[Adopted as Art. I, § 3, of the 1988 General Bylaws]
All elected officers and members of boards and committees shall
be registered voters of the Town and shall, before entering into that
position, be sworn in by the Town Clerk.
Unless otherwise specified in these bylaws, officers and members
of boards and committees shall receive no compensation.
All officers and members of boards and committees shall continue
to hold office until their successors are installed.
Persons who resign from Town offices, boards, or committees
shall submit formal notification of their resignation to the Town
Clerk, as well as to the chairman of the board or committee from which
they are resigning.
Vacancies in office shall be filled for the remainder of an
unexpired term in the following manner:
A.
All officers
of the Town at the expiration of their term of office shall deliver
to their successors all books, papers, documents and other properties
in their custody belonging to the Town.
B.
All books,
papers, and documents belonging to the Town and not necessary for
the immediate use of any department shall be placed in the custody
of the Town Clerk and deposited in the Town vault.
Unless otherwise provided by vote of the Town, by law, or in
these bylaws, all committees shall be appointed by the Moderator or
other appointing authority as soon as possible after the passage of
the vote creating the committee. If a committee is chosen by nominations
from the floor of the Town Meeting, no person shall nominate more
than one member of such committee.
Appointments of successors to standing committees shall be made
within 30 days after the Annual Town Meeting, unless otherwise provided
by law or these bylaws.
Unless otherwise provided, the first-named member of a committee
shall immediately call all members of the committee together for the
purpose of organization. Each committee shall thereafter proceed with
its duties and report to the Town as promptly as possible, and, unless
it is discharged, it shall make a report at the next Annual Town Meeting.
The members of a committee which fails to make a report at such Annual
Town Meeting shall by such failure be held to have resigned, and without
further action or vote new members shall be appointed by the original
appointing authority unless other action is taken by express vote
of the Meeting.
[Amended 4-30-2018 ATM
by Art. 18]
All committees responsible for any matter requiring a public
hearing shall give proper public notice, stating the time, place,
and purpose of such hearing, in accordance with MGL c. 30A, §§ 18
to 25.
A.
A vote
to accept the report of a committee, except a report of progress,
shall, unless otherwise provided, discharge the committee, but it
shall not operate as an adoption of the recommendations of such report
without an express vote duly passed to that effect.
B.
All reports
of committees, except reports of progress, shall be in writing and
shall be permanently filed with the Town Clerk, and if the Selectmen
so require or the Town so votes, the report of any committee shall
be published as a part of the next Annual Town Report.
A majority of the members of a committee shall constitute a
quorum, and unless otherwise provided by law, governing instrument,
or these bylaws, a majority vote of those members constituting a quorum
shall prevail.
Each board, commission, or committee shall annually elect a
chairman from its membership.
Each board, commission, or committee shall keep records of its
meetings and other proceedings sufficient to ensure continuity in
its operation from year to year.
Each Town officer, each head of a Town department, committee,
or board, and any individual having charge or custody of any real
or personal property belonging to or under the control of the Town
shall annually by January 10 file with the Board of Selectmen and
the Town Accountant an itemized inventory of such property, both real
and personal, under his control. This report shall include a description
of the property and an appraisal of its replacement value, and shall
be true, accurate, and complete as of the close of business on December
31 of the preceding year. Each office, or head of a Town department,
committee, or board, shall, upon the purchase or acquisition of any
property, render a statement in writing to the Selectmen and the Town
Accountant fully describing the property, with the replacement value
thereof.
The reports of all officers, boards, or committees which are
to be printed in the Annual Report shall be delivered to the Selectmen
at least 60 days before the date of the Annual Town Meeting.
Unless otherwise provided by statute or these bylaws, all fees,
fines or other money collected in the name of or on behalf of the
Town by any Town officer, board, or committee shall be turned over
to the Treasurer-Collector.
[Amended 4-30-2018 ATM
by Art. 18]
All boards, commissions, or committees shall comply with MGL
c. 30A, §§ 18 to 25, concerning notice of meetings
and conduct of proceedings.
Any individual, group of individuals, or board which has the
authority under this bylaw or under state law to appoint members to
boards, commissions, or committees shall, when making any such appointment,
notify each appointee in writing of the board, commission, or committee
to which he has been appointed, the inception date of his term of
office, and the termination date of his term of office, and unless
otherwise provided by state law, the termination date shall be June
30.
A majority of the members of an appointed committee present
at a duly constituted meeting of the committee may vote to petition
in writing the Board of Selectmen or other appointing authority to
remove a member who is absent from four consecutive meetings of the
committee without the permission of its chairman. The Board of Selectmen
or other appointing authority shall have the authority to remove an
appointed committee member who has been so absent, shall act on the
petition within 15 days of its receipt and shall forthwith notify
the chairman of the petitioning committee, the committee member who
is the subject of the petition, and the Town Clerk of its action.
