town affairs for which the Town Administrator is given responsibility under this charter. The powers, duties and responsibilities of the Town Administrator 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 officers appointed by the Town Administrator and their respective departments and of all functions for which the Town Administrator is given responsibility, authority or control by this charter, by by-law, by Town Meeting vote or by vote of the Town Council;
(b) 
to administer, either directly or though a person or persons supervised by the Town Administrator, in accordance with this charter, all provisions of the laws of the Commonwealth applicable to the Town, all by-laws, and all regulations established by the Town Council;
(c) 
to coordinate all activities of Town departments under the direction of the Town Administrator and the Town Council with the activities of departments under the control of officers, boards or commissions elected directly by the voters of the Town;
(d) 
to attend all regular and special meetings of the Town Council, unless excused;
(e) 
to attend all sessions of the Town Meeting and answer all questions addressed to the Town Administrator which are related to the warrant articles and matters under the general supervision of the Town Administrator;
(f) 
to keep the Town Council fully informed as to the needs of the Town and recommend to the Town Council for adoption such measures requiring action by them or by the Town as the Town Administrator deems necessary or expedient;
(g) 
to insure that complete and full records of the financial and administrative activity of the Town are maintained, and to render reports to the Town Council as may be required;
(h) 
to be responsible for the rental, use, maintenance, and repair of all Town facilities (excluding the libraries and the facilities of the Municipal Gas and Light Department), including those formerly under the jurisdiction of the School Committee or School Department, with the exception of school janitorial duties which shall be a function of the School Department;
[Amended 11-5-2018 RTM by Art. 38]
(i) 
to be responsible for the purchase of all supplies, materials and equipment, except books and other educational materials for schools and books and other media materials for libraries, and approve the award of all contracts for all Town departments with the exception of the School Department;
(j) 
to develop and maintain a full and complete inventory of all Town-owned real and personal property;
(k) 
to administer, in cooperation with the Personnel Board, if any, personnel policies, practices or rules and regulations, any compensation plan, and any related matters for all municipal employees, and to administer all collective bargaining agreements, except for School Department agreements, entered into by the Town;
(l) 
to fix the compensation of all Town employees and officers appointed by the Town Administrator within the limits established by appropriation and any applicable compensation plan;
(m) 
to be responsible for the negotiation of all contracts with Town employees over wages and other terms and conditions of employment, except employees of the School Department. The Town Administrator may, subject to the approval of the Town Council, employ special counsel to assist in the performance of these duties. Contracts shall be subject to the approval of the Town Council;
(n) 
to prepare and submit an annual operating budget and capital improvement program as provided in Part VI;
(o) 
to keep the Town Council and the Finance Committee fully informed as to the financial condition of the Town and to make recommendations to the Town Council and other elected and appointed officials as the Town Administrator deems necessary or expedient;
(p) 
to investigate or inquire into the affairs of any Town department or office under the supervision of the Town Administrator or the job-related conduct of any officer or employee thereof;
(q) 
to delegate, authorize, or direct any subordinate or employee of the Town to exercise any power, duty or responsibility which the office of Town Administrator is authorized to exercise, provided that all acts that are performed under such delegation shall be deemed to be the acts of the Town Administrator; and,
[Amended 11-5-2018 RTM by Art. 38]
(r) 
to perform such other duties as necessary or as may be assigned by this charter, by by-law, by Town Meeting vote, or by vote of the Town Council.
The Town Administrator shall receive such compensation for services as the Town Council shall determine, but such compensation shall be within the limits of available appropriations.
Any vacancy in the office of Town Administrator shall be filled as soon as possible by the Town Council. Pending appointment of the Town Administrator or the filling of any vacancy, the Town Council shall forthwith appoint some other qualified person as an Acting Town Administrator to perform the duties of the Town Administrator. The appointment of the Acting Town Administrator shall be for a term not to exceed six (6) months, provided, however, a renewal, not to exceed an additional three (3) months, may be provided.
The Town Administrator may designate, by letter filed with the Town Council and the Town Clerk, a qualified officer of the Town to perform the duties of the Town Administrator during a temporary absence or disability. If such temporary absence or disability shall exceed fourteen (14) days, any designation made by the Town Administrator shall be subject to the approval of the Town Council. In the event of failure of the Town Administrator to make such designation, or if the person so designated is for any reason unable to serve or is deemed not qualified by the Town Council, the Town Council may designate some other qualified person to perform the duties of the Town Administrator until the Town Administrator shall return.
The Town Council, by affirmative vote of a majority of the full Council, may vote to terminate, remove or suspend the Town Administrator from office in accordance with the following procedure:
Prior to removal or termination, the Town Council shall adopt a preliminary resolution of removal by the affirmative vote of a majority of the full Council. The preliminary resolution may suspend the Town Administrator for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days. A copy of the resolution shall be delivered to the Town Administrator forthwith.
If so requested by the Town Administrator, the Town Council shall provide a written statement setting forth the reasons for the removal or termination.
Within five (5) days after the receipt of the preliminary resolution, the Town Administrator may request a public hearing by filing a written request for such hearing with the Town Council. If such a hearing is requested, the hearing shall be held at a meeting of the Town Council not later than twenty (20) days from the date of request.
If a public hearing has not been requested by the Town Administrator, the Town Council may adopt a final resolution of removal, which may be effective immediately, by affirmative vote of a majority of the full Council at any time after ten (10) days following the date of delivery of a copy of the preliminary resolution to the Town Administrator. If the Town Administrator requests a public hearing, the Town Council may, at the conclusion of the hearing, or within five (5) days of the conclusion of the hearing, adopt a final resolution of removal by an affirmative vote of a majority of the full Council. By an affirmative vote of a majority of the full Council, the Town Council may suspend the Town Administrator pending and during any public hearing requested by the Town Administrator. The Town Administrator shall continue to receive a salary until the final date of removal shall become effective unless provided otherwise. The action of the Town Council in terminating, removing or suspending the Town Administrator shall be final.
The Town Administrator shall act as an Ombudsman to all citizens in their day to day contacts and dealings with the Town, its officials, multiple member bodies, and departments. The function of the Ombudsman shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) 
to help direct the citizens to the proper officer, multiple member body, or department to deal with the citizen's problem;
(b) 
to help set up appointments for citizens to meet with directors, department heads and multiple member bodies; and,
(c) 
to help provide citizens with access to public information within the Town. The office of the Town Ombudsman shall be clearly and conspicuously marked within the Town Hall.