The Trust shall be called the "Abington Affordable Housing Trust,"
herein referred to as the "Trust."
The purpose of the Trust shall be to provide for the preservation
and creation of affordable housing in the Town of Abington for the
benefit of low- and moderate-income households and for the funding
of community housing as defined in Chapter 44B.
[Amended 5-24-2021 ATM
by Art. 16]
There shall be a Board of Trustees (the "Board") consisting
of five members appointed by the Board of Selectmen. At least one
of the Trustees shall be a member of the Board of Selectmen. Only
persons who are residents of the Town of Abington shall be eligible
to hold the office of Trustee. Trustees shall serve for a term of
two years, except that two of the initial trustee appointments shall
be for a term of one year, and two of the initial appointments shall
be for two years, and the Selectmen's designee shall serve until
the end of their term on the Board of Selectmen or for two years,
whichever comes first; and Trustees may be reappointed at the discretion
of the Board of Selectmen for succeeding terms, with no limits on
the number of terms that a Trustee can serve. Any Trustee who ceases
to be a resident of the Town of Abington shall cease to be a Trustee
hereunder and shall promptly provide a written notification of the
change in residence to the Board and to the Town Clerk. Any Trustee
may resign by written instrument signed and acknowledged by such Trustee
and duly filed with the Town Clerk. If a Trustee shall die, resign,
or for any other reason cease to be a Trustee hereunder before his/her
term of office expires, a successor shall be appointed by the Board
of Selectmen to fill such vacancy, provided that in each case the
said appointment and acceptance in writing by the Trustee so appointed
is filed with the Town Clerk. Upon the appointment of any succeeding
Trustee and the filing of such appointment, 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.
Trustees may be removed by the Board of Selectmen at any time for
cause following the opportunity for a hearing. For purposes of this
Bylaw, the term "cause" shall include, but not be limited to, 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 Board
of Selectmen, are negligent or detrimental to the Town of Abington
or the Trust. Reference to the Trustee shall mean the Trustee or Trustees
for the time being hereunder.
The Board shall meet at least quarterly in the Town of Abington
at such time and at such place as the Trustees shall determine. Special
meetings may be called by the Chair of the Trustees. Notice of all
meetings of the Trust shall be given in accordance with the provisions
of the Open Meeting Law, General Laws Chapter 30A, Sections 18-25,
as may be amended from time-to-time. A quorum at any meeting shall
be a majority of the Trustees qualified and present in person.
The powers and duties of the Board shall include the following,
all of which shall be carried on in furtherance of the purposes and
in compliance with the terms set forth in Section 55C:
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 accountants, appraisers and
lawyers 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 incomes 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 other than acquisition
date values.
K. 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 Section 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; and
P. To extend the time for payment of any obligation to the Trust.
Provided that a quorum of the Board is present, a majority of
those Trustees present and voting may exercise any or all of the powers
of the Board hereunder, except as otherwise provided, and such Trustees
may execute on behalf of the Board 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 by the Board with
respect to the Trust estate.
The Trust is a public employer, and the members of the Board are public employees for purposes of General Laws Chapter 258. The Trust shall be deemed a municipal agency and the members of the Board of Trustees special municipal employees for purposes of General Laws Chapter 268A, the Conflict of Interest Law. The Trust is a governmental body for purposes of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30A, Sections 18-25, the Open Meeting Law. The Trust is also a board of the Town for purposes of General Laws Chapter 30B, the Uniform Procurement Act, and General Laws Chapter
40, Section 15; provided, however, that agreements and conveyances between the Trust and agencies, boards, commissions, authorities, departments and public instrumentalities of the Town shall be exempt from said Chapter 30B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither the Trustees nor any agent or officer of the Trust shall have the authority to bind the Town.
The Town of Abington Treasurer shall be the custodian of the
funds of the Trust. The books and records of the Trust shall be audited
annually by an independent auditor in accordance with accepted accounting
practices. Cost associated with the independent audit shall be borne
by the Trust. Upon receipt of the audit by the Board of Trustees,
a copy shall be provided forthwith to the Board of Selectmen.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary,
all moneys paid to the Trust in accordance with any zoning bylaw,
exaction fee, or private contribution 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 any fiscal year, whether
or not expended by the Board within one year of the date they were
appropriated into the Trust, remain Trust property.
The Trust is exempt from General Laws Chapters
59 and 62, and from any other provisions concerning payment of taxes based upon or measured by property or income imposed by the Commonwealth or any subdivision thereto.
This Trust shall continue until terminated by a vote of the
Abington Town Meeting. Upon termination of the Trust, the Board, with
the approval of the Board of Selectmen, may sell all or any portion
of the Trust property, both real and personal, and, following the
payment of all obligations and liabilities of the Trust and the Trustees,
shall transfer to the Town the net assets of the Trust, which shall
be held by the Board of Selectmen for affordable housing purposes.
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 Abington. 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 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 Abington Board of Selectmen by December 31 of each
year and will be included in the Town's Annual Report. 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.