(a)
Elective Offices. The offices to be filled by the voters shall be a select board, a school committee, a town moderator, a planning board, a board of health, a board of trustees of the public library, a cemetery commission, and a housing authority. Such other regional authorities, districts, or committees as may be established by law or interlocal agreement may also be filled by the voters.
[Amended by Acts of 2018, Ch. 76, approved 4-12-2018; Acts of 2020, Ch. 164, approved 8-25-2020]
(b)
Eligibility. Any voter shall be eligible to hold any elective town office. No person shall simultaneously hold more than one elective town office, provided however, any person elected to a town office as defined in this section may be a candidate and be elected to serve as a representative town meeting member.
(c)
Vacancies in Office. Any vacancy in any elective office shall be filled in the manner provided by General Law, chapter 41.
[Amended 10-16-2006 ATM by Art. 27, ratified 4-3-2007; Acts of 2020, Ch. 164, approved 8-25-2020]
(a)
Composition, Term of Office. There shall be a select board composed of five members elected for terms of three years each, so arranged that the terms of as nearly an equal number of members as is possible shall expire each year.
(b)
Powers and Duties. The executive authority of the town shall be vested in the select board which shall be deemed to be the chief executive office in the town. The select board shall be the chief policy making agency of the town and shall have all the powers and duties given to boards of selectmen or select boards as may be authorized by the laws of the commonwealth, the charter, bylaw or other town meeting vote, except those powers granted to the town manager under this charter. The select board shall prepare reports of town business and distribute such reports to all town meeting members. The select board shall act by the issuance of policy guidelines and directives. It is the intention of this provision that the select board shall act only through the adoption of policy directives and guidelines which are to be implemented by the officers and employees appointed by or under its authority. The town manager shall be the primary officer responsible for the implementation of policy directives and guidelines adopted by the select board. The daily administration of the affairs of the town shall be the exclusive responsibility of the town manager.
(c)
Appointment Powers. The select board shall appoint Town Manager, a Town Counsel, Town Accountant, Personnel Board, Public Celebrations Committee and a Board of Registrars of voters (but not including the Town Clerk). The select board shall also appoint all multiple member policy advisory committees and may appoint ad hoc committees not specifically provided by bylaw.
(d)
Licensing Authority. The select board shall be the licensing authority of the town and shall have all the power to issue licenses as otherwise authorized by law, to make all necessary rules and regulations regarding the issuance of such licenses and to attach conditions and restrictions on any such license it may issue as it deems to be in the public interest, and to enforce all laws relating to all such businesses for which it issues any licenses.
(a)
Composition, Terms of Office. There shall be a school committee composed of five members elected for terms of three years each, so arranged that the terms of as nearly an equal number of members as is possible expire each year.
(b)
Powers and Duties. The school committee shall have general charge and superintendence of the public schools of the town. The powers of the school committee shall include, but need not be limited to: appoint a superintendent of schools, and all other personnel associated with the school as defined by the Education Reform Act of 1993 and/or stated in the Massachusetts General Laws, fix their compensation, and negotiate all union contracts, define their duties and discharge them; make all reasonable rules, and regulations and policies consistent with law, for the administration and management of the public schools of the town. The school committee shall have all the powers and duties given to school committees by the laws of the commonwealth, the charter, bylaw or other town meeting vote.
[Amended 10-16-2006 ATM by Art. 29, ratified 4-3-2007]
(a)
Term of Office. A town moderator shall be elected by the voters for a term of three years.
(b)
Powers and Duties. The town moderator shall preside and regulate the proceedings at all town meetings; decide all questions of order; and make public declaration of all votes. No person may address a town meeting without leave of the moderator. The moderator shall appoint a finance committee as provided by bylaw. The town moderator shall have all the powers and duties provided that office by the laws of the commonwealth, the charter, bylaw or other town meeting vote.
