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. Notwithstanding section 1B of chapter 41 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the board of selectmen of the town of Kingston shall appoint a treasurer-collector for a term not to exceed 3 years, subject to section 2 of this act.

SECTION 2. The first holder of the combined office shall be the incumbent town collector on the date this act is accepted by the voters, who shall hold the combined office beginning July 1, 2002 through the remainder of his unexpired term or a precedent vacating of office. The term of office of the incumbent town treasurer shall cease and terminate upon the appointment of a treasurer-collector in accordance with this act, or upon a vacating of office at any time after the acceptance of this act and prior to the appointment of a treasurer-collector. The term of the incumbent town collector shall terminate upon appointment of a town treasurer-collector in accordance with this act.

SECTION 3. The treasurer-collector shall have all the powers and duties vested in the office of treasurer and the office of collector. A vacancy in the office of treasurer-collector shall be filled in a like manner for the unexpired term.

SECTION 4. This act shall be submitted to the voters of the town of Kingston in the form of the following question which shall be placed on the ballot for the annual town election to be held in the year 2002:

"Shall an act passed by the general court in the year 2001, entitled 'An Act relative to the position of treasurer-collector in the town of Kingston', be accepted?"

If a majority of the votes cast in answer to the question is in the affirmative, sections 1, 2 and 3 of this act shall take effect, but not otherwise.

SECTION 5. Section 4 of this act shall take effect upon its passage.