Any department, board, commission or agency which has proposed a
fee or rate increase shall conduct two public hearings prior to increasing
the fee or rate as follows.
The department, board, commission or agency shall file with the City
Clerk's office a notice stating the reasons for the increase,
the amount of revenue to be generated, the specific uses for the increased
revenues and the services which would be affected by the increase.
The City Clerk shall establish two public hearing dates for the purpose
of soliciting public comments on the fee or rate increase. One public
hearing shall be at a location other than City Hall and one hearing
shall be at City Hall.
Public notice of the hearings shall include publication of the proposed
increase in fees or rates in a newspaper of general circulation in
the City not less than 14 days prior to the first public hearing.
The public hearing requirement stated above shall not apply to fee
or rate increases requested by any department, board, commission or
agency pursuant to a statute authorized by the General Laws of the
Commonwealth.
The proposed increase shall take effect 20 days after its approval
by the City Council, if required, or within 20 days after the department,
board, commission or agency approves said fee or rate increase.
If, within 20 days after the final passage of any such fee, rate, ordinance, resolution, order, or vote as stated in Subsection A above, a petition signed by registered voters of the City, equal in number to at least 12% of the total number of registered voters, and addressed to the City Council, protesting against the fee, rate, ordinance, resolution, order or vote, or any part thereof taking effect, is filed with the City Clerk, the same shall thereupon and thereby be suspended from taking effect in accordance with MGL c. 43, § 42.