(a)
Composition, Term of Office. There shall be a planning board composed of seven members elected for terms of three years each, so arranged that the terms of as nearly an equal number of members as is possible expire each year. There may be one associate member of the planning board when the board is designated a special permit granting authority under the town's zoning by-law. The associate member of the planning board shall be elected at the annual town election. If the position becomes vacant or is unfilled the position shall be jointly appointed by members of the select board and the Planning Board. The associate member of the Planning Board shall be elected for a term of two years.
[Amended 4-27-2000 ATM by Art. 19; Acts of 2020, Ch. 164, approved 8-25-2020]
(b)
Powers and Duties. The planning board shall have the responsibility to make studies of the resources, possibilities and needs of the town and to make plans for the development of the town. The board shall have the power to regulate the subdivision of land within the town by the adoption of rules and regulations governing such development. The planning board shall have all the powers and duties given to planning boards by the laws of the commonwealth, the charter, bylaw or other town meeting vote.
(a)
Composition, Term of Office. There shall be a board of health composed of three members elected for terms of three years each, so arranged that the term of one member expires each year.
(b)
Powers and Duties. The board of health shall be responsible for the formulation and enforcement of rules and regulations concerning public health. The board shall have all the powers and duties given to boards of health by the laws of the commonwealth, the charter, bylaw or other town meeting vote.
(a)
Composition, Term of Office. There shall be a board of library trustees composed of seven members elected for terms of three years, so arranged that the terms of as nearly an equal number of members as is possible expire each year.
(b)
Powers and Duties. The board of library trustees shall have control over the selection of library materials, and have custody and management of such. All money and property that the town may receive for library purposes by gift or bequest shall be administered by the board in accordance with the provisions of the gift or bequest. The board shall continue to exercise all the powers and duties vested in the board of library trustees by the laws of the commonwealth or by bylaw.
(a)
Composition, Term of office. There shall be a cemetery commission composed of three members elected for terms of three years, so arranged that the term of one member expires each year.
(b)
Powers and Duties. The cemetery commission shall have the sole care, superintendence and management of all public burial grounds of the town. The cemetery commission shall have all the powers and duties given to cemetery commissions by the laws of the commonwealth, the charter, bylaw or other town meeting vote.
(a)
Composition, Term of Office. There shall be a sewer commission composed of five members elected for terms of three years each, so arranged that the terms of as nearly an equal number of members as is possible expire each year.
(b)
Powers and Duties. The sewer commission shall supervise, manage and control the construction of sewer lines within the town.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former Section 3-10, Constable, was repealed 10-16-2017 by ATM, Art. 26.
(a)
Composition, Term of Office. There shall be a housing authority composed of five members serving terms of five years each, so arranged that the term of one member expires each year. Three members shall be elected by the voters, the fourth member shall be a Town Appointed Tenant Board Member in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 121B of the Massachusetts General Laws, and the fifth member shall be appointed by the Secretary of Communities and Development of the Commonwealth.
[Amended 10-18-2021 STM by Art. 17, ratified 4-5-2022
(b)
Powers and Duties. The housing authority shall make studies of the housing needs of the town and shall provide programs for housing. The authority shall have all the powers and duties given to housing authorities under the laws of the commonwealth.
(a)
Application. Any holder of an elected office in the town, except town meeting members, with more than six months remaining in the term of office for which the officer was elected, may be recalled therefrom by the voters of the town in the manner provided in this section. No recall petition shall be filed against an officer within three months after taking office.
(b)
Recall Petition.
