The reports of all boards, committees and officers which are to be included in the Annual Report of the town shall be delivered to the Select Board not later than the 15th day of January in each year.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Hopkinton as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-6-1944 ATM by Art. I; amended 7-7-1947 STM by Art. 5; 3-12-1951 ATM by Art. 33; 3-3-1953 ATM by Art. 15; 3-15-1960 ATM by Art. 31; 4-14-1975 ATM by Art. 65; 4-12-1976 ATM by Arts. 58 and 59; 4-15-1981 ATM by Art. 19; 4-9-1985 ATM by Art. 32; 5-6-1997 STM by Art. 1; 5-1-2000 ATM by Art. 16; 5-2-2011 ATM by Art. 40]
All boards, officers and committees shall notify the Town Clerk of their organization and time of regular meetings.
All departments of the town, with the exception of the Department of Public Welfare and the Department of Veteran Benefits and the School Department insofar as the listing pertains to special educational costs of mentally or physically handicapped children covered by appropriate state legislation, shall publish in the Annual Town Report a list of vendors, employees, service companies, equipment hire and other persons or corporations receiving compensation or payment from said town during the previous year and the total amount or amounts paid to each, and also a statement of the persons or corporations that have made payments to the town charges, and the total amount or amounts so paid.
A.
The Select Board shall have authority to prosecute and defend all suits to which the town is a party, and to employ counsel therefor. It may settle, in its discretion, any legal and valid claim or suit against the town which does not require the payment of more than $1,000. Any settlement requiring a greater sum, except when authorized by law, shall be made only when authorized by a vote of the Town Meeting. The Select Board shall bring any necessary suit to collect sums due the town.
B.
The Select Board shall have charge and control of the Town Hall, and may let or rent so much thereof as is not required for town purposes upon such terms as they deem proper.
C.
The annual report of the Select Board shall state, unless included elsewhere in the Annual Report, what licenses have been issued, franchises granted, hearings held, claims and suits against the town, whether pending or settled, and repairs made upon public buildings.
D.
The Select Board shall hereafter annually on or before the first day of July, or whenever a vacancy shall exist, choose some competent lawyer, preferably residing in the town, to act as Town Counsel. Town Counsel shall receive such salary or compensation as the Select Board may determine; Town Counsel shall be available for advice to all the town departments under the supervision of the Select Board and shall perform such duties as the Select Board may prescribe.
E.
The Select Board shall consist of five members, each of whom shall serve for a term of three years. The members of the Select Board in office as of the date of TOWN OF HOPKINTON GENERAL BYLAW adoption of this subsection shall remain in office until the expiration of the respective term of such member or until a vacancy occurs in such position for other cause. At the Annual Town Election to be held in May 2001, there shall be three persons elected at large by ballot to the Select Board by the voters of the town, with the candidate elected with the greatest number of votes to serve for a term of three years, the candidate with the second greatest number of votes to serve for a term of three years, and the candidate with the third greatest number of votes to serve for a term of two years. At each Annual Town Election thereafter the number of members of the Select Board whose terms have expired shall be elected by ballot for a term of three years. After the election of the Select Board, if there is a failure to elect or a vacancy occurs in the office of Select Board, the remaining Select Board may call a special election to fill the vacancy and shall call such election upon the request, in writing, of the number of registered voters of the town required by and in accordance with the procedure set forth in MGL c. 41 § 10.
A.
The Town Clerk shall promptly notify, in writing, each member of every committee elected or appointed at any Town Meeting or in pursuance of any vote thereof, of such election or appointment, giving the names of all members of the committee, and a copy of the vote under which the committee was appointed or elected.
B.
The Town Clerk shall promptly after each Town Meeting furnish the Town Accountant with a statement of all amounts appropriated by the town at such meeting and the purposes for which such appropriations were made.
C.
The Town Clerk shall have published an up-to-date set of all existing Town Bylaws as needed.
The Town Accountant shall, in the annual report, give a detailed statement of all the assets and liabilities of the town and the change, if any, in the town debt, and shall include a list of all debts incurred and not paid up to and including June 30 of each year, showing to whom due, for what incurred and the amount.