[Amended 11-5-2024]
(a) 
This Charter may be amended at any time, or a new Charter adopted in the manner provided by the Constitution of the State, as follows:
1. 
The Town Council may appoint a charter commission.
2. 
Whenever a petition for adoption of a change to the Charter signed by 3% or more of the qualified electors of the Town as determined at the previous general election is submitted to the Town Council, and certified by the Board of Canvassers consistent with State law and A262: Home Rule Act of the Town Code, the Town Council shall either appoint a charter revision commission or submit to the electors the proposed change to the Charter set forth in the petition.
3. 
Within seven years of the adoption or amendment of the current Town Charter, and at least every seven years thereafter, a non-partisan review commission shall be appointed for a term of five months, whose duty it shall be to review the charter and recommend for approval and adoption, amendments and revisions in a manner provided by the State Constitution.
(b) 
The Charter Commission’s proposed charter amendments shall be placed before the voters in a timely matter for their adoption or rejection. Nothing in this section shall prevent the Council from proposing additional amendments before the voters for consideration. In the event of opposing or contradictory questions the proposed amendment receiving the majority of votes shall prevail.
(c) 
It shall not be necessary for the full text of a new Charter, or any amendment to this Charter to be printed upon the ballot. Any digest or description thereof or any question or statement, which substantially expresses the purpose or identifies the subject matter, shall be sufficient. When any question is to be submitted to the voters, the Council shall determine the form in which it shall appear on the ballot.
If any provision of this Charter shall be held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or ineffective in whole or in part or to be inapplicable to any person or situation, it is the purpose and intent of this Charter that all other provisions or parts thereof shall be separately and fully effective.
[Amended 11-5-2024]
Every officer of the Town shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation, to be filed and kept in the office of the Town Clerk.
"I solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution and obey the laws of the United States of America and the State of Rhode Island; that I will in all respects, abide by the provisions of the Charter and ordinances of the Town of Westerly and will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of ........."
The Council, within three years following the effective date of this Charter and every tenth year thereafter, shall cause to be prepared a revision or codification of the ordinances of the Town which are appropriate for continuation as local laws of the Town. The codification may be prepared under the supervision of the Town Solicitor, or the Council may contract for the services of persons or organizations experienced in such work.
Any Town officer or employee who has a substantial financial interest, or whose immediate family member[1] has a substantial financial interest, direct or indirect or by reason of ownership of stock in any corporation, in any contract with the Town or in the sale of any land, material, supplies or services to the Town or to a contractor supplying the Town shall make known that interest and shall refrain from voting upon or otherwise participating in his capacity as a Town Officer or employee in the making of such sale or in the making or performance of such contract. Any Town officer or employee who willfully conceals such a substantial financial interest or willfully violates the requirements of this section shall be guilty of malfeasance in office or position and shall forfeit his office or position. Violation of this section with the knowledge expressed or implied of the person or corporation contracting with or making a sale to the Town shall render the contract or sale voidable by the Manager or the Council.
[1]
Editor's Note: An immediate family member is defined as a spouse or dependent child as well as a person Who is related to any public official or public employee, whether by blood, adoption, or marriage, as any of the Following: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother or half-sister.
The Council shall provide for the printing, publication and distribution of this Charter and may require that a reasonable charge be made for copies thereof.
(a) 
All records and accounts of every office, department or agency of the Town shall be open to inspection by any person at reasonable times and under reasonable regulations, except those records specifically defined as exempt from public access pursuant to Chapter 38-2 of the Rhode Island General Laws or federal law.
(b) 
There shall be a Town publicly accessible electronic web site on which the Town shall display the following public records for a minimum of three calendar years, unless otherwise directed in this section:
1. 
All notices and information which require newspaper publication by this Charter or by Westerly Town ordinance;
2. 
All proposed, submitted, revised, recommended, filed, final, and amended Town budgets as described in Article III of this Charter;
3. 
All school budgets submitted to the Town as described in Article XI of this Charter, and all school budget changes pursuant to Article III of this Charter;
4. 
All Town property tax assessments, Board of Assessment Review decisions, and property, water, and sewer tax abatements and refunds, all of which descriptions shall include property address and owner;
5. 
Town tax rates and Town usage, application, and permit fees;
6. 
The names and designated Town mail and Town email addresses of all elected Town officials, the Town Manager, the Town Chief of Staff, the Town Solicitor, School Committee members, the Town School Superintendent, during their terms of service, and all Town Department offices;
7. 
The complete labor and professional contracts ratified by the Town, or the School Department, and labor and professional unions for a minimum of 10 calendar years after ratification, and all such future contracts shall be published on the Town web site not later than five business days after final ratification;
8. 
