(a) 
Annual and special elections. The Annual Town Election for the election of Town officials and for the consideration of such questions as may be appropriate shall be held in April on a date fixed by bylaw. The Select Board may also call special elections at such times as the Board deems necessary or desirable, in the manner provided by law.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3]
(b) 
Elective Town offices. The Town offices to be filled by the voters shall be a Select Board, a School Committee, a Board of Assessors, a Planning Board, and a Town Moderator.
[Amended 1-25-2016 STM by Art. 2; 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3; 6-7-2022 ATM by Art. 15]
(c) 
Other offices filled at Town elections. In addition to the Town offices enumerated above, members of a housing authority and such other officers or representatives to regional authorities or districts as may be established by law or by interlocal agreement may also be filled by ballot at Town elections.
(d) 
Eligibility. Unless specifically prohibited by this Charter, any voter shall be eligible to hold any elective Town office; provided, however, no person shall simultaneously hold more than one elected Town office as defined in Section 3-1(b), nor shall any person holding a position as a Norton Town official or Town officer simultaneously serve as an elected member of the Select Board or the Planning Board.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3]
(e) 
Coordination. Notwithstanding their election by the voters, the Town officers named in this section shall be required to meet with the Select Board and/or Town Manager at the request of same, at any reasonable time, for consultation and discussion on any matter relating to their respective offices.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3]
(f) 
Filling of vacancies.
[Amended 1-25-2016 STM by Art. 2; 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3]
(1) 
Multiple-member body. If there is a vacancy in a board consisting of two or more members, other than the Select Board and unless under the terms of a will or other trust some other provision is made, the remaining members shall forthwith give written notice of the existence of any such vacancy to the Select Board. After one week's notice of the date on which the vote shall be taken, the Select Board, with the remaining members or member of such board, shall fill such vacancy by a joint vote. If such notice is not given within 30 days following the date on which said vacancy occurs, the Select Board shall, after one week's notice, fill such vacancy without participation by the remaining members of the multiple-member body.
(2) 
Select Board. If there is a failure to elect or if a vacancy occurs in the office of Select Board Member, the remaining Select Board Members may call a special election to fill the vacancy and shall call such special election upon the request in writing of 200 voters.
(g) 
Recall of elected officials.
(1) 
Who can be recalled. Any holder of an elective Town office, as defined in Section 3-1(b), who has been in office for at least six months and has more than six months remaining of the term for which elected, may be recalled therefrom by the voters as herein provided.
(2) 
Recall petition. Any 100 voters may file with the Town Clerk an affidavit bearing the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for recall. The Town Clerk shall review the affidavit and provide for certification of the signatures thereon within three business days after the receipt. If the affidavit contains at least the required number of certified signatures, the Town Clerk shall make available to the persons submitting copies of petition blanks demanding such recall, printed forms of which shall be kept available. When issued, the blanks shall contain the signature and Official Seal of the Town Clerk. They shall be dated, shall be addressed to the Select Board and shall contain the names of the 10 persons first named on the said affidavit, as specified by the person submitting the same, the name of the person whose recall is sought, the grounds for 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 Town Clerk. The recall petition shall be returned and filed with the Town Clerk within 30 days after the filing of the affidavit and shall have been signed by at least 15% of the total number of persons registered to vote in Norton as of the date of the most recent Town election, not more than 50% of which shall be voters in any one precinct into which the Town is divided. In signing such petitions, voters shall add to their signatures the street and number, if any, of their residences.
