The articles in the warrant for any Town Meeting insofar as
they relate to the election of Town officers, or to the determination
by the voters of any question to be submitted for such decision by
written ballots, shall be acted upon and determined by the voters
in their respective precincts.
The regular Town election shall be taken on official ballots
without party or political designation of any kind on the date fixed
by bylaw.
This Charter may be replaced, revised or amended in accordance
with any procedures made available under the State Constitution and
any statutes enacted to implement the said constitutional provisions.
The provisions of this Charter are severable. If any provision
of this Charter is held invalid, the other provisions of this Charter
shall not be affected thereby. If the application of this Charter
or any of its provisions to any person or circumstance is held invalid,
the application of this Charter and its provisions to other persons
and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
To the extent that any specific provision of this Charter shall
conflict with any provision expressed in general terms, the specific
provisions shall prevail.
Words importing the singular number may extend and be applied
to several persons or things; words importing the plural number may
include the singular; words importing the feminine gender shall include
the masculine gender; words importing the masculine gender shall include
the feminine gender.
A copy of all rules and regulations adopted by any Town agency
shall be filed in the Office of the Town Clerk before any such rule
or regulation shall become effective, and copies shall be made available
for review by any person who requests such information. No rule or
regulation adopted by any Town agency shall become effective until
10 business days following the date it has been so filed in the Office
of the Town Clerk.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3]
(a) Charter review. In each year ending in a zero (0), a special committee
shall be established for the purpose of reviewing this Charter and
to make a report, with recommendations, to the Town Meeting concerning
any proposed amendments which said committee may determine to be necessary
or desirable. The committee shall consist of nine voters who shall
be chosen as follows: the Select Board, the School Committee, the
Planning Board and the Board of Assessors, shall each designate one
person, the Finance Committee shall designate two persons and three
persons shall be appointed by the Town Moderator. Persons appointed
by the said agencies may, but need not, be members of the agency by
which they are designated. The persons appointed by the Town Moderator
shall be voters not otherwise involved in Town government as a member
of any appointed or elected Town agency. The committee shall meet
to organize within 30 days of the call of the Select Board to establish
the committee, notwithstanding the failure of any agency to make its
designated appointment.
(b) Bylaw review. In each year ending in five (5), the Select Board shall
appoint a special committee, consisting of five voters, for the purpose
of drafting proposals for the revision or recodification of all bylaws
of the Town. In addition, the Town Clerk shall serve as an ex officio
nonvoting member of the committee. The committee shall present its
proposals to the Select Board, which shall include the same on the
warrant for the Fall Annual Town Meeting occurring no later than the
year following the one in which the committee was formed. The committee
shall have its proposals reviewed by Town Counsel or by special counsel
retained for this purpose. Copies of the revised bylaws shall be made
available for distribution to the public at a charge not to exceed
the actual per-copy cost of reproduction.
Any appointed Town officer, member of a multiple-member body
or employee of the Town, not subject to the provisions of the state
civil service law, or covered by the terms of a collective bargaining
agreement which provides a different method, and whether appointed
for a fixed or an indefinite term, may be suspended or removed from
office, without compensation, by the appointing authority for good
cause. The term "cause" shall include, but not be limited to, the
following: incapacity other than temporary illness, inefficiency,
insubordination and conduct unbecoming the office.
Any appointed officer, member of a multiple-member body or employee
of the Town may be suspended from office by the appointing authority
if such action is deemed by said appointing authority to be necessary
to protect the interests of the Town. However, no suspension shall
be for more than 15 days. Suspension may be coterminous with removal
and shall not interfere with the rights of the officer or employee
under the removal procedure given below.
The appointing authority when removing any such officer, member
of a multiple-member body or employee of the Town shall act in accordance
with the following procedure:
(a) A written notice of the intent to remove and a statement of the cause
or causes therefor shall be delivered in hand, or by certified mail,
return receipt requested, to the last known address of the person
sought to be removed.
Within five business days following delivery of such notice,
the officer, member of a multiple-member body or employee of the Town
may request a public hearing at which such person may be represented
by counsel, shall be entitled to present evidence, call witnesses
and to question any witness appearing at the hearing.
(b) Between one and 10 business days after the public hearing is adjourned,
or if the officer, member of a multiple-member body or employee of
the Town fails to request a public hearing between six and 15 business
days after delivery of the notice of intent to remove, the appointing
authority shall take final action, either removing the officer, member
of a multiple-member body or employee of the Town or notifying such
person that the notice is rescinded. Failure of the appointing authority
to take any action within the time periods as stated in this section
shall be deemed to be a rescission of the original notice and the
officer, member of a multiple-member body or employee shall, forthwith,
be reinstated.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as granting a right
to such a hearing when a person who has been appointed for a fixed
term is not reappointed when the original term expires.
Whenever a vacancy occurs in any Town office, position or employment,
or whenever by reason of a pending retirement or expiration of a fixed
term a vacancy can be anticipated, the appointing authority shall
forthwith cause public notice of such vacancy to be posted on the
Town bulletin board for not less than 10 business days. Such notice
shall contain a description of the duties of the office, position
or employment and a listing of the necessary or desirable qualifications
to fill the office, position or employment. No permanent appointment
to fill such office, position or employment shall be effective until
14 days following the date such notice was posted to permit reasonable
consideration of all applicants. This section shall not apply to positions
covered by the civil service law and rules or if in conflict with
the provisions of any collective bargaining agreement.
If any person appointed to serve as a member of a multiple-member
body shall fail to attend three or more consecutive meetings, or 1/2
or more of all of the meetings of such body held in one fiscal year,
the remaining members may, by a majority vote of the remaining members
of such body, declare the office to be vacant; provided, however,
that not less than 10 business days prior to the date said vote is
scheduled to be taken the body has given in hand, or mailed, by registered
or certified mail, return receipt requested, notice of such proposed
or pending vote to the last known address of such person.