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. Section 2 of chapter 438 of the acts of 1896 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 7, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 2. Said section 2 of said chapter 438 is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 8, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- councilors.

SECTION 3. Section 3 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 6, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 4. Section 4 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 5. Said chapter 438 is hereby further amended by striking out section 6 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 6. At such municipal election the qualified voters shall give in their votes by ballot for mayor, city clerk, city treasurer, members of the city council and of the school committee, or of such of them as are to be elected, and the person receiving the highest number of votes for any office shall be deemed and declared to be elected to such office, and whenever two or more persons are to be elected to the same office the several persons, up to the number required to be chosen, receiving the highest number of votes shall be deemed and declared to be elected. If it shall appear that there is no choice of a mayor, or if the person elected mayor shall refuse to accept the office, or shall die before qualifying, or if a vacancy in said office shall occur more than six months previous to the expiration of the municipal year, the city council shall forthwith call meetings for a new election, and the same proceedings shall be had in all respects as hereinbefore provided for the election of a mayor, and shall be repeated until the election of a mayor is completed. If the full number of members of the city council has not been elected, or if a vacancy in the office of councilor shall occur more than six months previous to the expiration of the municipal year, the city council may forthwith elect a person to fill such vacancy until the next municipal election. In case a vacancy in the office of mayor shall occur within the six months previous to the expiration of the municipal year the city council may in its discretion call meetings for the holding of a new election as aforesaid to fill such vacancy. In case of a vacancy in the office of city clerk or city treasurer the city council shall elect a city clerk or city treasurer to fill such vacancy until the next municipal year; and in case of any disability in the city clerk or in the city treasurer to perform the duties required by this act or by law the city council shall elect a city clerk or city treasurer pro tempore. In each of such cases the city clerk or city treasurer shall be sworn and shall perform such duties.

SECTION 6. Section 7 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 7. Section 8 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 6, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 8. Said chapter 438 is hereby further amended by striking out section 9 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 9. The city council shall be composed of fifteen members, one councilor from each ward and eight from the city at large. At the biennial municipal election to be held in the year nineteen hundred and sixty-three and at every biennial municipal election thereafter, the voters of the city at large shall elect eight councilors at large and the voters of each ward shall elect one councilor who shall be a resident therein. The councilors so elected shall hold office for terms of two years beginning with the first Monday in January following their election and until their successors shall be elected and qualified.

SECTION 9. Section 10 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- councilor.

SECTION 10. Said section 10 of said chapter 438 is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 7, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 11. Said chapter 438 is hereby further amended by striking out section 11 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 11. After the oath has been administered to the councilors present they shall be called to order by the city clerk, or in the case of the absence of the city clerk by the oldest senior member present. The city council shall then proceed to elect by ballot one of their own number president of the council. If no quorum is present an adjournment shall be taken to a later hour or to the next day, and thereafter the same proceedings shall be had from day to day until a quorum shall be present. If any person receives the votes of a majority of all the members of the council such person shall be declared chosen president thereof. If on the first day on which a quorum is present no person receives the votes of such majority they shall proceed to ballot until some person receives the votes of such majority or an adjournment to the succeeding day is taken. And on such succeeding day the plurality of those voting shall be sufficient for an election. No other business shall be in order until a president is chosen. The president shall be sworn by the city clerk, or in case of the absence of such clerk by any justice of the peace. The president may be removed from the presidency of the city council by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the members thereof, taken by roll call. The president of the council shall have the same right to vote as any other member thereof.

SECTION 12. Section 12 of said chapter 438, as most recently amended by chapter 187 of the acts of 1965, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 1 and 2, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 13. Said section 12 of said chapter 438 is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 6, the word "board" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- council.

SECTION 14. Said chapter 438 is hereby further amended by striking out sections 13, 14, and 15 and inserting in place thereof the following three sections:-

Section 13. The city council shall determine the rules of its own proceedings and shall be judge of the election and qualifications of its own members. In case of the absence of the president the council shall choose a president pro tempore, and a plurality of the votes cast shall be sufficient for a choice. The council shall sit with open doors, whether in session as a city council or as a committee of the whole, and shall cause a journal of its proceedings to be kept, which journal shall be open to public inspection. The vote of the council upon any question shall be taken by roll call when the same is requested by at least three members. A majority of the members of the council shall be required to constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day. The council shall, so far as is not inconsistent with this act, have and exercise all the legislative powers of towns and of the inhabitants thereof, and shall have and exercise all the powers now vested by law in the city of Holyoke and in the inhabitants thereof, as a municipal corporation, and be subject to all the liabilities of city councils, and of either branch thereof, under the General Laws, and it may by ordinance prescribe the manner in which such powers shall be exercised.

Section 14. Neither the city council nor any member or committee thereof shall directly or indirectly take part in the employment of labor, the making of contracts, the purchasing of materials or supplies, the construction, alteration or repairs of any public works, buildings or other property, or the care, custody or management of the same; or in the conduct of any of the executive or administrative business of the city, or in the expenditure of public money, except as herein otherwise provided and except such as may be necessary for the contingent and incidental expenses of the city council; nor in the appointment or removal of any officers except as is herein otherwise provided. But nothing in this section contained shall affect the powers or duties of the council in relation to city aid to disabled soldiers and sailors and to the families of those killed in the civil war.

