[Adopted 6-29-2004 (§§ 15-10, 15-21 and 15-22 of the 2010 Code)]
Notwithstanding any ordinance provision to the contrary, there
is created a Parks, Cemeteries and Public Grounds Department.
It shall be the function of the Department to provide the park,
recreation, forestry and cemetery services to the City and to provide
facilities for public and private interments.
The Department shall consist of a commissioner to be known as
the "Commissioner of Parks, Cemeteries and Public Grounds" (hereinafter
"Commissioner"), a commission to be known as the "Parks and Recreation
Commission" (hereinafter "Commission"), a board to be known as the
"Board of Cemetery Commissioners" (hereinafter "Board"), and such
other personnel as the Municipal Council, upon recommendation of the
Mayor, shall from time to time authorize.
The Department shall be headed by the Commissioner of Parks, Cemeteries and Public Grounds, who shall be appointed in accordance with Chapter 569 of the Acts of 1980 and § 19-60 of Article IV of this chapter. The Director of Parks and Recreation shall be the Commissioner of Parks, Cemeteries and Public Grounds.
A.
Duties and responsibilities. It shall be the duty and responsibility
of the Commissioner to:
(1)
Administer the Department.
(2)
Maintain care of the public grounds, including parks, playgrounds,
cemeteries, the Taunton Green and all other areas presently maintained
by the Taunton Conservation Commission, the Board of Cemetery Commissioners
or the existing Park and Recreation Department.
(3)
Issue permits and licenses for the use of recreation facilities under
the care of the Department, such licenses to include those provided
for in MGL c. 136, § 4.
(4)
Inform the public about the parks and recreation programs and systems.
(6)
Supervise the conduct of interments.
(7)
Apply funds deposited with the City Treasurer/Collector for the preservation,
care, improvement or embellishment of any public burial place in accordance
with law.
(8)
Promulgate rules and regulations for the operation of the cemetery.
(9)
Make appointments of Department personnel in accordance with MGL
c. 31, where applicable.
(10)
Perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law.
B.
The Commissioner shall have full charge of the work of the Department,
and all officers and employees shall perform their duties under direction
and control of the Commissioner.
C.
The Commissioner of Parks, Cemeteries and Public Grounds shall, subject
to the general direction and supervision of the Commission, take charge
of the cemeteries over which he/she is appointed and shall execute
and enforce such orders relating thereto as the Commission may from
time to time adopt. The Commission shall cause the Commissioner of
Parks, Cemeteries and Public Grounds to keep a record of each burial
and removal in the cemeteries, stating the date of death and name
of the deceased, age, place of death, disease or cause of death, the
specific location of burial and removal and the date thereof, in a
book titled "The Record of Burials," to be provided by the City.
D.
In the administration of the Department, the Commissioner shall be
responsible to and under the direction and control of the Mayor and
Municipal Council.
In addition to the duties and responsibilities set forth in
this article, the Commissioner shall be the executive officer of the
Commission and the Board and shall perform any and all functions of
the Commission and Board as they may lawfully delegate to him with
the consent of the Mayor.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of the Board to advise
and make recommendations to the Mayor, Municipal Council and the Commissioner
of Parks, Cemeteries and Public Grounds on matters affecting the public
cemetery, including the use of cemetery land and the conduct of interment.
