[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of West
Springfield as Ch. 3 of the Codified Ordinances. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Legislative Branch — See Charter Art. 2.
[Amended 12-31-2001 by Ord. No. 104; 11-17-2003 by Ord. No. 116; 4-9-2008 by Ord. No. 139]
[Amended 11-17-2003 by Ord. No. 116]
A.
Hours. The position of the Clerk of Council is a full-time position
with office hours as established by vote of the majority of the Council.
B.
Salary. The Clerk of the Council shall be paid an annual salary and
shall also be paid a stipend for attendance at all regular and special
meetings of the Town Council. Said salary and stipend of the Clerk
of the Council shall be the amount appropriated for the position of
Clerk of Council in the annual budget or any supplemental appropriation
adopted by the Council and approved by the Mayor. The salary range
and annual compensation of the Clerk of the Council shall be set forth
in footnotes to this section.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The salary range for the Clerk of the Council
is currently $29,000 to $41,000. The current compensation is $36,943.53
annual salary and $4,750 stipend.
C.
Benefits. The Clerk of the Council shall be entitled to those benefits
as approved from time to time by the Town Council.
D.
Absence. If the Clerk of the Council is unavailable for any reason,
the Town Clerk or his/her designee, if acceptable to the Council,
shall perform the duties of the Clerk of the Council until his/her
return.
E.
Duties and responsibilities. The Clerk of the Council shall perform
all duties and responsibilities established by the West Springfield
Home Rule Charter for the office[2] and described in the job description and those assigned
or delegated by the Council or the President of the Council. The performance
of the Clerk of the Council shall be evaluated by the Council of the
whole using an evaluation form adopted by it, annually, by December
1. The evaluations shall be summarized by the President, Vice President
and Chair of the Human Resources Subcommittee. They shall review the
summary with the Clerk of the Council by December 31.
[2]
Editor's Note: See Charter Sec. 2-8(c).
F.
Discipline, suspension or removal.
(1)
A two-thirds vote of the Council of the whole may, after compliance
with the applicable provisions of MGL c. 39, § 23B,[3] discipline, suspend or remove the Clerk of the Council
or any officer or department head, elected or appointed by it, by
filing a written statement with the Department of Human Resources,
setting forth the action taken. A written statement setting forth
the reasons for the action taken shall be delivered or mailed by certified
mail, return receipt requested, to the last and usual place of abode
of the said Clerk, officer or department head. He or she may file
a written reply, by filing it with the President of the Council, within
10 days of the date of the filing of the action by the Council with
the Department of Human Resources, and may request a meeting with
the Council, in conformity with the provisions of MGL c. 39 § 23B[4] involving employee discipline, within said ten-day period
by filing a written request with the Council President if a meeting
under MGL c. 39, § 23B[5] between the Council and the said Clerk, officer or department
head has not been held prior to the Council's filing the statement
with the Department of Human Resources.
(2)
The filing of a reply or request for a meeting shall have no effect
on the removal, suspension or discipline of any party subject to the
above.
(3)
The removal, suspension or discipline shall take effect on the filing
by the Council with the Department of Human Resources.
[Amended 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 126]
A.
Title: "Town Clerk."
B.
Hours. The Town Clerk is a full- time position with office hours
as established by vote by a majority of the Council from time to time.
The office of the Town Clerk shall be open to the public on the same
schedule as that of other Town Hall offices.
C.
Salary. The salary and additional compensation for the position of
Town Clerk shall be the compensation appropriated for said position
in the annual Town budget adopted by the Council. The annual compensation
of the Town Clerk shall be set forth in a footnote to this section.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The current compensation based on the job description
adopted by the Council is $55,575, including all stipends, except
$1,800 as a Registrar of Voters, the total compensation being $57,375
(effective 1-1-2013). If the Vice President and Chair is one and the
same person, the Human Resources Subcommittee shall designate another
member of its subcommittee to participate in the summary and review.
D.
Benefits. The Town Clerk shall be entitled to those benefits as approved
from time to time by the Council.
