The inhabitants of the Town of Dartmouth within the corporate limits as established by law shall continue to be a body corporate and politic with perpetual succession under the name "Town of Dartmouth".
This instrument shall be known and may be cited as the Dartmouth Town Charter.
Subject only to express limitations on the exercise of any power or function by a municipality that are found in the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth, it is the intent and the purpose of the Voters of the Town to secure through the adoption of this Charter all of the powers it is possible to secure for a municipal government under the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth.
The administration of all of the fiscal, prudential and municipal affairs of the Town shall be vested in an executive branch that is headed by a Select Board. The legislative powers of the Town shall be vested in a Town Meeting limited to those inhabitants who are elected to meet, deliberate, act and vote in the exercise of the corporate powers of the Town.
The powers of the Town under this Charter are to be construed liberally in the favor of the Town and the specific mention of any particular power is not intended to limit in any way the general powers of the Town as stated in Section 1-3.
Subject to the applicable requirements of any provision of the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth, the Town may exercise any of its powers or perform any of its functions and may participate in the financing thereof, jointly or in cooperation by contract or otherwise, with any one or more states or civil divisions or agencies thereof, or the United States government or agency thereof.
Unless another meaning is clearly apparent from the manner in which the word or phrase is used, the following words and phrases as used in this Charter shall have the following meanings, inclusive of any plural form of the same when it is appropriate:
(a)
Appointing Authority. The words Appointing Authority" shall mean any official or Multiple Member Body that appoints the official or member of a Multiple Member Body or town employee of the town that Is not subject to the provisions of the Commonwealth Civil Service Law, or covered by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.
(b)
Charter - The word "Charter" shall mean this Charter inclusive of any amendment to it that is hereafter adopted.
(c)
Commonwealth - The word "Commonwealth" shall mean the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(d)
Elected Town Official - The words "Elected Town Official" shall mean the holder of one of the offices described in section 3-1 of this Charter and shall not be construed to include a person elected as a Town Meeting member, or a person that has been elected to serve on the Dartmouth Housing Authority, or a person that has been elected to serve on a Charter Commission for the Town.
(e)
General Laws. The words "General Laws" shall mean the General Laws of the Commonwealth being a codification and revision of statutes that were enacted on December 22, 1920, as well as all amendments and additions thereto that have been or will be subsequently adopted.
(f)
Local Newspaper - The words "Local Newspaper" shall mean a newspaper of general circulation within Dartmouth, with either a weekly or daily circulation.
(g)
Majority Vote - The words "Majority Vote" when used in connection with a meeting of a Multiple Member Body shall mean a majority of those present and voting, unless another definition is made by the General Laws, by any regulation that is promulgated pursuant to the same, by any Special Law, by the Town By-Laws, or by the rules of said Multiple Member Body.
(h)
Multiple Member Body - The words "Multiple Member Body" shall mean any board, commission, committee, sub-committee or other body consisting of two or more persons whether elected, appointed or otherwise constituted, but not including the Town Meeting.
(i)
Open Meeting Law - The words "Open Meeting Law" shall mean Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 30A, Sections 18-25, any amendment thereto, any subsequent, similar statute that replaces the same, and any regulations that are promulgated pursuant to the same.
(j)
Select Board - The words "Select Board" shall mean the board of persons that is referenced in the General Laws as the "board of selectmen".
(k)
"Special Law" - The words "Special Law" shall mean any legislation of the Commonwealth that relates to, affects, targets or impacts the Town, or otherwise permits or requires it to take, or refrain from taking particular action, but which does not apply to the Commonwealth as a whole and which is not included in the General Laws.
(l)
Town - The word "town" shall mean the Town of Dartmouth.
(m)
Town Agency - The words "Town Agency" shall mean any Multiple Member Body, and any department, division, or office of the Town but not including the Town Meeting or the School Committee.
(n)
Town Bulletin Boards and Website - The words "town bulletin boards" shall mean the bulletin board in the Town Hall on which the Town Clerk posts official notices of meetings and upon which other official town notices are posted, and the bulletin boards at any other locations as may be designated town bulletin boards by the Select Board. This term is also inclusive of the Town of Dartmouth Website and Town Calendar, where public information is posted,"
(o)
Town Meeting - The words "Town Meeting" shall mean the Representative Town Meeting of the Town, as well as each particular Town Meeting, whether Annual or Special, that is called by the Select Board pursuant to a Warrant.
(p)
Town Official. The words "Town Official" when used without further qualification or description, shall mean any elected or appointed person who in the exercise of the powers or duties of such position exercises some portion of the sovereign power of the Town.
(q)
Town Website - the information resources found at an internet address provided by the Town.
(r)
Voters - The word "Voters" shall mean registered voters of the Town.