Except as otherwise provided by law, before performing any act
under this election or appointment, each person elected shall take
and subscribe to an oath to qualify him to enter upon the duties of
office. A record of the taking of such oath shall be made by the Town
Clerk. Any oath required by this section may be administered by any
officer authorized by law to administer oaths.
A.
Written notice of the election or appointment to any Town office
or board shall be mailed to the individual involved by the Town Manager,
within three clear days after the appointment is made or the results
of any vote are certified by the Board of Election Officers to the
Council.
B.
Unless otherwise set forth in this Charter, all elected officials
in the Town shall take or continue in office on the first Monday following
the second Tuesday in March following their election and shall hold
office until their successors are elected and qualified.
A.
In addition
to the provisions of this Charter, a vacancy shall be deemed to exist
in any department, office, or board whenever an officer, member, or
employee dies, resigns, is removed for just cause, is permanently
physically or mentally incapacitated to the degree that he is unable
to perform his duties, is judicially declared to be mentally incompetent
or, for board members where residence in the Town is required, he
moves from the Town.
B.
Unless
otherwise provided in this Charter, vacancies occurring under this
section shall be declared to exist by the Council for board members,
the Manager for department heads, and by the department heads for
department personnel.
All records of the Town and all meetings of the Council, boards,
committees, commissions, authorities, or other municipal bodies shall
be open to the public, and their minutes and other records shall be
available to the public in accordance with the provisions of the Right
To Know Law as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See RSA 91-A:1 et seq.
The Council is authorized, as provided by New Hampshire law,
to enter into agreements and regional compacts with neighboring cities
and towns, state agencies, or private nonprofit corporations for the
purpose of resolving their common problems for the mutual advantage
and benefit of the Town and its neighboring cities and towns.
To the extent that any specific provision contained in this
Charter conflicts with any provision expressed in general terms, the
specific provision shall prevail.
The sections of this Charter and the parts hereof are separable.
If any portion or section of this Charter or the application thereof
to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid by a court of
competent jurisdiction, the remainder of the Charter shall not be
affected thereby. If a clause, portion, or section of this Charter
is so held invalid, then the applicable provisions of state law, if
any, shall govern.
A.
Authentication of Charter. Upon adoption, the official Charter, duly
authenticated by affixing the signatures of all members of the Charter
Commission and the Board of Selectmen, the Town Clerk and affixing
the Town Seal, shall be filed with the Town Clerk and remain in the
Town Clerk's office as the official Charter of the Town of Bedford.
At its first meeting, the Town Council shall affirm the validity of
the Town Charter.
B.
Amendments. All amendments to this Charter shall be authenticated
by the Town Council and be filed with and remain a part of the official
Charter.
C.
Maintenance. The Town Clerk shall be responsible for the proper maintenance
of the Charter, under the direction of the legal officer. Copies of
the Charter shall be available to the public, and the Town Clerk may
charge a fee to defray printing costs.
Amendments to this Charter may be initiated either by the Council
or by initiative petition, public hearing, and voter election pursuant
to New Hampshire RSA 49-B:5.
All willful violations of provisions of this Charter, unless
otherwise provided, are hereby declared to be misdemeanors, and all
such violations and all violations of Town ordinances for which no
other punishment is provided shall be punishable by a fine in accord
with state statutes.
A copy of all rules and regulations adopted by any Town agency,
board, commission or individual shall be filed in the office of the
Town Clerk and made available for review by any person who requests
such information.
Except for those agencies established by this Charter or as
otherwise prohibited by state law, the Council may reorganize, consolidate,
or abolish any existing Town agency in whole or in part or establish
new Town agencies and prescribe the functions of any Town agencies,
provided that such action shall not eliminate the statutory duties
of Town officials.
The Manager may prepare and submit to the Council for its approval
proposed reorganization plans which may, subject to applicable law
and this Charter, reorganize, consolidate or abolish any Town agency
in whole or in part or establish new Town agencies, as he deems necessary
or expedient. Such reorganization plans shall be accompanied by explanatory
messages when submitted.
The Town shall undertake to indemnify and save harmless all
its officers, officials, volunteers, boards, commissions, and employees
from personal loss and expense. Expenses may include reasonable legal
fees and costs, if any, arising out of any claim, demand, suit, or
judgment by reason of negligent acts or omissions if the indemnified
person was acting in the scope of his office or employment and in
good faith in accord with the provisions of state law.
A.
No person shall be appointed to or removed from, or in any way favored
or discriminated against with respect to any Town position or appointed
Town administrative office because of age, race, sex, political or
religious opinions, or affiliations.
B.
No person shall willfully make any false statement, certificate,
mark, rating, or report in regard to any test, certification, or appointment.
C.
No person who seeks appointment or promotion with respect to any
Town position or appointed Town administrative office shall directly
or indirectly give, render, or pay any money, service or other valuable
thing to any person for or in connection with his test, appointment,
proposed appointment, promotion or proposed promotion.
D.
No person who runs for Town office shall orally, by letter, or otherwise,
solicit or assist in soliciting any assessment, subscription, or contribution
for any political party or political purpose whatsoever from any person
holding any compensated appointed Town position.
A.
Meetings. All properly constituted authorities, boards, commissions,
committees, or other municipal bodies (hereafter called committees)
of the Town, whether elected or appointed or otherwise constituted,
shall meet regularly at such times and public places within the Town
as they may prescribe. Except in emergencies, special meetings of
these committees shall be held on the call of the respective Chairman
or by 1/3 of the members thereof by written notice delivered to the
residence or place of business of each member at least 48 hours in
advance of the time set. A copy of said notice shall also be posted
on the Town bulletin board(s). Except in cases of emergency otherwise
authorized by the general laws, all meetings of these committees shall
be open and public; however, these committees may meet in a closed
or executive session as permitted by the Right to Know Law, as amended.
B.
Committee organization. Each committee shall determine its own rules
and order of business unless otherwise provided by the Charter or
by law. The agenda and minutes shall be kept as required by the Right
to Know Law, as amended. A Chairman and secretary shall be elected
annually in accord with the committee's rules of procedure.
C.
Quorum. A majority of the members of a committee shall constitute
a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from time to time until
a quorum is achieved. No other action taken by a number of members
smaller than the quorum shall be valid or binding.
D.
Council. The provisions of § C10-16 shall not apply to
the Council to the extent that they are consistent with other provisions
of this Charter.
All land use regulations and ordinances, including the adoption
of the zoning ordinances and amendments by referendum, must be adopted
pursuant to state law.
