[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Braintree 5-18-2010 by Ord. No.
10-010 (former Chs. 2.48 and 3.04 of the Town Bylaws).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
No officer, department head or committee authorized to expend money
shall purchase supplies or materials or contract for services to be
rendered to the Town without following the applicable statutory process
as well as the rules and regulations governing such matters as may
be promulgated from time to time by the Director of Municipal Finance.
Notwithstanding the establishment of any office or agency with a specific
responsibility to purchase and procure goods and services for the
Town, the Mayor shall retain authority over every purchase and procurement
made by departments under the jurisdiction of the Mayor.
B.
Any elected official, department director, agent or other person
duly authorized to purchase goods or services on behalf of the Town
shall first determine that such procurement is in the best interest
of the Town. In determining the best interest of the Town the elected
official, department director, agent or other duly authorized person
shall consider such factors, including but not limited to:
(1)
The Town's need for goods and/or services to be provided;
(2)
The cost of goods and/or services to be provided in comparison
with the costs other providers of similar or identical goods or services
would charge;
(3)
References from other towns which have dealt with the provider
of goods and/or services;
(4)
The quality of goods and/or services provided to the Town by
the provider in prior dealings between the Town and the provider;
(5)
Potential impact, either adverse or beneficial, that the contract
may have on any lawsuit filed by or against the Town.
The Mayor may exempt a purchase or contract from any or all
of the provisions of the preceding section when, in the opinion of
the Mayor, an emergency exists requiring immediate action on such
purchase or contract to protect the health or safety of persons or
property, or when no reasonably suitable substitute can be obtained
for the article or service to be purchased or contracted for. Evidence
indicating that such an emergency exists or that no reasonable substitute
for a purchase or service can be obtained shall be furnished to the
Mayor and to the Director of Municipal Finance, in writing, by the
officer, board or committee making such purchase or contract and shall
be kept on file with other records of such transactions.
[Amended 4-25-2017 by Ord. No. 17-019]
Every board or officer in charge of a department and every committee
of the Town, when authorized to do any public work or to purchase
any supplies, materials or property or erect, construct or repair
any building, the estimated cost of which is $10,000 or more, shall
make a written contract therefor, which shall be filed with the Director
of Municipal Finance or his/her designee.
All contracts for services of employment to the Town (for positions
not classified under the Human Resources Department or under the direction
of the School Department) shall be in writing and filed with the Director
of Municipal Finance.
Every contract for construction work subject to MGL c. 149,
§§ 44A to 44M, or any other applicable statute, whether
for alterations, repairs or original construction, shall be accompanied
by a suitable bond for the performance of same and for the payment
of subcontractors in the amount of the contract price, as specified
in MGL c. 149, § 44E.
[1]
Note: This section derived from prior code § 17-5
and ATM 5-14-2002 Art. 25.
Unless some other provision is made by the express terms of
a trust, the Treasurer/Collector or the Director of Municipal Finance,
if serving as the Treasurer/Collector, shall be the custodian of all
funds given or bequeathed to the Town for any purpose and shall manage
and invest such sums in the same manner and with the same restrictions
as apply to how other municipal funds are managed and invested. The
Treasurer/Collector shall, annually, file a report in the office of
the Mayor, a copy of which shall be printed in the Annual Town Report,
which shows the beginning balance in each fund, the interest earned
during the year just ended, the amount expended (and unless an account
is given elsewhere, the purposes for which such funds were expended)
and the ending balance in each such account.
Appropriations from the conservation fund for land acquisition
shall require at least a two-thirds affirmative vote of Town Council
members present and voting.
[1]
Note: This section derived from prior code § 41-19.
A.
Personal property.
(1)
Subject to such regulations regarding the disposition of surplus
property as may be promulgated by the Director of Municipal Finance,
the disposal of surplus personal property shall be governed by the
provisions of MGL c. 30B, § 15, as may be amended.
(2)
No personal property of the Town shall be sold by any officer
or board, unless by vote of the Town Council or by the joint authorization
of the Mayor and of the President of the Town Council, except that
if its initial cost or value was $200 or less, it may be sold by the
authorization of the Mayor; such authorization shall, in each case,
be in writing, certify that the proposed selling price is fair and
be filed with the Town Accountant. In the transaction for sales so
approved, the turn-in value of any traded equipment may be allowed
as a credit against the total price of similar equipment required
for replacement purposes.[1]
[1]
Note: This subsection derived from prior code § 17-7.
B.
Real property.
