Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. There is hereby established in the town of Upton a department of public works, hereinafter called the department, which shall be under the supervision and control of a director of public works, hereinafter called the director. The board of selectmen shall appoint and remove the director when in their judgment the public interest so requires, and shall fix the compensation of the director, subject to available appropriations.

The director shall be specially fitted by education, training and experience to perform the duties of his office. His term of office shall be determined by the board of selectmen and he shall serve at the pleasure of the board of selectmen and shall not be subject to the provisions of section nine A of chapter thirty or chapter thirty-one of the General Laws. During his tenure he shall hold no elective office nor shall he engage in any other business or occupation. The director may appoint and remove such employees as the exercise and performance of his powers, rights, and duties may require, subject to available appropriations and the approval of the board of selectmen.

The director shall establish within the department the following divisions: engineering, highway, sanitation, water/sewer, town-owned buildings except school buildings, and a division of cemeteries, conservation, parks and forestry.

SECTION 2. Except as herein provided, the following offices, boards and commissions, to wit: road commissioner, superintendent of water and sewer, tree warden, cemetery commission, parks and recreation commission, and board of water and sewer commissioners, are hereby abolished, and all powers and duties vested by general law or by-law in said offices, boards and commissions are hereby transferred to the department of public works established by section one. No existing contract or liability shall be affected by such abolition, and the department shall in all respects be the lawful successor to the offices, boards and commissions so abolished.

The department shall be responsible for the repair and maintenance of all town-owned buildings except school buildings and shall provide engineering service to all town officers, boards and commissions.

All persons employed by or under the supervision of the offices, boards, and commissions abolished by this act shall upon the effective date of this act be transferred to the department. All such transfers of employees shall be made without loss of pay, and without change of rating, seniority, retirement or pension rights, or any other privileges under any provision of law or by-law.

SECTION 3. The selectmen may establish an advisory board to the department and may at any time thereafter abolish the same. Said advisory board shall consist of three members. The compensation, if any, of members of said advisory board shall be such as the board of selectmen may from time to time determine, subject to available appropriations.

SECTION 4. The parks and recreation commission shall become the recreation commission and shall continue to have and exercise all of the powers which it presently possesses with respect to the scheduling and operation of recreation programs. Responsibility for repair and maintenance of parks and recreation facilities is transferred to the department pursuant to section two.

SECTION 5. The cemetery commissioners shall continue to determine eligibility, and the rates to be charged, for burial in the town cemeteries, and to supervise the investment and expenditure of the cemetery funds now existing or hereafter paid for the purchase of cemetery lots and maintenance agreements.