[Adopted 6-23-2020 ATM by Art. 12]
Pursuant to the authority of MGL c. 44, § 55C, there
is hereby created a local municipal affordable housing trust fund
to be known as the "Lancaster Affordable Housing Trust Fund" (hereinafter
"the Trust").
The purpose of the Trust shall be to provide for the preservation
and creation of affordable and community housing in the Town of Lancaster
for the benefit of low- and moderate-income households and for the
funding of community housing, as defined in and in accordance with
the provisions of the Community Preservation Act, MGL c. 44B ("Chapter
44B").
[Amended 6-21-2021 ATM by Art. 7]
A.
There shall be a Board of Trustees of the Lancaster Affordable Housing
Trust Fund (the "Board"), composed of one ex officio non-voting member
and five voting members. The Town Administrator or the Town Administrator's
designee shall serve as the ex officio member. The voting members
shall include: a member of the Select Board (chosen by the Select
Board) and four members appointed by the Select Board. Members must
be residents of the Town of Lancaster.
B.
The Select Board shall appoint the Trustees for terms not to exceed
two years (except if a person is appointed as a representative of
a board or committee, in which case his or her term shall terminate
upon the sooner vacating of the underlying office); provided, however,
that the term of three of the initial Trustee appointments shall be
one year, so as to allow staggered terms. Trustees may be re-appointed
at the discretion of the Select Board and there are no limits on the
number of terms that a Trustee can serve. Vacancies shall be filled
by the Select Board for the remainder of the unexpired term, notice
of which shall be filed with the Town Clerk. The title to the Trust
estate shall thereupon and without the necessity of any conveyance
be vested in such succeeding Trustee jointly with the remaining Trustees.
The Trustees shall annually elect a Trustee to serve as Chair.
C.
Any member of the Board of Trustees may be removed by a vote of the
Select Board for cause after the opportunity of a properly noticed
public hearing. For purposes of this bylaw, the term "cause" shall
include, but not be limited to, each of the following: violation of
any local, state, or federal law; incapacity to perform the duties
of a Trustee; and acts of a Trustee that, in the opinion of the Select
Board, are negligent or detrimental to the Town or the Trust; or four
consecutive absences from Board of Trustees meetings. Any Trustee
may resign by filing with the Town Clerk written notice thereof.
The Trustees are hereby authorized to execute a Declaration
of Trust and Certificates of Trust for the Lancaster Affordable Housing
Trust Fund, to be recorded with the Worcester District Registry of
Deeds and filed with the Worcester Registry District of the Land Court.
The powers of the Board of Trustees, all of which shall be carried
on in furtherance of the purposes set forth in MGL c. 44, § 55C,
and inclusive of any future amendments to that section, shall include
the following:
A.
To accept and receive real property, personal property or money,
by gift, grant, contribution, devise or transfer from any person,
firm, corporation or other public or private entity, including but
not limited to money, grants of funds or other property tendered to
the Trust in connection with any bylaw or any general or special law
or any other source, including money from Chapter 44B; provided, however,
that any such money received from Chapter 44B shall be used exclusively
for community housing and shall remain subject to all the rules, regulations
and limitations of that chapter when expended by the Trust, and such
funds shall be accounted for separately by the Trust; and provided,
further, that at the end of each fiscal year, the Trust shall ensure
that all expenditures of funds received from said Chapter 44B are
reported to the Community Preservation Committee for inclusion in
the community preservation initiatives report, form CP-3, to the Department
of Revenue;
B.
To purchase and retain real or personal property, including, without
restriction, investments that yield a high rate of income or no income;
C.
To sell, lease, exchange, transfer or convey any personal, mixed,
or real property at public auction or by private contract for such
consideration and on such terms as to credit or otherwise, and to
make such contracts and enter into such undertaking relative to Trust
property as the Board deems advisable, notwithstanding the length
of any such lease or contract;
D.
To execute, acknowledge and deliver deeds, assignments, transfers,
pledges, leases, covenants, contracts, promissory notes, releases,
grant agreements, and other instruments, sealed or unsealed, necessary,
proper or incident to any transaction in which the Board engages for
the accomplishment of the purposes of the Trust;
E.
To employ advisors and agents, such as consultants, accountants,
appraisers and lawyers, full-time or part-time staff, and to contract
for administrative and support goods and services, as the Board deems
necessary;
F.
To pay reasonable compensation and expenses to all advisors and agents
and to apportion such compensation between income and principal as
the Board deems advisable;
G.
To apportion receipts and charges between income and principal as
the Board deems advisable, to amortize premiums and establish sinking
funds for such purpose, and to create reserves for depreciation, depletion
or otherwise;
H.
To participate in any reorganization, recapitalization, merger or
similar transactions; and to give proxies or powers of attorney with
or without power of substitution to vote any securities or certificates
of interest; and to consent to any contract, lease, mortgage, purchase
or sale of property, by or between any corporation and any other corporation
or person;
I.
To deposit any security with any protective reorganization committee,
and to delegate to such committee such powers and authority with relation
thereto as the Board may deem proper and to pay, out of Trust property,
such portion of expenses and compensation of such committee as the
Board may deem necessary and appropriate;
J.
To carry property for accounting purposes at other than acquisition
date values;
K.
With Town Meeting approval, to borrow money on such terms and conditions
and from such sources as the Board deems advisable, to mortgage and
pledge Trust assets as collateral;
L.
To make distributions or divisions of principal in kind;
M.