Section 15. The city council shall annually in the month of January elect by ballot a city messenger, who shall hold his office for the term of one year beginning with the first Monday in February in the year of his election and until his successor is elected and qualified, unless sooner removed. Said city council shall also in the month of January in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, and in the month of January in every third year thereafter, elect by ballot a collector of taxes, who shall hold his office for the term of three years beginning with the first Monday in February in the year of his election and until his successor is elected and qualified, unless sooner removed. Said city council shall also annually in the month of January elect by ballot one assessor of taxes and one water commissioner, each of whom shall hold his office for the term of three years beginning with the first Monday in February in the year of his election and until his successor is elected and qualified unless sooner removed. Any of said officers may be removed at any time by the city council for sufficient cause. The present assessors of taxes and the water commissioners shall continue to hold their respective offices, unless sooner removed, for the term of two years from the first Monday in February in the year following their election; provided, however, that the water commissioner elected in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-six to fill a vacancy shall continue to hold his office, unless sooner removed, until the first Monday in February in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-seven. Vacancies in city offices, where no other provision is made for filling the same, shall be filled by the election or appointment of a successor in the same manner as the previous incumbent was elected or appointed, and the person elected or appointed to fill the vacancy shall hold his office for the remainder of the term during which his predecessor would have been entitled to hold the same.

SECTION 15. Section 16 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 16. Section 17 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 17. Section 18 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1 and 6, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 18. Section 19 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1 and 5, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 19. Section 20 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 20. Section 21 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 21. Section 22 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1, 10, 17, 22 and 23, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 22. Said chapter 438 is hereby further amended by striking out section 23 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 23. No member of the city council shall, during the term for which he is elected, hold any other office in or under the city government, have the expenditure of any money appropriated by the city council, or act as counsel in any matter before the city council or any committee thereof; and no person shall be eligible for appointment to any municipal office established by the city council during any municipal year within which he was a councilor, until the expiration of the succeeding municipal year.

SECTION 23. Section 24 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2, 7 and 10, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 24. Section 27 of said chapter 438 of the acts of 1896 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 12, 13, 15, 20, 21, 24 and 29, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 25. Section 28 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 7, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 26. The first sentence of section 30 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 3 and 4, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 27. Section 32 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 9 and 17, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 28. Section 33 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 6, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 29. Section 34 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 6, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 30. Said chapter 438 is hereby further amended by striking out section 35 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 35. The city clerk shall have charge of all journals, records, papers and documents of the city, and do such other acts in his said capacity as the city council may require of him. He shall be the clerk of the city council and shall keep a journal of all votes and proceedings. He shall engross all the ordinances passed by the city council in a book provided for that purpose, and shall add proper indexes; which book shall be deemed a public record of such ordinances. He shall perform such other duties as are required by law or shall be prescribed by the city council.

SECTION 31. Section 36 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 6, 17 and 19, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 32. Section 37 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 12 and 13, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 33. Section 38 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 9 and 11, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 34. Section 39 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 4 and 8, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 35. Section 40 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 16, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 36. Section 41 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 16 and 17, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 37. Section 42 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 4 and 5, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 38. Section 43 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 39. Section 47 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 6, 8 and 10, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 40. Section 48 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 41. Section 49 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 5 and 9, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 42. Section 50 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 8, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 43. Section 53 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city councilors.

SECTION 44. Section 54 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 45. Section 56 of said chapter 438 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 22, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 46. Section 1 of chapter 355 of the acts of 1912 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the word "alderman" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- councilor.

SECTION 47. The first paragraph of section 3 of chapter 608 of the acts of 1913, as amended by section 1 of chapter 370 of the acts of 1941, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 14, the word "alderman" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- councilor.

SECTION 48. Section 1 of chapter 141 of the acts of 1935 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- members of the city council.

SECTION 49. Section 2 of said chapter 141 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- members of the city council,- and by striking out, in line 7, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- councilors.

SECTION 50. Section 5 of said chapter 141 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 51. Said section 5 of said chapter 141 is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 4, 5 and 6, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 52. Said section 5 of said chapter 141 is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 8, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 53. Section 1 of chapter 327 of the acts of 1936, as amended by chapter 37 of the acts of 1946, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 3, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- councilors.

SECTION 54. Section 2 of said chapter 327 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- councilor.

SECTION 55. Said section 2 of said chapter 327 is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 6 and 7, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- councilors.

SECTION 56. Said chapter 327 is hereby further amended by striking out section 5 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 5. If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor before the last three months of the term of office, the city council shall order an election to fill the same for the unexpired term. If a vacancy occurs in the city council before the last six months of the term of office, the remaining members of the city council shall fill the same for the unexpired term. If a vacancy occurs in the office of city clerk or city treasurer, the city council shall fill the same until the first Monday in January following the next regular municipal election, and if there would be a vacancy on said first Monday, it shall be filled at such regular municipal election for the unexpired term.

SECTION 57. Section 9 of chapter 390 of the acts of 1941 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the word "alderman" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- councilor.

SECTION 58. Section 1 of chapter 566 of the acts of 1953 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 59. Said section 1 of said chapter 566 is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 6, 8 and 11, each time it appears, the word "aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following word:- councilors.

SECTION 60. Said section 1 of said chapter 566 is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 7, the word "alderman" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- councilor.

SECTION 61. Section 3 of said chapter 566 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 7 and 8, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 62. Section 1 of chapter 421 of the acts of 1956 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1 and 3, each time they appear, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- city council.

SECTION 63. Section 1 of chapter 104 of the acts of 1958 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 5, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 64. Section 2 of said chapter 104 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 65. Section 4 of said chapter 104 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the words "board of aldermen" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- city council.

SECTION 66. In addition to the foregoing, wherever, in any general or special law existing prior to the effective date of this act, there is used the words or phrases "aldermen" or "board of aldermen", such words and phrases shall, in so far as they relate to the city of Holyoke, unless the context otherwise requires, mean "councilor" or "city council".