(1)
Subject to such regulations regarding the disposition of real
property as may be promulgated by the Director of Municipal Finance,
the disposal of surplus real property shall be governed by the provisions
of MGL c. 30B, § 16, as may be amended.
(2)
The Mayor may sell real property, the title to which has been
acquired by the Town under tax title foreclosure procedure or the
so-called low value tax title statute,[2] at public auction pursuant to a notice of such sale published
in one or more newspapers published in the Town at least one week
before the date of such sale and shall execute such deeds or instruments
of conveyance as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of this
section. Unless the full purchase price or balance thereof has been
paid for such conveyance within 60 days after completion of the auction
sale, the Mayor may determine that the sale be set aside for breach
of contract by the purchaser and any payment made on account thereof
forfeited to the Town as liquidated damages. No such sale shall be
made unless the Town shall have notified, in writing, all abutters
of the land to be sold one week in advance of such sale and all Town
departments and commissions having custody of any Town-owned land
one month in advance of such sale.[3]
Any municipal agency which is otherwise authorized to issue
a license, certificate or permit, or to render a service or to perform
work for a person or class of persons, may from time to time fix a
reasonable fee for the license, certificate, or permit or for rendering
the service or for performing the work in the manner provided in MGL
c. 40, § 22F. No municipal agency shall establish a fee
or charge pursuant to this section without the prior review and consent
of the Mayor or, if the agency is appointed by the School Committee,
without the consent of the School Committee. Any fee or change in
fee adopted under this section shall be posted on a bulletin board
at Town Hall, posted in a public place in the office of the department
authorized to collect such fee, posted on the Town's official
website, and on file with the office of the Town Clerk.
Unless some other provision is made by law which permits a longer
time for payment, all bills for the payment of any sum due to the
Town, for whatever purpose, shall be due on the 31st day following
the date such bill has been issued. Interest shall be added to any
balance which remains unpaid after such 31st day at the same rate
as is provided in MGL c. 59, § 57.
Any Town agency may accept grants, gifts, or bequests of funds
from any other unit of government, from a charitable entity, from
a private corporation, or from an individual or group of individuals
when such funds are to be expended for purposes within the jurisdiction
of the Town agency. The Town agency may expend up to $5,000 annually,
in the aggregate, from the funds in any such account, but any expenditure
in excess of $5,000 annually requires the prior approval of the Mayor,
for the purposes as specified in the gift or grant or bequest. The
Treasurer/Collector shall maintain a list of all such funds as may
be established pursuant to this section which listing shall be kept
in a place convenient for public examination during regular office
hours. A summary of the receipts and disbursements in each account
so established shall be published annually in the Town Report. This
section is designed to implement and apply the provisions of MGL c.
44, § 53A.
All money received by the Town as compensation for work performed
by one of its employees on private off-duty work details shall be
deposited in the Town treasury and kept in a fund separate from other
municipal funds. As provided in MGL c. 44, § 53C, the funds
in such account may be used, without further appropriation, to compensate
Town employees for such services. A surcharge of 10% shall be added
to the fee charged by the municipal agency for the service which shall
be paid by the person requesting the service. This fee shall be to
cover the cost of administering the fund. This surcharge shall not
apply to Town projects directly paid by the Town, such as the police
detail for the school's Thanksgiving Day football game.
Whenever it shall be necessary to execute any deed conveying
land, or any other instrument required to carry into effect any vote
of the Town Council, the same shall be executed by the Treasurer/Collector
on behalf of the Town, unless otherwise provided by law or by vote
of the Town Council.
[1]
Note: This section derived from prior code § 26-3.
The books and accounts for all departments of the Town shall
be audited annually by an independent certified public accounting
firm as assigned by the Town Council and as provided by MGL c. 44,
§ 42, or by auditors assigned by the Bureau of Accounts
as provided by MGL c. 44, § 40. (See Charter § 6-11.)
[1]
Note: This section derived from prior code § 8-1.
All Town departments are required to pay all fees paid to them
by virtue of their office into the Town treasury.
[1]
Note: This section derived from prior Code § 32-1.
The Treasurer/Collector shall promptly transmit to the appropriate
designated recipient on a basis consistent with the employee's
pay periods all funds withheld from employees' payrolls in connection
with any duly authorized deferred compensation plan.
[1]
Note: This section was originally added STM 11-1-1993 by Art.
23 as prior Code § 32-10.
All bills for accounts due the Town shall state that all checks,
drafts, or money orders shall be made payable to or to the order of
the Town and not to or to the order of any officer, board, or commission.