To comprise, attribute, defend, enforce, release, settle or otherwise
adjust claims in favor or against the Trust, including claims for
taxes, and to accept any property, either in total or partial satisfaction
of any indebtedness or other obligation, and subject to the provisions
of MGL c. 44, § 55C, to continue to hold the same for such
period of time as the Board may deem appropriate;
N.
To manage or improve real property; and to abandon any property which
the Board determined not to be worth retaining;
O.
To hold all or part of the Trust property uninvested for such purposes
and for such time as the Board may deem appropriate;
P.
To extend the time for payment of any obligation to the Trust; and
Q.
To exercise such additional powers consistent with the provisions
of this bylaw and MGL c. 44, § 55C, as such section may
be amended from time to time.
Three voting Trustees shall constitute a quorum and shall also
be required to approve any motion. An affirmative vote of three voting
Trustees is required to exercise any or all of the powers of the Trustees
hereunder, unless otherwise provided, and three voting Trustees may
execute on behalf of the Trustees any and all instruments with the
same effect as though executed by all the Trustees. No Trustee shall
be required to give bond. No license of court shall be required to
confirm the validity of any transaction entered into by the Trustees
with respect to the Trust estate. Any borrowing by the Trust shall
require the prior approval of the Lancaster Town Meeting.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary,
all monies paid to the Trust in accordance with any Zoning Bylaw,
exaction fee, or private contributions shall be paid directly into
the Trust and need not be appropriated or accepted and approved into
the Trust. General revenues appropriated into the Trust become Trust
property and these funds need not be further appropriated to be expended.
All moneys remaining in the Trust at the end of the fiscal year, whether
or not expended by the Board within one year of the date they were
appropriated into the Trust, remain Trust property.
Meetings of the Board shall be held on a regular basis. Special
meetings may be called by the Chairperson or two Trustees. A Trust
is a governmental body for purposes of MGL c. 30A, §§ 18
through 25, the Open Meeting Law; notice of any meeting of the Trust
Fund shall be filed with the Town Clerk and posted in accordance with
the Open Meeting Law. Minutes of all meetings shall be kept in accordance
with the provisions of the Open Meeting Law, MGL c. 30A, § 22.
While a majority of the full Board shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of any business, less than a quorum may, subject to the
requirements of the Open Meeting Law, continue a meeting to a time,
date and place certain.
[Amended 6-21-2021 ATM by Art. 7]
The Town of Lancaster's Treasurer/Collector shall be the custodian
of the Trust's funds and shall maintain separate accounts and records
for such funds. The Treasurer/Collector shall invest the Trust's funds
in the manner authorized by law. Any income or proceeds received from
the investment of funds shall be credited to and become part of the
Trust Fund. In accordance with MGL c. 44, § 55C, the books
and records of the Trust shall be audited annually by an independent
auditor in accordance with accepted accounting practices or take any
other action relative thereto. Upon receipt of the audit by the Board
of Trustees, a copy shall be provided forthwith to the Select Board.
Neither the Trustees nor any agent or officer of the Trust shall
have the authority to bind the Town. The Trust is a public employer
and the members of the Board are public employees for the purposes
of MGL c. 268A. The Trust shall be deemed a municipal agency and the
Trustees special municipal employees for purposes of MGL c. 268A.
The Trust is exempt from MGL c. 59 and MGL c. 62, and from any
other provisions concerning payment of taxes based upon or measured
by property or income imposed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
or any political subdivision thereof.
The Trust is a governmental body for purposes of the Open Meeting
Law, MGL c. 30A, §§ 18 through 25.
The Trust is a board of the Town of Lancaster for the purposes
of MGL c. 30B and MGL c. 40, § 15A, but agreements and conveyances
between the Trust and agencies, boards, commissions, authorities,
departments and public instrumentalities of the Town shall be exempt
from said MGL c. 30B.
Trustees shall not receive a salary, stipend, bonus or other
means of compensation for their service as a Trustee, nor shall they
be eligible for any benefits from the Town of Lancaster. Trustees
may be compensated for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for travel
and other Trust-related expenses. All such out-of-pocket expenses
shall be fully documented with receipts for expenses prior to payment
by the Trust.
The provisions of this Trust can only be amended by a vote of
the Lancaster Town Meeting.
[Amended 6-21-2021 ATM by Art. 7]
This Trust shall be of indefinite duration until terminated
by a vote of the Lancaster Town Meeting. Upon termination of the Trust,
subject to the payment of or making provisions for the payment of
all obligations and liabilities of the Trust and the Trustees, the
net assets of the Trust shall be transferred to the Town of Lancaster
and held by the Select Board for affordable housing purposes. In making
any such distribution, the Trustees may, subject to the approval of
the Select Board, sell all or any portion of the Trust property and
distribute the net proceeds thereof to the Town of Lancaster. The
powers of the Trustees shall continue until the affairs of the Trust
are concluded. Once the Lancaster Town Meeting has voted to terminate
the Trust, the Select Board shall have the power to approve all financial
transactions made on behalf of the Trust.
[Amended 6-21-2021 ATM by Art. 7]
The Trustees shall prepare an annual report describing the activities
of the Trust on a calendar-year basis. The annual report shall be
submitted to the Lancaster Select Board by February 12 of each year.
The annual report shall list all financial transactions conducted
by the Trust, including all revenues and costs, provide a balance
sheet of liabilities and assets of the Trust, list an inventory of
all affordable housing units created, sold, and/or managed by the
Trust, and any other pertinent information related to the business
of the Trust.
