The purpose of the Personnel Bylaw is to establish
fair and equitable personnel policies and to establish a system of
personnel administration based on merit principles that ensures a
uniform, fair and efficient application of personnel policies. This
chapter is adopted pursuant to the authority granted by Article LXXXIX
of the Constitution of the Commonwealth and MGL C. 41, §§ 108A
and 108C.
All Town departments and positions shall be
subject to the provisions of this chapter except elected officers,
employees with personal contracts, employees of the School Department
and members of the Police Department. The provisions of this chapter
shall not be applicable to employees covered under collective bargaining
agreements except where such collective bargaining agreements expressly
so provide.
A personnel system shall be established by promulgation of policies pursuant to §
36-5. The personnel system shall make use of current concepts of personnel management and shall include but not be limited to the following elements:
A. Method of administration. A system of administration
which assigns specific responsibility for all elements of the personnel
system, including: maintaining personnel records, implementing effective
recruitment and selection processes, maintaining the classification
and compensation plans, monitoring the application of personnel policies
and periodic reviews and evaluating the personnel system.
B. A classification plan. A position classification plan
for all employees subject to this chapter shall be established, based
on similarity of duties performed and the responsibilities assumed
so that the same qualifications may be reasonably required for, and
the same schedule of pay may be equitably applied to, all positions
in the same class. No employee may be appointed to a position not
included in the classification plan.
C. A compensation plan. A compensation plan for all positions
subject to this chapter shall consist of:
(1) A schedule of pay grades including minimum and maximum
rates for each grade.
(2) An official list indicating the assignment of each
position to specific pay grades.
D. A recruitment and selection policy. A recruitment,
employment, promotion and transfer policy which ensures that reasonable
effort is made to attract qualified persons and that selection criteria
are job-related.
E. Personnel records. A centralized record keeping system
which maintains essential personnel records.
F. Personnel policies. A series of personnel policies
which establishes the rights and benefits to which personnel employed
by the Town are entitled and the obligations of said employees to
the Town.
G. Other elements. Other elements of a personnel system
as deemed appropriate or required by law.
[Amended 11-13-2017 FYTM, Art. 13]
The Select Board/Personnel Board shall promulgate
personnel policies defining the rights, benefits and obligations of
employees subject to this chapter. Policies shall be adopted or amended
as follows:
A. Preparation of policies. The Select Board/Personnel
Board shall prepare policies or amendments to policies. Any member
of the Select Board, Personnel Board, the Executive Secretary or any
three employees may suggest policies for consideration by the Select
Board/Personnel Board. The Select Board/Personnel Board need not consider
any proposal already considered in the preceding 12 months. Any person
proposing a new or amended policy shall provide the substance and
the reason for the proposed policy to the Select Board/Personnel Board
in writing. The Select Board/Personnel Board shall hold a public hearing
on any proposed policies or amendments. Any proposed policies or amendments
shall be posted at least five days prior to the public hearing in
prominent work locations, and a copy of all proposals shall be provided
to the Town Clerk.
B. Public hearing. The Select Board/Personnel Board shall
present the proposed policy(ies) or amendment(s), the purpose of the
proposal and the implication of any proposed change at the public
hearing. Any person may attend the hearing, speak and present information.
Within 20 days after such public hearing, the Personnel Board/Select
Board shall consider the proposed policies and may vote to adopt the
policies (with or without modifications), reject the policies or indicate
that further study is necessary. Policies shall become effective upon
approval of the Personnel Board/Select Board, unless some other date
is specified.
The provisions of this chapter and any regulations
adopted pursuant to this chapter are severable. If any chapter provision
or regulation is held invalid, the remaining provisions of the chapter
or regulations shall not be effected thereby.
This chapter shall take effect on July 1, 1989. Personnel policies existing prior to said date as presented in Chapter
36, Personnel, will remain in effect for at least 90 days from said date and until promulgation of new policies in accordance with §
36-5 herein.