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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.