[Amended 4-11-2007 ATM
by Art. 44, approved 5-21-2007; Acts of 2019, Ch. 110, approved 11-13-2019]
The select board shall be composed of five members elected for
terms of three years each, so arranged that the terms of as nearly
equal number of members as possible expire each year. To qualify for
office, each member shall be and remain a resident of the Town. Three
of the five members shall constitute a quorum. A majority of the quorum
shall be sufficient to set the Board's meeting agenda and to decide
any question, except as may be otherwise provided in this Charter.
Within 30 days following each annual Town election, the select
board shall choose one of its duly elected members as Chair and another
as Vice-Chair, each to serve until a successor is elected. The Vice-Chair
shall, during any temporary disability or absence of the Chair, serve
as Acting Chair. The Chair shall:
(a)
Execute, and cause the Town Clerk to affix Town seal to, all
contracts, bonds or other instruments requiring the signature and
seal of the Town and having been duly approved by the select board;
(b)
Preside over all meetings of the select board with the right
to vote on all questions, absent conflict of interest, and to propose
the agenda prior to each such meeting;
(c)
Report annually to the people of the Town on the work of the
previous year; and
(d)
Serve as representative of the select board at ceremonial and
civic occasions.
Subject to applicable administrative procedures pursuant to
the laws of the Commonwealth or Town bylaw, the select board may,
notwithstanding any law to the contrary, vote the following:
To acquire any real estate, including any partial interest therein,
by purchase or acceptance of gift; such acquisition being without
the necessity of any vote of Town Meeting, but subject to the restriction
that any acquisition of real estate by eminent domain may only be
effected if first authorized by vote of Town Meeting pursuant to the
laws of the Commonwealth and subject also to the availability of any
necessary funds appropriated for such acquisition.
The select board shall publish a public notice of such vote in a newspaper having general circulation within the Town. Any such acquisition shall be subject to veto by Town Meeting if a petition as set forth in Section 2.1(b) is filed with the Town Clerk within 30 days following the date such public notice is published.
Nothing in this Section of the Charter shall affect the acceptance
of gifts pursuant to c. 44, Section 53(a) of the General Laws.
(a)
The select board may, at a public meeting, exercise the following
powers:
(1)
To appoint the Town Manager for the purposes set forth in Article IV. Such appointment shall be upon appropriate terms and conditions, including provision for annual performance reviews, in conformity with this Charter and the General Laws. By a majority vote of the full count of members then in office, the Board may remove the Town Manager;
(2)
To appoint Town Counsel, and registrars of voters and other
election officials (upon the recommendation of the Town Clerk), also
other Town officers and employees to the extent so permitted to them
by this Charter;
(3)
To appoint and, for cause, upon written charges and after a
public hearing if so requested, to remove members of the following
Town boards, councils, commissions and committees:
Airport Commission, Conservation Commission, Commission on Disability,
Council on Aging, Council for Human Services, Finance Committee, Parks
and Recreation Commission, and Zoning Board of Appeals; and any other
committee for which a Town bylaw makes the select board the appointing
authority; also any advisory committee established by the select board
and any committee acting for both the Town and the County.
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Cause for removals shall be put forward in good faith, and not
arbitrary, irrational, unreasonable or irrelevant to the duties of
the office, on grounds of incapacity beyond temporary illness, chronic
nonattendance or violation of the oath of office.
