(a) 
Mayor, qualifications. The Chief Executive Officer of the City shall be a Mayor, elected by and from the voters of the City at large. Any voter shall be eligible to hold the office of Mayor. The Mayor shall devote full time to the office and shall not hold any other elective public office, nor shall the Mayor be actively engaged in any other business, occupation or profession during the period of service as Mayor.
(b) 
Term of office. The term of office of the Mayor shall be four years beginning on the first business day of January following the City Election at which the Mayor was chosen and until a successor is qualified.
(c) 
Compensation. The City Council shall, by ordinance, establish an annual salary for the Mayor, which shall become effective immediately.
(a) 
The executive powers of the City shall be vested solely in the Mayor, and may be exercised by the Mayor either personally or through the several City agencies under the general supervision and control of the office of the Mayor. The Mayor shall cause the Charter, the laws, the ordinances and other orders for the government of the City to be enforced, and shall cause a record of all official acts of the executive branch of the City to be kept.
(b) 
The Mayor shall exercise a general supervision and direction over all City agencies, unless otherwise provided by general law, by the Charter or by ordinance. Each City agency shall furnish to the Mayor, forthwith upon request, any information, materials or otherwise as the Mayor may request and as the needs of the office and the interest of the City may require.
(c) 
The Mayor shall be the chief procurement officer for the City responsible for buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring all supplies and all services for all departments and all activities of the City and including all functions that pertain to the obtaining of a supply or a service, including description of requirements, selection and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of all contracts and all phases of contract administration. The Mayor may delegate all or any portion of such powers and duties to a subordinate officer, but no such delegation shall in any way absolve the Mayor from the ultimate responsibility for all procurement activities.
(d) 
The Mayor shall supervise, direct and be responsible for the efficient administration of all City activities and functions placed under the control of the Mayor by general law, by this Charter, by ordinance or otherwise. The Mayor shall be responsible for the efficient and effective coordination of the activities of all agencies of the City of Greenfield and for this purpose shall have the authority to call together for consultation, conference and discussion at all reasonable times all persons serving the City, whether elected directly by the voters, chosen by persons elected directly by the voters, or otherwise.
(e) 
The Mayor shall hold no other City office or City employment for which a salary or other emolument is payable from the City treasury. No former Mayor shall hold any compensated appointed City office or City employment until one year following the date on which such former Mayor's City service has terminated. This provision shall not prevent a City officer or other City employee who has taken a leave of absence in order to serve as Mayor from returning to the same office or other position of City employment held at the time such leave of absence commenced; provided, however, no such person shall be eligible for any other municipal position until at least one year following the termination of service as Mayor.
(f) 
The Mayor shall be, by virtue of office, a member of every multiple member body of the City. The Mayor shall have a right, as such ex-officio member, to attend any meeting of any multiple member body of the City, at any time, including, so called, executive sessions, to participate in the discussions, to make motions and to exercise every other right of a regular member of such body, but not including the right to vote.
(a) 
The mayor shall appoint, subject to the review of such appointments by the City Council as provided in Section 2-10, all City officers, department heads and the members of multiple-member bodies for whom no other method of appointment or selection is provided by the charter or by ordinance, excepting only persons serving under the school committee, and persons serving under the City Council. Except as may otherwise be required by the civil service law or other applicable law, and in this charter or by ordinance, appointments made by the Mayor shall be for indefinite terms. All persons categorized as department heads shall, subject to the consent of the Mayor, appoint all assistants, subordinates and other employees of the agency for which such person is responsible.
(b) 
All appointments and promotions made by the Mayor shall be made on the basis of merit and fitness demonstrated by examination, past performance, or by other evidence of competence and suitability. Each person appointed to fill an office or position shall be a person especially fitted by education, training and previous work experience to perform the duties of the office or position for which chosen.
(c) 
The Mayor shall appoint four members of the Greenfield Redevelopment Authority[1] and Housing Authority, subject to confirmation by the City Council, consistent with General Laws (MGL c. 121B, § 5).
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 141, Redevelopment Authority, of the Code of the City of Greenfield.
(d) 
The Mayor shall appoint five members of the Board of Trustees for Soldiers' Memorials, subject to confirmation by the City Council, consistent with Section 105 of Chapter 41 of the General Laws.
(a) 
City officers and department heads. The Mayor may remove or suspend any City officer, or the head of any City department appointed by the Mayor, by filing a written statement with the City Clerk setting forth in precise detail the specific reasons for such removal or suspension. A copy of the written statement shall be delivered in hand, or mailed by certified mail, postage prepaid, to the last known address of the said City officer, or head of a department. The said City officer, or head of a department, may make a written reply by filing such a reply statement with the City Clerk within 10 days following the date the statement of the Mayor has been filed; but, such reply shall have no effect upon the removal or suspension unless the Mayor shall so determine. The decision of the Mayor in suspending or removing a City officer or a department head shall be final, it being the intention of this provision to vest all authority and to fix all responsibility for such suspension or removal solely in the Mayor. The removal shall take effect on the 30th day following the date of filing by the Mayor of the notice of removal in the office of the city clerk.
(b) 
Other City employees. Unless some other procedure is specified in a collective bargaining agreement or by the provisions of the Civil Service Law, a department head may suspend or remove any assistant, subordinate or other employee of the agency for which such person is responsible in accordance with the procedures established for suspension and removal in the personnel ordinance. The decision of the department head to suspend or remove any assistant, subordinate or other employee shall be subject to review by the Mayor. A person for whom a department head has determined a suspension or removal is appropriate may seek review of such determination by the Mayor by filing a petition for review, in the office of the Mayor, in writing, within 10 days following receipt of notice of such determination. The review by the Mayor shall follow the procedures established for suspension and removal in the personnel ordinance. The decision of the Mayor shall be final, it being the intention of this provision to vest all authority and to fix all responsibility for such suspension or removal solely in the Mayor. Nothing in this section shall be construed to be a bar to any other review as may be provided by general law.