Timely agendas, minutes, and reports of the meetings of the Town Council, School Committee, and all other Town boards, commissions, agencies, committees, ad hoc committees, and subcommittees, elected or appointed in accordance with the Rhode Island Open Meetings Act;
9. 
Links to vendors contracted by the Town to provide public web site information, and additional links determined by public officials, provided, however, there shall be no displayed private commercial advertising on this Town web site;
10. 
Additional records as determined by Town officials or required by Rhode Island or federal law.
The purchase of supplies, materials, equipment, or the contracting for services by any office or department of the Town shall be on a competitive bid basis under regulations set by the Council except that the Council by ordinance may set a minimum dollar amount under which this section would not apply. The Council may exempt purchases or contracts, which by their unusual nature would make competitive bidding impractical or unnecessary.
Chapter 42-46 of Rhode Island General Laws entitled "Open Meetings" and Chapter 38-2 of Rhode Island General Laws entitled "Access to Public Records" are hereby incorporated herein and made a part of the Charter of the Town of Westerly by reference.
Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and in the form required for final adoption. No ordinance shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title. The enacting clause shall be "The Town of Westerly hereby ordains ....." Any ordinance which repeals or amends an existing ordinance shall set out in full the ordinance, section or subsections to be repealed or amended, and shall indicate matter to be omitted by enclosing it in brackets, or by strike out type and shall indicate new matter by underscoring or by italics.
[Amended 11-5-2024]
(a) 
An ordinance may be introduced by any member of the Council at any regular or special meeting of the Council. Upon introduction, the Town Clerk shall distribute a copy to each Council member and the Town Manager. Sufficient copies shall be made available to the public in such a manner as the Council directs.
(b) 
The Town Clerk shall publish in a daily newspaper having a general circulation in the Town, a copy of the proposed ordinance in the form required for final adoption setting out in full, for section or subsections to be repealed or amended, and shall indicate the matter to be omitted by enclosing in bracket, or by strike out type and shall indicate new matter by underscoring or by italics, which said publication shall contain a notice setting out the time and place for a Public Hearing thereon and for its consideration by the Council. The Public Hearing shall be at least seven days after the publication and may be held separately or in conjunction with a regular or special Council meeting and may be adjourned from time to time.
(c) 
After the Hearing, the Council may adopt the ordinance with or without amendment or reject it, but if it is amended as to any matter of substance, the Council may not adopt it until the ordinance or its amended sections have been subjected to all the procedures hereinbefore required in the case of a newly introduced ordinance. As soon as practical after its adoption, the Town Clerk shall have it published in its entirety on the Town's website and, when requested, copies shall be made available by the Town Clerk for the use of interested persons.
(d) 
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, every adopted ordinance shall become effective upon adoption or at any later date specified therein.
(a) 
To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the public peace, the Council may adopt one or more emergency ordinances, but such ordinances may not levy taxes, grant, renew or extend a franchise, regulate the rate charged by any public utility for its services or authorize the borrowing of money except as provided in § 3-1-7(b).
(b) 
An emergency ordinance shall be introduced in the form and manner prescribed for ordinances generally, except that it shall be plainly designated as an emergency ordinance and shall contain, after the enacting clause a declaration stating that an emergency exists and describing it in clear and specific terms.
(c) 
An emergency ordinance may be adopted with or without amendment or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced, but the affirmative vote of at least five members shall be required for adoption. After its adoption, the ordinance shall be published and printed as prescribed for other adopted ordinances. It shall become effective upon adoption or at such later time as it may specify.
(d) 
Every emergency ordinance except one made pursuant to § 3-1-7(b) shall automatically stand repealed as of the 61st day following the date on which it was adopted, but this shall not prevent re-enactment of the ordinance in the manner specified in this section if the emergency still exists. An emergency ordinance may also be repealed by adoption of a repealing ordinance in the same manner specified in this section for adoption of emergency ordinances.
The Council may adopt any standard code for technical regulations by reference thereto in an adopting ordinance. The procedure and requirements governing such an adopting ordinance shall be as prescribed for ordinances generally except for the requirement of publication in entirety. It shall be permissible for the final publication hereinbefore required in § 15-2-2(c) to refer to the formal title of said standard code. All requirements for filing of copies of the ordinance shall include copies of the code of technical regulations as well as of the adopting ordinance and a copy of each adopted code of technical regulations shall be recorded and authenticated by the Town Clerk. The Town Clerk shall have copies of any adopted code of technical regulations available for distribution at a reasonable price.