A.
There shall be a 3-member Board of Selectmen elected
on a rotating basis of 1 member each year for a 3-year term. The Board
of Selectmen shall have the general direction and management of the
property and affairs of the Town in all cases not otherwise provided
for by law and shall perform their duties in accordance with M.G.L.
ch. 41, §§ 1, 21, inclusively. The Selectmen shall
be the Police Commissioners and Water Commissioners for the Town.
The Selectmen may appear, either personally or by counsel, before
any committee of the Legislature or board or commission to protect
the interest of the Town.
B.
The Selectmen, shall, in their annual report, state
specifically what Town ways and county ways have been laid out, altered
or ordered, what damages have been assessed and paid, what claims
are outstanding, and what claims have been asserted against the Town,
with all the circumstances relating thereto.
A.
The Selectmen may, in all cases not otherwise provided
for by law, bring suit in the name of the Town against the principal
and sureties of either or any of them in any bond given to the Town
by any officer, agent, director, or other person for breach of the
condition of such bond.
B.
The Selectmen shall cause the appearance and answer
of the Town to be entered and made in all suits brought against the
Town at law or in equity, and may employ counsel to defend the same.
They may commence and prosecute suits at law and in equity and any
other legal proceeding in the name and on behalf of the Town in all
cases not otherwise provided by law, and may employ counsel therein.
They shall consider all claims made against the Town and may settle
the same, provided that in no case shall a settlement so made be a
payment of more than $300 without authority from the Town. No other
officer shall have the authority to employ counsel at the expense
of the Town without the consent of the Selectmen except as provided
for in an applicable statute of the Commonwealth.
Departments not in the charge of officers elected
or appointed specifically for the purpose shall be in the charge of
the Board of Selectmen, but neither the appropriation nor the accounts
of any department shall be mixed or consolidated with any other.
The Board of Selectmen shall cause to be prepared
as of December 31 an inventory of all the real estate and tangible
and intangible personal property of the Town, including trust funds,
unpaid taxes, and other accounts receivable; and a schedule of all
the liabilities and debts of the Town, including all suits pending
against it, all of which with the Assessors' valuations of the Town's
assets shall be printed as part of the financial report of the Town.
