The following offices shall be filled by the voters at regular
annual elections held on the first Saturday following the annual town
meeting or at such other time as shall be determined by vote of the
Town. All elected officials and all boards and committees established
or continued under this section shall have all the powers and duties
under the constitution and laws of the Commonwealth, the Town by-law
and Town Charter.
There shall be a Board of Selectmen consisting of five (5) members
elected for terms of three (3) years each, so arranged that the term
of office of as nearly an equal number of members as is possible shall
expire each year.
(a)
The executive powers of the Town shall be vested in the Board of
Selectmen, which shall serve as the chief policy-making board of the
Town.
(b)
The Board of Selectmen shall have the powers and duties given to
Boards of Selectmen under the Constitution of the Commonwealth and
the General Laws, except those powers and duties assigned by this
Charter to the Town Administrator, and shall have such additional
powers and duties as may be authorized by this Charter, by Town by-laws,
or by vote of Town Meeting. The Board of Selectmen shall be authorized
to enter into intergovernmental and other agreements on such terms
it deems beneficial to the citizens of Norwell, subject to the General
Laws, This, Town by-laws or by vote of Town Meeting.
(c)
The Board of Selectmen shall be responsible for the formulation and
promulgation of policy directives and guidelines to be followed by
all Town departments serving under it, to develop and promulgate policy
guidelines, in conjunction with other elected Town officials and multiple
member bodies, designed to bring the operation of all Town agencies
into harmony; provided however, that nothing in this section shall
be construed to authorize any member of the Board of Selectmen, nor
a majority of such members, to become involved in the day-to-day administration
of any Town agency. It is the intention of this provision that the
Board of Selectmen shall act only through the adoption of broad policy
guidelines and long term plans or programs, which are to be implemented
by officials and employees serving under it.
(d)
The Board of Selectmen shall communicate periodically with all town
agencies, departments, committees, and boards, including meeting with
representatives of volunteer committees and boards, and shall consider
the concerns and plans of all such agencies, departments, committees,
and boards when formulating policy and long term plans or programs.
(e)
The Board of Selectmen shall cause the by-laws and rules and regulations
for the government of the Town to be enforced and shall cause an up-to-date
record of all official acts to be kept.
(f)
The Board of Selectmen shall appoint the Town Administrator, a Town
Counsel and a Town Auditor by a majority vote of the board.
(g)
The Board of Selectmen shall appoint such other offices, boards,
committees and commissions, by a majority vote of the board, as may
be provided by the General Laws or by vote of the Town. In event of
a vacancy in any of said offices, boards, committees and commissions,
the Board of Selectmen shall act to fill said vacancy within ninety
(90) days from when the affected board notifies the Board of Selectmen
of any vacancy. This subsection shall not apply to the appointment
or approval of any paid full or part-time employees provided for under
Section 5-2(a)(2) of this Charter.
(h)
The Board of Selectmen shall be the licensing board of the Town and
shall have the power to issue licenses, under the General Laws, to
make all necessary rules and regulations regarding the issuance of
such licenses and to attach conditions and restrictions to licenses
as the Board of Selectmen deems to be in the public interest and to
enforce the laws relating to all businesses for which it issues licenses.
(i)
The Board of Selectmen shall be responsible for ensuring that timely
audits are conducted as required by law. The audits shall be performed
by a certified public accountant, or firm of such accountants, who
have a no personal interests, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs
of the town government or any of its officials.
A Moderator elected for a one year term. The Moderator shall
not hold any other elected or appointed Town government position during
the period served as Moderator, unless otherwise provided under this
Charter.
A Town Clerk elected for a three year term.
A Highway Surveyor/Director elected for a three-year term. Said
Highway Surveyor/Director shall perform and discharge all of the duties
of the Highway Surveyor and all the duties of Director of lands and
natural Resources set forth in Section 69G of Chapter forty-one (41)
of the Massachusetts General Laws. (Rev. ATM 5/11/1992, voted at ATE
3/21/1993)
A Board of Water Commissioners consisting of three members elected
for three year overlapping terms.
A Board of Assessors consisting of three members elected for
three year overlapping terms.
A Board of Health consisting of three members elected for three
year overlapping terms.
A Planning Board consisting of five members elected for three
year overlapping terms.
A Board of Trustees of the Norwell Public library consisting
of six members elected for three year overlapping terms.
One member of a Regional Vocational School District committee
appointed for a three-year term.
A School Committee consisting of five members elected for three
year overlapping terms.
A Housing Authority consisting of five members, four elected
for three year overlapping terms and one appointed under the General
Laws.
All elected officials and all board and committees established
or continued under this section shall have all of the powers and duties
that they may have under the constitution and laws of the Commonwealth,
the by-laws and Charter of the Town.
