(a) 
Elective offices. The Town offices to be filled by the voters shall be Board of Selectmen, School Committee, Town Moderator, and Board of Health. In addition, four members of a Housing Authority and representatives to regional authorities or districts established by law or interlocal agreement may also be filled by the voters.
(b) 
Eligibility. Any voter shall be eligible to hold any elective Town office; provided, however, that a person shall not simultaneously hold more than one elected Town office listed in the first sentence of Section 3-1(a).
(c) 
Terms. The terms of all elected officials shall begin on July 1.
(d) 
Town election. The annual election of Town officers, representatives to regional authorities or districts and for the determination of questions to be referred to the voters shall be held on such date as may from time to time be provided by bylaw.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 62, Town Meeting, § 62-2.
(e) 
Conflict of meetings. The Board of Selectmen and the School Committee shall establish the schedule of their regular meetings so as to assure that regular meetings of the multiple-member bodies are not in conflict with one another.
(f) 
Recall of elected officers.
1. 
Application. Any holder of an elected Town office who has held such office for at least six months, and who has more than six months remaining in office, may be recalled and removed from office by the registered voters of the Town in the manner provided by this section.
2. 
Filing of affidavit. Any registered voters of the Town comprising no less than 5% of the total number of voters registered at the most recent annual Town election may file with the Town Clerk an affidavit signed under the penalties of perjury containing the name and office of the officer sought to be recalled and stating the specific grounds for recall. Grounds for recall shall include: lack of fitness for office, corruption, neglect of duties, misfeasance or malfeasance. The individual filing the affidavit shall be deemed the "lead petitioner" for purposes of Article 3.
3. 
Preparation and filing of petition. No later than five business days after the filing of the affidavit, the Town Clerk shall issue petition blanks demanding said recall by notifying the lead petitioner that petitions are available in the office of the Town Clerk. The Town Clerk shall keep printed forms available in the office. The blanks shall be addressed to the Board of Selectmen, contain the names of the first 10 persons named on the petition, the name and office of the officer whose recall is sought, and the grounds for recall as stated in the affidavit. The petition shall demand the election of a successor to the office and be dated and signed by the Town Clerk. The recall petitions shall be returned to the office of the Town Clerk within 20 days following the date they are issued, signed by at least 15% of the total number of registered voters.
4. 
The Town Clerk shall, within 24 hours following such filing, and excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays and any other day on which Town Hall is closed, submit the petitions to the Board of Registrars of Voters, which shall, within 10 days thereafter, certify thereon the number of signatures which are the names of voters.
5. 
Order for recall election. If the petitions shall be certified by the Registrars of Voters to be sufficient, the Town Clerk shall forthwith submit the same with a certificate to the Board of Selectmen. Upon its receipt of the certified petition, or following the resolution of any objections thereto in accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 55B, § 7, whichever is later, the Board of Selectmen shall forthwith meet in accordance with MGL c. 30A, §§ 18 through 25 and give notice, in writing, of said petition to the officer whose recall is sought. If said officer does not resign the office within five business days following delivery of the said notice, the Board of Selectmen shall order a special election to be held not less than the minimum number of days required by the General Laws to fill a vacancy by election in a Town office pursuant to MGL c. 41, § 10 and MGL c. 53, §§ 7 and 10, nor more than 100 days after the date of the certification of the Town Clerk that the petition is sufficient; provided, however, if a regular Town election is to be held within said 100 days, the question of recall shall appear on such regular election ballot. If a vacancy occurs in the office after a recall election has been ordered, the election shall nevertheless proceed as provided in this section, but only the ballots for candidates need be counted.
6. 
Recall election. Any officer sought to be recalled may be a candidate at such recall election, and unless such candidate requests otherwise in writing, the Town Clerk shall place the officer's name on the official ballot without nomination. The number of signatures of voters required to place the name of a candidate on the official ballot for use at a recall election shall be in accordance with the General Laws regulating elections. The publication of the warrant for the recall election and the conduct of the recall election shall be in accordance with the General Laws regulating elections.
Ballots used at the recall election shall state the propositions in the order indicated:
For the Recall of (name of officer as appearing on the voters list) from the office of (name of office)
Against the Recall of (name of officer as appearing on the voters list) from the office of (name of office)
There shall be a place to vote for either of said propositions. After the said propositions shall appear the word "candidates" and the names of candidates arranged alphabetically. If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition is against the recall, the votes for candidates need not be counted. If the majority of the votes cast is in favor of the recall, the officer shall be deemed to be recalled and the ballots for candidates shall then be counted and the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected, and shall forthwith take the oath of office.
7. 