[Amended 12-5-2011]
E.
Absence. If the Town Clerk is unavailable for any reason, the Assistant
Town Clerk shall perform the duties of the Town Clerk until his/her
return.
F.
Duties, responsibilities and evaluation. The Town Clerk shall perform
all duties and responsibilities contained in the job description as
well as those assigned to the office of Town Clerk by the Massachusetts
General Laws, the West Springfield Home Rule Charter, the West Springfield
General Ordinances, the Executive Orders of the Mayor and those duties
and responsibilities assigned or delegated by the Council or the President
of the Council. The performance of the Town Clerk shall be evaluated
by the entire membership of the Council using an evaluation form adopted
by it annually by December 1. The evaluation shall be summarized by
the President, Vice-President and Chair of the Human Resources Subcommittee.
They shall review the summary with the Town Clerk by December 31.
G.
Discipline, suspension or removal. The Council may, by a two-thirds
vote of the entire membership of the Council, after compliance with
the applicable provisions of MGL c. 39, § 23B,[2] discipline, suspend or remove the Town Clerk or any officer
or department head, elected or appointed by it by filing a written
statement with the Department of Human Resources, setting forth the
action taken, which shall be a part of the Town Clerk's personnel
file. A written statement setting forth reasons for the action taken
shall be delivered or mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested,
to the last and usual place of abode of the Town Clerk. The Town Clerk
may make a written reply, by filing it with the Clerk of the Council,
within 10 days of the date of the filing of the action by the Council
with the Department of Human Resources, and may request a meeting
with the Council in conformity with the provisions of MGL c. 39 § 23B[3] involving employee discipline, within said ten-day period,
by filing a written request with the Clerk of the Council, if a meeting
under said MGL c. 39 § 23B[4] between the Council and the Town Clerk has not been held
prior to the Council's filing the statement with the Department of
Human Resources. The filing of a reply or request for a meeting shall
have no effect upon the removal or suspension. The removal or suspension
shall take effect on the filing by the Council with the Department
of Human Resources.
H.
This section shall take effect upon approval as set forth in Section
3-7 of the HRC.
[Added 11-21-2012 by Ord.
No. 143]
A.
Dates and times established. The Town Council shall hold regular
meetings on the first and third Mondays of the month for the months
of September through June, and on the third Monday of each month for
the months of July and August, from 7:00 p.m. to not later than 10:00
p.m. When the day fixed for any regular meeting of the Council falls
upon a day designated by law as a legal holiday, such meeting shall
be held at the same hour on the next succeeding day not a holiday.
When a regularly scheduled meeting is postponed, such meeting shall
be reposted.
B.
Extension of time of meeting. The time of a meeting may be extended
by the President or by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Council
present beyond the time specified herein.
C.
Adjournment; notice. Any meeting of the Council may be adjourned
to a later date and time, provided that no adjournment shall be for
a longer period than until the next regular meeting. The Clerk of
the Council is responsible for noticing said adjourned meeting in
conforming with the Open Meeting Law (MGL c. 30A, §§ 18
through 25).
D.
Location. All regular meetings of the Council shall be held in the
Council Chambers of the Town unless otherwise specified by the Council.
E.
Change of meeting time and/or location. The council, may by resolution,
change the time and place of the regular meeting. The resolution shall
set forth the circumstances necessitating such change. Such resolution
shall be posted at least 48 hours prior to the meeting to be held
pursuant to the change and filed with the Town Clerk. Forty-eight
hours prior to the meeting to be held pursuant to such change, the
Clerk of the Council shall give each Council member notice of any
change from the regular meeting established by this section.
F.
Meetings open to public; exceptions. Except for executive sessions
as permitted by state Open Meeting Law (MGL c. 30A, §§ 18
through 25) or other applicable statute or regulation, all regular
meetings of the Town Council and its committees shall be open to the
public, subject to recording by various means by notification of the
Council President, provided that such arrangements do not interfere
with the orderly conduct of the meetings and are done under such rules
as the Council may prescribe.