[Added by Ch. 438 of the Acts of 2016, approved 1-13-2017]
(a)
A holder of an elected office in the town of Norwell who holds an
elected town-wide office and whose term of office extends beyond the
next annual town election may be recalled from office by the registered
voters of the town, as provided in this section, for 1 of the following
reasons: (i) a conviction, while presently in office, of a felony
or 1 of the following misdemeanors, as defined by the General Laws:
domestic violence, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,
the illegal manufacture, distribution or dispensing of a controlled
substance, assault or criminal harassment; (ii) an admission to facts,
while presently in office, sufficient to be convicted of a felony
or 1 of the following misdemeanors as defined in the General Laws:
domestic violence, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,
the illegal manufacture, distribution or dispensing of a controlled
substance, assault or criminal harassment; (iii) a violation, while
presently in office, of chapter 268A of the General Laws, as determined
by the state ethics commission or the attorney general; (iv) attendance
by the elected official of less than 50 per cent of the posted public
meetings of the board or office of which the official was an elected
member, or to which the official has been elected or appointed as
part of the official's elected position during the previous 12
months; or (v) in the case of an elected official not a part of a
board, engagement by the elected official in excessive absenteeism,
including repeatedly working less than 20 hours per week without just
cause, impacting the proper function and performance of the department.
The elected official's vote on a matter, other than in connection
with a conflict of interest violation under clause (iii), shall not
be grounds for a recall petition.
(b)
Ten or more registered voters of the town of Norwell may make and file a notice of intent with the town clerk bearing the name of the elected official sought to be recalled, along with a statement of the specific grounds for the recall as established by subsection (a) with information sufficient to support the specific grounds for recall, not less than 170 days before the next annual town election. Upon certification of the required signatures by the registrars of voters and a determination by town counsel that the notice of intent contains information sufficient to support the specific grounds and events for the recall the town clerk shall, within 5 business days, deliver the petition forms requesting a recall to the first named voter on the notice of intent. The petition forms shall be addressed to the board of selectmen and issued under the signature and official seal of the town clerk. The petition forms shall be dated and shall contain the names of the first 10 registered voters whose names appear on the notice of intent to recall. In addition, the petition forms shall request the election of a successor to the office. A copy of the petition forms shall be entered in a record book to be kept in the office of the town clerk. The recall petition forms shall be returned and filed with the town clerk within 60 days after the receipt of the signed petition forms or the next business day after the sixtieth day if that day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, with signatures, names and street precincts. The town clerk shall, within 3 business days following the day of the filing with the office of the town clerk, submit the recall petition forms to the registrars of voters. The registrars shall, within 15 business days after the date of receipt, certify in writing to the town clerk on the recall petition forms, the number of signatures that are names of registered voters in the town of Norwell.
(c)
If the recall petition forms to be certified by the registrars of
voters shall be found sufficient by containing not less than 10 per
cent of registered voters of the town of Norwell, including at least
100 registered voters from each of the town of Norwell's 3 precincts,
as of the date of the most recent town election, the town clerk shall
file the petition forms with the board of selectmen within 2 business
days. The board of selectmen shall give notice following their next
scheduled meeting, in writing, to the elected official whose recall
is sought by sending that elected official a copy of the certified
recall petition forms.
If the elected official to whom the recall is directed by the
board of selectmen does not resign from the office within 5 business
days from the date of notice, the board of selectmen shall immediately
order an election to be held on the date of the next town election.
If a vacancy occurs in the office after a recall election has been
ordered, the election shall nevertheless proceed as provided in this
section; provided, however, that only ballots for the new candidates
shall be counted.
(d)
An elected official whose recall is sought shall not be a candidate
to succeed in the office in the recall election. The nomination of
candidates, the publication of the warrant for the recall election
and the conduct of the election shall be in accordance with the state
and local laws relative to elections, unless otherwise provided in
this section.
(e)
The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the office
until the recall election, unless the elected official resigns from
the office. If the incumbent is not recalled, the incumbent shall
remain in office for the remainder of the unexpired term subject to
recall as before, except as provided by this section. If recalled
in the recall election, the incumbent shall be considered removed
upon the qualification of the successor, who shall hold office during
the unexpired term.
(f)
Ballots used in a recall petition shall contain the following propositions
in the order indicated:
"For the recall of (name of elected official) who holds the
position of (elected office)"
"Against the recall of (name of elected official) who holds
the position of (elected office)"
Immediately at the right of each proposition there shall be a designated space for voters to vote for either of the propositions. Under the propositions shall appear the words "Candidates and directions to voters required by section 42 of chapter 54 of the General Laws" and beneath those words shall appear the names of the candidates nominated, listed alphabetically, as provided in this section. If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of the recall are in favor of the recall, the elected official shall be recalled and the ballots for candidates shall be counted. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. If the majority of the votes cast are in the negative, the ballots for candidates need not be counted unless the incumbent official has resigned previously or a vacancy occurs in the office after a recall election has been ordered pursuant to subsection (c).
(g)
A recall petition shall not be filed against an elected official
within 6 months after the official has taken office; provided, however,
that if the elected official has been re-elected to another consecutive
term in office, a recall petition may be filed within 3 months after
taking office on the re-election vote. A recall petition shall not
be filed against an elected official who was subjected to a recall
election and not recalled until not less than 6 months have elapsed
after the election at which the recall was submitted to the voters
of the town. An elected official shall not be subject to a subsequent
recall petition for the same specific reason and event that was the
basis of a prior recall petition.
(h)
A person who has been recalled from office or who has resigned from
office after the recall petition has been certified by the registrars
of voters shall not be appointed to a town office, board or committee
within 2 years after the recall or resignation.
