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 shall be established in the town of Chelmsford a department of public works, hereinafter called the department, which shall be under the jurisdiction of the board of selectmen.

The department shall have all of the powers and duties now vested in or exercised by any of the following departments or offices, which shall be renamed divisions and included within the department of public works: highway, engineering, recreation, public buildings, park and tree warden. There shall also be a sewer division which shall operate each sewer line, or sewer system at the time that the sewer line or sewer system is completed and becomes operational. The present sewer commission shall continue in existence and shall supervise, manage and control the construction of sewer lines within the town of Chelmsford. On January first, two thousand and five, said sewer commission shall be dissolved and all functions, assets and indebtedness shall be included in the sewer division of the department of public works. Upon dissolution of the Chelmsford industrial sewer district, pursuant to section nineteen of chapter four hundred and twenty of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-five, its functions, assets and indebtedness shall be included in the sewer division of the department of public works. The town may, by by-law, add, abolish, rename or combine divisions, and their functions within the department. No contracts, obligations or liabilities in force on the effective date of this act, or on the date on which a present department or commission is included within the department, shall be affected hereby, but the department shall in all respects be the lawful successor of the agencies included as divisions within said department.

SECTION 2. The board of selectmen shall appoint a director of public works whose qualifications, powers and duties shall be determined by said board, and who shall be responsible to said board. The director shall have full authority over the operations of the department and in the implementation of the policies established by said board. The director shall appoint and remove such staff assistants and employees as he deems necessary, subject to available appropriations and subject to the approval of said board. Such staff may include a supervisor for each division. The director shall hold office subject to the will of said board. Said director shall not be subject to the provisions of section nine A of chapter thirty, or chapter thirty-one of the General Laws.

SECTION 3. The board of selectmen shall be responsible for providing job descriptions for all employees of the department.

SECTION 4. The position of tree warden shall be appointed by the director of the department as the supervisor of the division of tree warden. The position of tree warden may be abolished, or its function combined with another division of the department by by-law.

SECTION 5. The park commission is hereby abolished and its functions shall be performed by the park division of the department as set forth in section one. There shall be an advisory public grounds committee, comprised of seven individuals, appointed by the board of selectmen for three year, staggered terms. Initially, the committee shall be comprised of two of the three current members of the park commission, two members of the playground and recreation commission, one member of the cemetery commission, one representative of the school department and one member of the public. The town may, by by-law, specify the qualifications of all subsequent members of the advisory public grounds committee. Staffing for the advisory committee shall be provided by the director of public works and the superintendent of parks.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon its acceptance by the town.