The purpose of the Personnel Bylaw is to establish fair and
equitable personnel policies and to establish a system of personnel
administration based on merit principles that ensures a uniform, fair
and efficient application of personnel policies. This bylaw is adopted
pursuant to the authority granted by Article LXXXIX of the Constitution
of the Commonwealth and MGL c. 41, §§ 108A and 108C.
All Town departments and positions shall be subject to the provisions
of this bylaw except elected officers, employees with personal contracts,
and employees of the School Department. To the extent that any Town
employee is subject to a collective bargaining agreement, in the event
of a conflict and/or an inconsistency between said agreement and this
bylaw, then said agreement shall govern the terms and conditions of
that employee's work.
Pursuant to Section 6-2-1(k) of the Town Charter, the Town Administrator
is responsible for administering personnel policies, practices, rules
and regulations, compensation and classification plan and related
matters, in consultation with the Personnel Board, for all municipal
employees and administering all collective bargaining agreements entered
into by the Town.
Additionally, pursuant to Section 6-2-1(a)(i) of the Town Charter,
the Town Administrator is authorized to appoint, discipline, suspend
or remove Town officers, department heads or principal deputies or
agents of elected and appointed boards or officers, and other employees,
including employees in civil service positions, for whom no other
method of selection is provided by the charter or general or special
laws, consistent with the Town's personnel policies and subject
to the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreements; provided,
however, that the Town Administrator shall keep the chairman of the
Board of Selectmen, or the chairman's designee, informed as to
status of all personnel decisions made or to be made hereunder and
shall consult with the appropriate department head or principal deputy
or agent prior to hiring an employee for that department.
The Town Administrator may organize human resources and personnel
functions in a Human Resources Department. Subject to appropriation,
the Town Administrator may, consistent with the provisions of Section
6-2-1(a)(i) and (ii) of the Charter, appoint a Human Resources Director
to act by and for the Administrator to impartially and equitably oversee
all personnel activities and responsibilities of the Town, other than
employees of the School Department; provided, however, that the Town
Administrator shall retain responsibility for all such delegated acts.
A personnel system shall be established by promulgation of policies pursuant to §
90-7. The personnel system shall make use of current concepts of personnel management and may include but not be limited to the following elements:
A. Method of administration. A system of administration which assigns
specific responsibility for all elements of the personnel system,
including: maintaining personnel records, implementing effective recruitment
and selection processes, maintaining the classification and compensation
plans, monitoring the application of personnel policies and periodic
reviews, and evaluating the personnel system.
B. Classification plan. A position classification plan for all employees
subject to this bylaw shall be established, based on similarity of
duties performed and the responsibilities assumed so that the same
qualifications may be reasonably required for, and the same schedule
of pay may be equitably applied to, all positions in the same class.
Nothing in the classification plan shall infringe upon or supersede
an appointing authority's ability to hire an employee into a
newly created position, provided that the Town Administrator and Personnel
Board are first consulted regarding an appropriate starting salary.
As part of its regular review, the Personnel Board shall seek to update
the classification and compensation plans to include any new positions
added during the prior year.
C. A compensation plan. A compensation plan for all positions subject
to this bylaw shall consist of:
(1) A schedule of pay grades, including minimum, maximum and intermediate
rates for each grade; and
(2) An official list indicating the assignment of each position to specific
pay grades.
D. A recruitment and selection policy. A recruitment, employment, promotion
and transfer policy which ensures that reasonable effort is made to
attract qualified persons and that selection criteria are job related.
E. Personnel records. A centralized recordkeeping system which maintains
essential personnel records.
F. Personnel policies. A series of personnel policies which establishes
the rights, the benefits to which certain personnel employed by the
Town are entitled, and the obligations of said employees to the Town.
G. Other elements. Other elements of a personnel system as deemed appropriate
or required by law.
The Board of Selectmen shall promulgate personnel policies defining
the rights, benefits and obligations of certain employees subject
to this bylaw. Policies shall be adopted or amended as follows:
A. Preparation of policies. Any member of the Board of Selectmen, Personnel
Board, the Town Administrator, or any three employees may suggest
policies for consideration. The Town Administrator shall refer such
policies to the Personnel Board, which Board need not consider any
proposal already considered in the preceding 12 months. Any person
proposing a new or amended policy shall provide the substance and
the reason for the proposed policy in writing. The Personnel Board
shall hold a public hearing on any proposed policies or amendments.
Any proposed policies or amendments shall be posted at least five
days prior to the public hearing in prominent work locations, copies
of all proposals shall be provided to representatives of each employee
collective bargaining unit, and a copy shall be submitted to the Board
of Selectmen.
B. Public hearing. The entity responsible for suggestion of the proposed
policy or amendment shall present the purpose of the proposal and
the implication of any proposed change at the public hearing. Any
person may attend the hearing, speak and present information. The
Town Administrator and the Personnel Board shall, within 20 days after
such public hearing, consider the proposed policies and recommend
that the Board of Selectmen adopt the policies (with or without modifications),
reject the policies, or indicate that further study is necessary.
C. Recommended policies. The Town Administrator, or the Personnel Board
at the administrator's request, shall transmit recommendations
in writing to the Board of Selectmen within 20 days of any recommendation
on proposed personnel policies or amendments. The recommendations
shall contain the text of the proposed policy or amended policy, an
explanation of the policy and the implications of the policy. The
Board of Selectmen shall consider recommendations of the Town Administrator
and Personnel Board and may adopt, reject or return recommendations
for further action. The Board of Selectmen need only act on proposed
policies recommended for adoption. Policies shall become effective
upon approval of the Board of Selectmen, unless some other date is
specified.
D. Computation of time. In computing time (days) under this bylaw, only
days when the Town Hall is open for business shall be counted.
The provisions of this bylaw and any regulations adopted pursuant
to this bylaw are severable. If any bylaw provision or regulation
is held invalid, the remaining provisions of the bylaw or regulations
shall not be affected thereby.