Town of Southbridge, MA SECTION 3-100 STANDARD PROVISIONS

Section 3-101 Officers, Other Officials and Multiple Member Bodies.

3-101.1. Town Officers and Other Officials. Any by-law establishing an office or position shall specify the duties and responsibilities of such office or position.

3-101.2. Multiple Member Bodies. Any by-law establishing a multiple member body shall specify the following: membership, term of office, duties and responsibilities.

3-101.3. Temporary Multiple Member Bodies. The town council may from time to time, by vote, establish advisory multiple member bodies. Whenever the town council establishes such a committee it shall, in writing, advise the town manager it has done so, including in such notice the names and residence addresses of the persons appointed.

The town manager may from time to time establish advisory multiple member bodies. Whenever the town manager establishes such a committee, the town manager shall, in writing, advise the town council that the town manager has done so, including in such notice the names and residence addresses of the persons appointed.

3-101.4. Town Residency Required. Unless some other provision is made in a particular by-law, pursuant to Section 3-101.3, or other provision of law or the Town Charter, all members of multiple member bodies shall at all times be residents of the Town of Southbridge, provided however, non-residents who hold a town office or town employment may serve by virtue of their office as a member of a multiple member body. Any person who during the term of office as a member of a multiple member body removes from the town and becomes a resident of another municipality shall be deemed to have resigned as a member of the multiple member body.

3-101.5. Compensation. Unless some other provision is made in a particular case all members of multiple member bodies shall serve without compensation.

3-101.6. Qualifications of Appointees. In making appointments the appointing authority shall take into account appropriate education, training, experience and other factors which qualify the appointee to perform the duties of the office or other position.

Section 3-102 Term of Office.

3-102.1. Town Officers and Officials. Appointments made by the town manager, to individual town offices shall be made in accordance with Sections 4-2-4, 4-3-2 and 4-3-4 of the Town Charter, for a term to expire on a date certain.

3-102.2. Multiple Member Bodies. The terms of office of all appointed multiple member bodies shall be arranged so that as nearly one-third of the terms as is possible shall expire each year. A vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority for the remainder of the term. The term for each office shall be three years, except as otherwise specified by law or by-law. Appointments shall be effective on the first day of July, and expire on the thirtieth day of June, or when a successor has been appointed and qualified. Persons may be reappointed to successive terms, but no member shall have a right to be reappointed. Members of multiple member bodies may be removed pursuant to Section 4-4-1 of the Town Charter. Whenever a new multiple member body is established by by-law, the initial appointments shall be to terms of office of such varying lengths as will serve to create the overlapping terms described in the first sentence of this paragraph.

Section 3-103 Council Confirmation of Certain Appointments.

The town manager shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the Town Council, the officers and department heads listed in Section 4-2-4 of the Town Charter. The town manager shall also appoint, subject to confirmation, members of multiple member bodies as specified in Sections 4-3-1 and 4-3-2 of the Town Charter.

Section 3-104 Multiple Member Body Internal Organization.

Each multiple member body shall, at a minimum, annually elect from its membership, a chair, vice-chair and clerk, and such other officers as may be required by the M.G.L. The annual organization and election shall occur in July of each year, or immediately following the annual appointment of members by the appointing authority. Each multiple member body shall, forthwith following its annual organization and election of officers, file a report in the office of the town clerk on a form approved by the town clerk.

The chair shall preside over all meetings of the multiple member body and shall be its official representative in all proceedings before the town council, with the town manager, with other officials of the town and with the public. The vice-chair shall perform the chair’s functions, in the absence of the chair.

The clerk shall be responsible for the certification of the minutes of the meetings of the multiple member body, observance of the public records law, and maintenance of other records of the multiple member body.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this by-law, the members of a multiple member body may reorganize at any time.

Section 3-105 Time and Place of Meetings.