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Nothing in this Section 3.4(a)(3) mandates the continued existence
of any such board or the specific number of members appointed;
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(4)
To exercise the power to disapprove of appointments made by the Town Manager pursuant to Section 3.4(b) or 4.3 of this Charter. All appointments by the Town Manager to the position of Assistant Town Manager, of department head or of any other position pursuant to this Charter, are subject to a vote of disapproval by the select board; provided, however, that such appointments shall take effect unless the select board votes disapproval within a 15-day period following the day on which notice of the proposed appointment is filed with the Board Chair;
(5)
To fill by appointment any elective position on a Town board,
commission or council, vacant by reason of a member's resignation,
death or incapacity beyond temporary illness, but only if the laws
of the Commonwealth allow for appointments in such cases, the appointee
to serve, any such laws notwithstanding, only until a successor is
elected at the next annual Town election; and the successor so elected
then to serve for the remainder, if any, of the member's unexpired
term; and
(6)
To appoint to the Planning Board three associate members to
serve in zoning matters as alternates in lieu of any elected alternate,
the terms of appointment being of such length and so arranged that
the term of one associate member shall expire each year. Nothing in
this Charter shall affect the election of the regular Planning Board
members in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth.
(b)
Any vacancy occurring in an appointed position in Town offices,
boards, councils, commissions or committees shall be filled by the
select board, the Town Manager or other appointing authority, whichever
is empowered to make the initial appointment to the position vacated,
for the balance of the unexpired term.
[Amended by Ch. 97, Acts of 2022]
The select board shall have the power:
(a)
To act in the capacity of the Board of County Commissioners;
(b)
To establish general Town priorities, goals and policies;
(c)
To establish as may be advisable or needed one or more advisory
committees to conduct any inquiry or investigation or to make planning,
policy or other recommendations;
(d)
To adopt rules for the conduct of business and to fix times
and places for meetings, to establish all five members as a committee
of the whole, and to designate any number of its members as a subcommittee;
(e)
To approve or disapprove Town contracts, contract amendments,
contract terminations and contract enforcement actions proposed by
the Town Manager;
(f)
To identify emergency situations and to declare emergencies;
(g)
To hear and decide upon license applications as may be provided
by Town bylaws or by Special or General Laws;
(h)
To hear and decide administrative appeals from the Historic
District Commission or from any other Town body as may be provided
by Town bylaw or by the laws of the commonwealth; and
(i)
The select board shall have the full role of and all of the
powers and authority of a board of selectmen under any general or
special law and its members and officers shall have the full role
of and all of the powers and authority of the members and officers
of a board of selectmen under any general or special law.
[Added by Ch. 97, Acts of 2022]
(a)
Members.
In accordance with this charter, the select board shall establish
a 5 member audit committee that shall consist of the chair of the
select board; the chair of the finance committee; 1 appointed member
from the select board; and 2 members of the Nantucket community. The
public members shall be appointed by the select board. Each member
shall be a voting member and shall be appointed for 1-year terms.
(b)
Purposes,
Duties and Responsibilities of the Audit Committee. The audit committee
shall represent the select board in discharging its responsibility
relating to the accounting, reporting and financial practices of the
town and shall have general responsibility for surveillance of internal
controls and accounting and audit activities of the town. Specifically,
the audit committee shall:
(i)
evaluate and recommend to the select board a firm of independent
certified public accountants as auditors of the town;
(ii)
review with the independent auditors their audit procedures, including
the scope, fees and timing of the audit, and the results of the annual
audit examination and any accompanying management letters;
(iii)
review the written statement from the outside auditor of the town
concerning any relationships between the auditor and the town or any
other relationships that may adversely affect the independence of
the auditor and assess the independence of the outside auditor;
(iv)
review and discuss with the finance director and the independent
auditors the town's annual audited consolidated financial statements,
including an analysis of the auditors' judgment as to the quality
of the town's accounting principles;
(v)
review the adequacy of the town's internal controls;
(vi)
review significant changes in the accounting policies of the town
and accounting and financial reporting rule change that may have a
significant impact on the town's financial reports;
(vii)
review material pending legal proceedings involving the town and
other contingent liabilities; and
(viii)
review the adequacy of the audit committee charter on an annual
basis.
(c)
Meetings.
The audit committee shall meet as often as may be deemed necessary.
The audit committee shall meet in executive session without the presence
of staff with the independent auditors at least annually. The audit
committee shall report to the full select board with respect to its
meetings. The majority of the members of the audit committee shall
constitute a quorum.