[Amended Acts of 2012, Ch. 73, approved 4-18-2012]
(i)
A recall petition may be initiated by the filing of an affidavit, on a form provided by the town clerk, containing the name of the officer sought to be recalled, appearing as registered on the current voting list prepared under sections 37 and 37A of chapter 51 of the General Laws, and a statement of the grounds for recall. The town clerk shall provide to the person requesting the affidavit form the name of the person whose recall is sought as it appears on the current voting list. Such affidavit shall be signed by at least 25 voters from each of the precincts into which the town is divided for the purpose of electing town meeting members. Signatures shall be collected on a single affidavit form for each precinct; provided, however, that if the affiants wish to collect more signatures than can be accommodated on a single form, an additional form may be requested from the town clerk. Blank affidavit forms shall not be photocopied or otherwise reproduced. The town clerk shall, within 24 hours of receipt, submit the affidavit to the registrars of voters, who shall, within 5 working days, certify thereon the number of signatures which are names of registered voters of the town.
(ii)
The town clerk shall, within 5 business days following said certification, make available to the lead petitioner, as designated on the affidavit, copies of petition blanks containing the number of signatures required below, multiplied by 5, demanding such recall, copies of which printed forms the town clerk shall keep available. Such blanks shall be issued by the town clerk, with signature and official seal attached thereto. They shall be dated, shall be addressed to the select board and shall contain the names of the lead petitioner and the voter first named on each of the precinct affidavits, the number of blanks so issued, the name of the person whose recall is sought appearing as registered on the current voter list, the office from which removal is sought, the grounds of recall as stated in the affidavit, and shall demand the election of a successor in the said office. A copy of the petition shall be entered in a record book to be kept in the office of the town clerk. Blank recall petitions shall not be photocopied or reproduced. Said recall petition shall be returned and filed with the town clerk within 20 days after the completion of the copies of the petition blanks, and shall have been signed by at least 15 per cent of the registered voters of the town as of the date of the most recent town election.
[Amended by Acts of 2020, Ch. 164, approved 8-25-2020]
| The town clerk shall, within 24 hours of receipt, submit the petition to the registrars of voters in the town, and the registrars shall, within 5 working days, certify thereon the number of signatures which are names of registered voters of the town. |
(c)
Recall Election. If the petition shall be found and certified by the board of registrars to be sufficient, the town clerk shall submit the same with a letter of notice to the select board within 5 working days, and the select board shall, within 5 working days, give written notice of the receipt of the petition to the officer sought to be recalled and shall, if the officer does not resign within 5 days thereafter, forthwith order an election to be held on a date fixed by them not less than 60 and not more than 90 days after the date the election is called; provided, however, that if any other town election is to occur within 100 days after the date of said certificate, the select board shall postpone the holding of the recall election to the date of such other election. If a vacancy occurs in said office after a recall election has been ordered, the election shall not proceed as provided in this section and notice shall be provided of the cancellation on the town's website, be posted in such locations as would the warrant for a town meeting, and through whatever other means the select board deems appropriate.
[Amended Acts of 2012, Ch. 73, approved 4-18-2012; Acts of 2020, Ch. 164, approved 8-25-2020]
(d)
Office Holder. The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the office until the recall election. If said incumbent is not removed, the incumbent shall continue in office for the remainder of the unexpired term subject to recall as before. If recalled, the officer shall be deemed removed and the office vacant. The vacancy created thereby shall be filled in accordance with General Law, Chapter 41.
(e)
Ballot Proposition. Ballots used in a recall election shall submit the following propositions in the order indicated:
| The form of the question to be voted upon shall be substantially as follows: "Shall [here insert the name and title of the elective officer whose recall is sought] be recalled?" | |
| If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of recall is in the affirmative, such elected officer shall be recalled. |
(f)
Repeat of Recall. In the case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not recalled thereby, no recall petition shall be filed against such officer until at least one year after the election at which the officer's recall was submitted to the voters of the town.
[Amended Acts of 2012, Ch. 73, approved 4-18-2012]
(g)
Office Holder Recalled. No person who has been recalled from an office or who has resigned from office after the filing off a recall petition under subsection (b)(ii) of section 3-12, shall be appointed to any town office within two years after such recall or such resignation.
[Amended Acts of 2012, Ch. 73, approved 4-18-2012]