The Town Clerk shall submit the petition to the Registrars of Voters in the Town by the end of the business day following the day on which the petition was received in the Town Clerk's office. The Registrars shall forthwith, but in no event in more than five business days, certify thereon the number of signatures that are the names of voters. If the petition shall be found and certified by the Registrars of Voters to be sufficient, they shall submit the petition with their certificate to the Select Board by the end of the business day following the one on which the petition was certified.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3]
(3) 
Select Board's action on receiving petition. Upon receipt of a certified petition from the Registrars of Voters, the Select Board shall meet forthwith, in compliance with the Open Meeting Law, and cause written notice of the receipt of the certificate to be delivered to the officer sought to be recalled or to the address of said officer as shown on the list of registered voters. Should the Select Board fail to take action within 10 business days of its receipt of a certified petition, the Town Clerk shall immediately notify the officer named on the petition in the prescribed manner. If the officer does not resign, in writing, within five days thereafter, the Select Board shall forthwith order an election to be held on a date fixed by it not less than 64 days nor more than 75 days after the date the election is called, provided said date meets all requirements of state election laws. However, if any other Town election is to occur within 100 days after the date the election is called, 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 nevertheless proceed as provided in this section.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3]
(4) 
Nomination of candidates. An officer whose recall is sought may not be a candidate to succeed to the office at the same election at which the question relating to the recall appears on the ballot. The nomination of other candidates, the publication of the warrant for the recall election, and the conduct of the same, shall all be in accordance with the provisions of law relating to elections, unless otherwise provided in this section.
(5) 
Incumbent holds office until election. The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the office until the recall election. If not then recalled, such person shall continue in office for the remainder of the unexpired term, subject to recall as before, except as provided in this section. If recalled, such person shall be deemed removed. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes upon qualification shall serve for the balance of the unexpired term. If the successor fails to be sworn into office within 10 business days after receiving notification of election, the office shall be deemed to be vacant and shall be filled in the manner provided in Section 3-1(f), above.
(6) 
Propositions on ballot. Ballots used in a recall election shall submit the following propositions in the order indicated:
For the recall of (name of officer)
Against the recall of (name of officer)
The voter may vote for either of the said propositions. Under the proposition shall appear the word "candidates" and beneath this the names of candidates nominated as hereinbefore provided, arranged alphabetically by surname. If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of recall is in the affirmative, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. If a majority of votes on the question is in the negative, the ballots for candidates need not be counted.
(7) 
Repeat of recall petition. In the case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not recalled thereby, no recall petition may again be filed until at least six months after the election at which the recall was submitted to the voters.
(8) 
Appointment of person recalled. No person who has been recalled from an office, or who has resigned from office following the filing of a recall petition under Section 3-1(g)(2), shall be appointed to any Town office within two years after such recall or such resignation.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 3]
(a) 
Composition, term of office. There shall be a Select Board consisting of five members elected for terms of three years each, so arranged that the term of office of as nearly an equal number of members as is possible shall expire each year.
(b) 
Powers and duties in general. The executive powers of the Town shall be vested in the Select Board which shall be deemed to be the chief executive office of the Town. The Select Board shall have all of the executive powers it is possible for a select board to have and to exercise. The Select Board shall serve as the chief policy-making agency of the Town. The Select Board shall be responsible for the formulation and promulgation of policy directives and guidelines to be followed by all Town agencies serving under it and, in conjunction with other elected Town officers and multiple-member bodies, to develop and promulgate policy guidelines designed to bring all Town agencies into harmony; provided, however, nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize any member of the Select Board, or a majority of such members, to become involved in the day-to-day administration of any Town agency. It is the intention of this provision that the Select Board shall act only through the adoption of broad policy guidelines which are to be implemented by officers and employees serving under it.
(c) 
Licensing authority. The Select Board shall be a licensing board for the Town and shall have the power to issue licenses as otherwise authorized by law, to make all necessary rules and regulations regarding the issuance of such licenses, to attach conditions and to impose restrictions on any such license as it may issue as it deems to be in the public interest, and to enforce all laws relating to all businesses for which it issues any license.
(d) 
Appointments. The Select Board shall have appointment authority for:
[Amended 10-21-2019 FTM by Art. 4; 6-7-2022 ATM by Art. 15]
a Town Manager
a Town Counsel
a Town Accountant
a Board of Health
a Conservation Commission
a Board of Registrars of Voters and other election officers
a Zoning Board of Appeals
a Council on Aging
an Economic Development Commission
a Commission on Disability
a Cable Television Committee
Constables
an Emergency Response Coordinator
a Regional Emergency Planning Committee
a Cultural Council
an Historic District Commission
a Norton Historical Commission
a Cemetery Commission
a Solid Waste Advisory Committee
a Parks and Recreation Committee
a Water and Sewer Commission
The Select Board shall also appoint, unless otherwise specified in this Charter, members of multiple-member bodies the functions of which do not involve direct operating responsibilities but are primarily policy-making or advisory in nature, and other individuals who are to serve as representatives of the Town to the governing or advisory bodies of area, regional or district authorities.