Whenever a vacancy, either temporary or permanent, occurs in a City office and the needs of the City require that such office be filled, the Mayor may designate the head of another City agency or a City officer or City employee, or some other person to perform the duties of the office on a temporary basis until such time as the position can be filled as otherwise provided by law, by the Charter or by ordinance. The Mayor shall file a certificate in substantially the following form, with the City Clerk, whenever a person is designated under this section:
"I designate (name of person) to perform the duties of the office of (designate office in which vacancy exists) on a temporary basis until the office can be filled by (here set out the regular procedure for filling the vacancy, or when the regular officer shall return). I certify that said person is qualified to perform the duties which will be required and that I make this designation solely in the interests of the City of Greenfield."
(signed) Mayor
Persons serving as temporary officers under the authority of this section shall have only those powers of the office as may be necessary to the conduct of the business of the City in an orderly and efficient manner and which may not be delayed. No acting City officer shall have authority to make any permanent appointment or removal from City service. No temporary appointment shall be for more than 30 days and not more than two renewals of a temporary appointment may be made when a permanent vacancy exists in the office.
(a) 
Communications to the City Council. Within 10 weeks following the start of each fiscal year the Mayor shall submit to the City Council, and make available for public distribution, a complete report on the financial and administrative activities of the City for the preceding fiscal year. The Mayor shall, from time to time throughout the year, by written communications, recommend to the City Council for its consideration such measures as, in the judgment of the Mayor, the needs of the City require. The Mayor shall, from time to time throughout the year, but at least quarterly, by written communications, keep the City Council fully informed of the financial and administrative condition of the City and shall specifically indicate in any such reports any fiscal, financial or administrative problems of the City.
(b) 
Special meetings of the City Council. The Mayor may at any time call a special meeting of the City Council, for any purpose, by causing a notice of such meeting to be delivered in hand or to the place of business or residence of each member of the City Council, or by secure electronic communication that allows receipt confirmation. Such notice shall, except in an emergency of which the Mayor shall be the sole judge, be delivered not less than 48 weekday hours in advance of the time set and shall specify the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is to be held. A copy of each such notice shall, forthwith, be posted on the City bulletin board.
Every order, ordinance, resolution or vote adopted or passed by the City Council relative to the affairs of the City, except memorial resolutions, the selection of City officers by the City Council and any matters relating to the internal affairs of the City Council, shall be presented to the Mayor for approval. If the Mayor approves of the measure the Mayor shall sign it; if the Mayor disapproves of the measure, the Mayor shall return the measure, with the specific reason or reasons for such disapproval attached thereto, in writing, to the City Council. The City Council shall enter the objections of the Mayor on its records, and not sooner than 10 days, nor after 30 days from the date of its return to the City Council, shall again consider the same measure. If the City Council, notwithstanding such disapproval by the Mayor, shall again pass the order, ordinance, resolution or vote by a two-thirds vote of the full Council, it shall then be deemed in force, notwithstanding the failure of the Mayor to approve the same. If the Mayor has neither signed a measure nor returned it to the City Council within 10 days following the date it was presented to the Mayor, the measure shall be deemed approved and in force.
(a) 
Acting Mayor. The Mayor shall, by a letter filed with the City Council and a copy filed with the City Clerk, designate a qualified City officer or City employee to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the office during the temporary absence of the Mayor for periods of less than 15 business days and to serve only when the needs of the City require and only to the extent necessary under the circumstances.
If, by reason of sickness, absence from the City or other cause, the Mayor shall be unable to perform the duties of the office for a period of not less than 15 consecutive business days, the president of the City Council shall be the Acting Mayor. In the event of the absence or disability of the President of the City Council, the Vice President of the City Council shall serve as Acting Mayor and the Mayor's qualified City officer or City employee designee shall assist the Acting Mayor in their duties of the office during the absence or disability of the Mayor.
(b) 
Powers of Acting Mayor. The Acting Mayor shall have only those powers of the Mayor as may be necessary to the conduct of the business of the City in an orderly and efficient manner and which may not be delayed. The acting Mayor shall have no authority to make any permanent appointment or removal from City service unless the disability of the Mayor shall extend beyond 60 days nor shall an Acting Mayor approve or disapprove of any measure adopted by the City Council unless the time within which the Mayor must act would expire before the return of the Mayor. During any period in which any member of the City Council is serving as acting Mayor, such Councilor shall not vote as a member of the City Council.
(a) 
Special election. If a vacancy in the office of Mayor occurs in the first 39 months of the term for which the Mayor is elected, whether by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, the City Council shall forthwith order a special election, to be held within 90 days following the date the vacancy is created, to fill such vacancy for the balance of the then unexpired term.
(b) 
Council election. If a vacancy in the office of mayor occurs in the last nine months of the term for which the Mayor is elected, whether by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, the President of the City Council shall become the Mayor. Upon the qualification of the President of the City Council as the Mayor, under this section, a vacancy shall exist on the City Council, which shall be filled in the manner provided in Section 2-11. In the event the Council President or Vice President shall vacate their office for any reason prior to the end of their term of office, at the next regularly scheduled meeting after such vacating and prior to conducting business the councilors shall elect from among its members a successor President or Vice President to serve for the remainder of the term.
(c) 
Powers, term of office. The Mayor elected under Section 3-9(a) or (b) shall have all the powers of the Mayor. A person elected pursuant to Subsection (a), above, shall serve for the balance of the term unexpired at the time of election to the office. A person chosen pursuant to Subsection (b), above, shall serve until the next regular election at which time the person then elected shall serve as Mayor.