The clerk of each multiple member body shall be responsible for notifying the town clerk and the town manager of the regularly scheduled meetings and all special meetings for the ensuing fiscal year. The notification shall also include the location where each meeting will be held. Notice of any meeting of a multiple member body shall be posted in accordance with the provisions of MGL 39, §23B, the so-called Open Meeting Law.

Section 3-106 Meetings with Town Manager.

The delivery of services to the public requires coordination and cooperation amongst the various departments, divisions and programs within the town. At the administrative and operational branch level, managers shall seek to identify those areas of concern where it is believed that the various departments and divisions can assist each other in accomplishment of their mission.

The chair of each multiple member body may annually meet with the town manager for the purpose of defining an appropriate reporting relationship during the ensuing fiscal year.

Section 3-107 Filing of Minutes.

Certified copies of the minutes of all meetings of all multiple member bodies shall be filed with the town clerk within five days following the meeting of the multiple member body at which meeting said minutes shall have been approved by the body. The minutes of all executive sessions of multiple member bodies shall be filed with the town clerk within five days following the date the minutes of those meetings have been made public. This filing of minutes of meetings with the town clerk is for the convenience of the public. Such filing shall not be construed to be the official records of the multiple member body. The official records shall continue to be maintained in the custody of the person designated pursuant to MGL Chapter 66, Section 6.

Section 3-108 References to Statutes.

The references to state statutes which are contained in the sections which follow (describing the powers, duties and responsibilities of the town agencies) are provided for the purpose of describing the broad scope of the authority and responsibility which may be exercised by Southbridge with respect to each particular matter. Such enumeration is not to be construed in any way as intended to impose a limitation on the ability of the town, pursuant to Sections 1-3-1, 2-7-1 and 4-5-1 of the Southbridge Home Rule Charter and Section 20 of Chapter 43B of the General Laws, to reassign powers, duties and responsibilities among and between town agencies generally.

Section 3-109 Reorganization Plans Submitted by the Town Manager.

Each proposed reorganization plan filed by the town manager pursuant to Section 4-5-1 of the Town Charter shall bear an identifying number and shall be accompanied by a detailed statement of the town manager in explanation of the reasons underlying the submission of the proposed plan and the goals and objectives expected to result from the implementation of the plan.

Section 3-110 Adjudicatory Hearing Absence by Voting Member.

[Amended 4-25-2022]

3-110.1. Establishment. Adoption of M.G.L. c. 39, Section 23D, the “Mullin Rule”: town council voted to adopt M.G.L. c. 39, Section 23D, the “Mullin Rule” at its regular town council meeting, September 27, 2021.

3-110.2. Applicability of the “Mullin Rule”. No member of any multiple member board, committee or commission of the town shall be disqualified from voting on any matter due to said member’s absence from no more than a single session of any public hearing at which testimony or other evidence is received; provided, however, that no individual shall invoke this exemption more than three times per calendar year.

3-110.3. Procedure. Upon missing a session of a public hearing, the voting member shall review all material and evidence presented and discussed during the missed session of the public hearing, including but not limited to an audio or video recording of the session. Upon review of the evidence, the member shall complete an affidavit of compliance on a form provided by the town manager’s office, certifying under the pains and penalties of perjury the member’s compliance with this By-law.

3-110.4. Records. The original affidavit shall be placed in the file for the subject of the public hearing and shall be kept as part of the official record of the proceeding. Copies shall be filed in the offices of the town manager and town clerk. The affidavit and any other supporting documents and recordings shall be maintained as required by the Secretary of State’s Massachusetts Records Retention Schedule.

3-110.5. Quorum. Nothing in this By-law shall change, replace, negate or otherwise supersede applicable quorum requirements, and under no circumstances will the absent member be counted toward a quorum.

Each proposed reorganization plan shall make due provision for the civil service status, seniority, retirement and other rights of town employees as may be required by the provisions of state statute, town by-laws or collective bargaining agreements covering the employees to be affected by such plan.