4-2-1.
A board of assessors of 3 members shall be elected for 3-year overlapping
terms. Members may receive such compensation as may be appropriated
by the town meeting.
4-3-1.
A board of sewer commissioners of 3 members shall be elected for
3-year overlapping terms. Members may receive such compensation as
may be appropriated by the town meeting.
4-3-2.
The board of sewer commissioners shall be responsible for the development
of general goals and long-term plans for the town's sewer system
and shall also establish the fees, user charges or rates necessary
to fully fund the sewer system operations.
4-4-1.
A planning board of 5 members shall be elected for 3-year overlapping
terms. Members shall serve without compensation.
4-4-2.
The board shall meet regularly and shall maintain a public record
of its proceedings, resolutions and determinations. It shall be responsible
for the general, physical, economic and environmental planning of
the town under the General Laws, this charter and town by-laws.
4-5-1.
A board of 6 library trustees shall be elected for 3-year overlapping
terms. Members shall serve without compensation.
4-5-2.
The board shall be responsible for the administration and operation
of the town library, including staffing, acquisitions, maintenance
and the promulgation of library rules and regulations.
4-6-1.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there
shall be not more than 2 associate members of each board elected under
this chapter who may participate in all board matters. The chair of
the elected board may designate the associate members to sit on the
board in the case of absence, inability to act or conflict of interest,
on the part of any member of the board or in the event of a vacancy
on the board. The associate members shall be appointed for 3-year
rotating terms by majority vote of a joint meeting of the select board
and the elected board being augmented with the associate members.
Any vacancies arising in said position shall be filled in the same
manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the unexpired
term.
4-6-2.
Notwithstanding section 4-6-1, the following town officers shall
be elected by ballot of the whole town for 3-year terms.
4-7-1.
The following town officers shall be elected by ballot of the whole
town: (i) a moderator for a term of 1-year; and (ii) a town clerk,
a town treasurer and a tax collector for terms of 3-years. Each officer
may receive such compensation as may be appropriated by the town meeting.
4-8-1.
A holder of an elected office in the town of Westwood may be recalled from that office by the registered voters of the town under this section, except that the maximum number of members of a board that may be recalled shall be a majority or as otherwise limited by section 4-8-7.
4-8-2.
Any 200 registered voters of the town of Westwood may initiate a
recall petition by filing with the town clerk an affidavit containing
the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the
grounds for recall. Not more than 33 1/3 per cent of the signatures
appearing on the affidavit may be from any 1 precinct of the town.
The town clerk shall thereupon prepare a sufficient number of copies
of petition blanks demanding such recall, a supply of which shall
be kept on hand. Such blanks shall be issued by the town clerk, with
the clerk's signature and official seal attached. Further, such
blanks shall be dated, addressed to the select board of the town and
contain the names of the first 10 signers to the affidavit, as designated
by the person identified as the lead petitioner at the time of filing
of the affidavit, the name and office of the person whose recall is
sought and the grounds of recall as stated in the affidavit, and shall
demand the election of a successor to said office. A copy of the affidavit
shall be entered in a record book to be kept in the office of the
town clerk. The recall petition shall be returned and filed with the
town clerk within 20 days after the recall petition blanks are made
available to the lead petitioner and shall be signed by not less than
15 per cent of the registered voters of the town as of the date of
the most recent regular town election, who shall add to their signatures
their place of residence, including their street, number and precinct;
provided, however, that not more than 33 1/3 per cent of the
total number shall be from any 1 precinct.
The town clerk shall, within 24 hours of receipt of the petition,
submit the signed petition to the registrars of voters in the town
and said registrars shall, within 5 working days, certify on the petition
the number of signatures that are names of registered voters of the
town.
4-8-3.
If the petition shall be found and certified to be sufficient, the
town clerk shall submit the petition with a certificate to the select
board within 5 working days and the select board shall, within 5 working
days, give written notice of the receipt of the certificate to the
officer sought to be recalled and shall, if the officer does not resign
within 5 days thereafter, immediately order an election to be held
on a date fixed by them not less than 65 days nor more than 90 days
after the date the select board calls for said election; provided,
however, that if any other town election is to occur within 100 days
thereafter, the select board shall postpone the holding of the recall
election to the date of such other election. If a vacancy occurs in
said office after a recall election has been ordered, the election
shall proceed as provided in this section.
4-8-4.
An officer sought to be removed may be a candidate at such election
and, unless such officer requests otherwise in writing, the town clerk
shall place the officer's name on the ballot without nomination.
The nomination of other candidates, the publication of the warrant
for and the conduct of the removal election shall be under the laws
relative to elections unless otherwise provided in this chapter.
4-8-5.
An incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the office until a recall election is held. If not recalled, such officer shall continue in office for the remainder of the unexpired term subject to recall as before, except as provided in section 4-8-7. If such officer is recalled in the recall election, the officer shall be removed upon certification of the election results. If a successor fails to qualify within 15 days after receiving notification of election, the office shall be vacant.
4-8-6.
Ballots used in a recall election shall submit the following propositions
in the order indicated:
For the recall of (name and title of officer).
Against the recall of (name and title of officer).
Immediate at the right of each proposition there shall be a
location in which a voter may vote for either of said propositions.
Under the propositions shall appear the word "Candidates", the directions
to the voters required by section 42 of chapter 54 of the General
Laws and, beneath this, the names of candidates nominated under the
laws relating to elections. If two-thirds of the votes cast upon the
question of recall are in the affirmative, the candidate receiving
the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. If more than
one-third of the votes on the question are in the negative, the ballots
for candidates need not be counted.
4-8-7.
No recall petition shall be filed against an officer within 90 days after the officer takes office, nor shall any officer be subject to recall if the officer's term of office expires within 90 days of the town clerk's certificate issued under section 4-8-3. In the case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not recalled, no recall petition shall be filed against such officer until at least 90 days after the election at which the officer's recall was submitted to the voters.
4-8-8.
No person who has been recalled from an office or who has resigned
from office after the filing of a recall petition shall be appointed
to town office within 1 year after such recall or such resignation.