(e) 
Investigations. The Select Board may investigate the affairs of the Town and the conduct of any Town agency, including any doubtful claims against the Town. The report of the results of such investigation shall be placed on file in the office of the Select Board. A summary of such report, which summary shall include only matters that would otherwise be considered subject to mandatory disclosure under the Public Records Law, shall be placed on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
(a) 
Composition, term of office. There shall be a School Committee consisting 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 School Committee shall have all of the powers and duties which are given to school committees by general laws and it shall have such additional powers and duties as may be authorized by the Charter, by bylaw, or by other Town Meeting vote. The powers of the School Committee shall include, but are not intended to be limited to, the following:
(i) 
To select, appoint and terminate a Superintendent of Schools;
(ii) 
To make all reasonable rules and regulations consistent with law for the administration and management of the public school system and for the conduct of its own business and affairs;
(iii) 
To review and approve budgets for the public education with the school district;
(iv) 
To negotiate all contracts involving employees of the School Department.
(a) 
Composition, term of office. There shall be a Board of Assessors consisting of three members elected for terms of three years each, so arranged that the term of office of one member shall expire each year.
(b) 
Powers and duties. The Board of Assessors shall annually make a fair cash valuation of all the estate, real and personal, subject to taxation within the Town. It shall determine, based on such valuations and such sums as may be authorized to be expended by Town Meeting and consideration of other income and expenses of the Town, annually, the rate of taxation to apply against property in the Town. The Board of Assessors shall have such other powers and duties which are given to boards of assessors by general law, by this Charter, by Town bylaw or by other vote of the Town Meeting.
(a) 
Term of office. There shall be a Town Moderator elected for a term of three years.
(b) 
Powers and duties. The Town Moderator shall be the presiding officer of the Town Meeting, as provided in Section 2-2, regulate its proceedings and perform such other duties as may be provided by general law, by Charter, by bylaw or by other Town Meeting vote.
The Moderator shall appoint the Finance Committee, all other standing committees of the Town Meeting, and all committees authorized by the Town Meeting for a primarily legislative purpose.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Sec. 3-5, Town Clerk, was repealed 1-25-2016 STM by Art. 2, which article also renumbered former Secs. 3-6 through 3-9 as Secs. 3-5 through 3-8, respectively.
(a) 
Composition, term of office. There shall be a Planning Board consisting of seven members who shall be 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 Planning Board shall make careful studies of the resources, possibilities and needs of the Town and shall make plans for the development of the Town. The Planning Board shall make a comprehensive or master plan, setting forth in graphic and textual form policies to govern the future growth and development of the entire Town. The Planning Board shall have the power to regulate the subdivision of land within the Town by the adoption of rules and regulations governing such development and the administration of such rules and regulations. The Planning Board shall make recommendations to the Town Meeting on all matters affecting land use and development, including the Zoning Bylaw of the Town.[1]
The Planning Board shall make an annual report, giving information regarding the condition of the Town and any plans or proposals for its development and estimates of their costs. The Planning Board shall have all of the other powers and duties planning boards are given by general law, by this Charter, by bylaw or by other vote of the Town Meeting.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 175, Zoning.
(a) 
Composition, term of office. There shall be a Housing Authority which shall consist of five members serving for terms of five years each, so arranged that the term of one member shall expire each year. Four of these members shall be elected by the voters and the fifth member shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Community Development of the Commonwealth (or as may otherwise be provided by law).
(b) 
Powers and duties. The Housing Authority shall make studies of the housing needs of the community and shall provide programs to make available housing for families of low income and for elderly persons of low income. The Housing Authority shall have such other powers and duties as are assigned to housing authorities by general law.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 3-7, Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners, was repealed 6-7-2022 ATM by Art. 15. This article also redesignated former Section 3-8 as Section 3-7.