The inhabitants of the Town of Norton within the corporate limits
as established by law shall continue to be a body corporate and politic
with perpetual succession under the name "Town of Norton."
This instrument shall be known and may be cited as the "Norton
Home Rule Charter.'
Subject only to express limitations on the exercise of any power
or function by a municipality in the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth,
it is the intent and the purpose of the voters of Norton to secure
through the adoption of this Charter all of the powers it is possible
to secure for a municipal government under the Constitution and laws
of the Commonwealth.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3]
The administration of all of the fiscal, prudential and municipal
affairs of the Town shall be vested in an executive branch headed
by a Select Board. The legislative powers of the Town shall be vested
in a Town Meeting open to all voters.
The powers of the Town of Norton under this Charter are to be construed liberally in its favor and the specific mention of any particular power is not intended to limit in any way the general powers of the Town of Norton as stated in Section 1-3.
Subject to the applicable requirements of any provision of the
Constitution or statutes of the Commonwealth, the Town of Norton may
exercise any of its powers or perform any of its functions and may
participate in the financing thereof, jointly or in cooperation, by
contract or otherwise, with any one or more states or civil divisions
or agencies thereof or the United States government or any one or
more agencies thereof.
Unless another meaning is clearly apparent from the manner in
which the word is used, the following words as used in this Charter
shall have the following meanings:
(a)Â
Charter - The word "Charter" shall mean this
Charter and any amendments to it which may hereafter be adopted.
(b)Â
Days - The word "days," unless otherwise specified
herein, shall mean all calendar days. The term "business days" shall
mean any day that the Town Hall is open for its normally scheduled
hours. For purposes of computing any period of time prescribed or
allowed by this Charter, the first day of the period shall be the
day following the one in which the act, event, or default occurred,
and the last day shall be the date on which the period ends, or, if
the period ends on a day on which the Town Hall is closed, the first
business day following.
(c)Â
Emergency - The word "emergency" shall mean
a sudden, unexpected, unforeseen happening, occurrence, event or condition
which necessitates immediate action.
(d)Â
general laws - The words "general laws" (all
lowercase letters) shall mean laws which apply alike to all cities
and towns, to all towns, or to a class of municipalities of which
Norton is a member.
(e)Â
General Laws - The words "General Laws" (used
with initial capital letters) shall refer to the General Laws of Massachusetts,
a codification and revision of statutes enacted on December 22, 1920,
and including all amendments thereto subsequently adopted.
(f)Â
Local Newspaper - The words "local newspaper"
shall mean a daily or weekly newspaper with a total circulation of
at least 1,000 copies in the Town of Norton.
(g)Â
Majority Vote - The words "majority vote,"
unless otherwise required by law or this Charter, shall mean a majority
of those members of a multiple-member body present and voting, provided
that a quorum is present. Those abstaining or voting "present" shall
not be counted as voting, although they shall be counted for purposes
of determining a quorum.
(h)Â
Multiple-Member Body - The words "multiple-member
body" shall mean any Town body consisting of two or more persons,
whether styled as a board, commission, committee, subcommittee, or
otherwise, and however elected or appointed or otherwise constituted.
(i)Â
Quorum - The word "quorum," unless otherwise
required by law or this Charter, shall mean a majority of the members
of a multiple-member body then in office, not including any vacancies
which might then exist.
(j)Â
Town - The word "Town" shall mean the Town
of Norton.
(k)Â
Town Agency - The words "Town agency" shall
mean any board, commission, committee, department, division or office
of the Town government.
(l)Â
Town Bulletin Boards - The words "Town bulletin
boards" shall mean the bulletin board in the Town Hall on which official
Town notices are posted, and those at other locations, either physical
or electronic, which may from time to time be designated as Town bulletin
boards by bylaw, by vote of the Select Board, or as otherwise required
or permitted by law.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3]
(m)Â
Town Officer or Town Official - The words
"Town officer" or "Town official," when used without further qualification
or description, shall mean a person having charge of an office or
department of the Town who in the exercise of the powers or duties
of that position exercises some portion of the sovereign power of
the Town.
(n)Â
Voters - The word "voters" shall mean registered
voters of the Town of Norton.
