(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 three 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)
Should two or more amendments adopted at the same election have
conflicting provisions the one receiving the largest affirmative vote
shall prevail. The sections of any amendment to this Charter shall
be numbered by the Town Clerk and inserted in their appropriate places,
or added to the Charter.
(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.
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, observe 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;
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.
(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 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 or a summary
thereof, 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.
An ordinance shall be required for any act of the Council the
purpose of which is to create, abolish or reorganize any Office, Department,
or Agency, or to establish a fine or other penalty.
(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.