Incumbent. The incumbent shall continue to hold office and to perform the duties until the recall election, unless the officer sooner resigns. If the officer is not then recalled, the officer shall continue in office, and shall not be subject to recall for the remainder of the unexpired term.
8. 
If the officer is recalled, the officer shall be deemed removed upon certification of the election results. The candidate who receives the highest number of votes shall, upon qualification for office, serve for the balance of the unexpired term.
(a) 
Composition, term of office, remuneration. There shall be a Board of Selectmen consisting of five members elected for terms of three years each, so arranged that the terms of as nearly an equal number of members as is possible shall expire each year. The members of the Board of Selectmen shall be entitled to reimbursement of expenditures incurred in the execution of their duties as set forth in this Charter and as authorized by said Board. Members of the Board of Selectmen shall not be considered "eligible employees" for purposes of MGL c. 32B, and shall not be entitled to contributory health insurance.
(b) 
Powers and duties. The executive powers of the Town shall be vested in the Board of Selectmen, which shall be deemed to be the chief executive office of the Town. The Board of Selectmen shall have all of the executive powers it is possible for a Board of Selectmen to have and to exercise, other than as provided herein. The Board of Selectmen shall serve as the chief policy-making agency of the Town. It shall be responsible for the issuance of policy directives and guidelines to be followed by all Town agencies serving under it and, in conjunction with other elected Town officers, develop and promulgate policy guidelines designed to bring all agencies of the Town 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 them, 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 which are to be implemented by officers and employees appointed by or under its authority. The Board of Selectmen shall cause a record of all its official acts to be kept. The Board of Selectmen shall appoint a Town Manager as provided in Article 4.
(c) 
Appointment powers. The Board of Selectmen shall appoint those offices and multiple-member bodies listed below, and such additional multiple-member bodies as may be established by bylaw in accordance with any requirements relative thereto that may be set forth by the Town Bylaws:
•
Town Manager
•
Town Accountant
•
Board of Registrars of Voters and other election officers, but not including the Town Clerk
•
Board of Appeals
•
Conservation Commission
•
Planning Board
•
Constables
•
Board of Library Trustees
•
Council on Aging
•
Development and Industrial Commission
•
Town Forest Committee
•
Historic District Commission
•
Capital Planning Committee
•
Industrial Development Financing Authority, as provided in Chapter 40D of the General Laws
•
Communications Committee
•
Cultural Council
•
Environmental Certifying Officer
•
Fence Viewer/Field Driver
•
Recreation Commission
A person shall not serve concurrently as a member of more than one of the following multiple-member bodies: Planning Board, Board of Appeals, or the Conservation Commission.
(d) 
Licensing authority. The Board of Selectmen shall be the licensing board for the Town and shall have the power to issue licenses as otherwise authorized by law, to make all necessary rules and regulations regarding the issuance of such licenses, to attach conditions and impose restrictions on any such licenses as it deems to be in the public interest, and to enforce all laws, rules, regulations and restrictions relating to all such entities to which it issues any license.
(a) 
Composition, term of office. There shall be a School Committee consisting of five members elected for terms of three years each, so arranged that the terms of as nearly an equal number of members as is possible shall expire each year.
(b) 
Powers and duties. The School Committee shall have all of the powers and duties which are given to School Committees by the General Laws.
(a) 
Term of office. There shall be a Town Moderator elected for a term of three years.
(b) 
Powers and duties. The Town Moderator shall be the presiding officer of the Town meeting, as provided in Section 2-2.
(c) 
Appointing powers. The Town Moderator shall appoint the Finance Committee, Charter and Bylaw Review Committees, and any other committees as directed by Town Meeting.
(a) 
Composition, term of office. There shall be a Housing Authority which shall consist of five members serving for terms of five years each, so arranged that the term of one member shall expire each year. Four of these members shall be elected by the voters and the fifth member shall be appointed by the Department of Housing and Community Development in the State Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development or as may otherwise be provided by law.
(b) 
Powers and duties. The Housing Authority shall make studies of the housing needs of the community and shall provide programs to make available housing for families of low income and for elderly person of low income. The Housing Authority shall have such other powers and duties as are assigned to housing authorities by the General Laws, other than as provided herein.
(a) 
Composition, term of office. There shall be a Board of Health consisting of five members elected for terms of three years each, so arranged as the following: two members expiring each year for two years, then one member expiring the next year, and repeat sequence.
(b) 
Powers and duties. The Board of Health shall have all the powers and duties conferred upon Boards of Health by the General Laws, other than as provided herein, and it shall have such additional powers and duties as may be authorized by the Charter, by bylaw or by other Town Meeting vote.