HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5221        FILED ON: 10/26/2018

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4948

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Denise C. Garlick and Michael F. Rush

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act amending the charter of the town of Needham.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5221        FILED ON: 10/26/2018

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4948

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act amending the charter of the town of Needham.

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. The charter of the town of Needham, which is on file in the office of the archivist of the commonwealth as provided in section 12 of chapter 43B of the General Laws, is hereby amended by striking out the words “board of selectmen”, each time they appear, and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- select board.

SECTION 2. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out the word “selectmen”, each time it appears not preceded by the words “board of”, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- select board.

SECTION  3.  Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 7 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 7. Town Meeting Members at Large.  Any representative town meeting held under the provisions of  this act, except as otherwise provided herein, shall be limited to the voters elected under section six, together with the following elected officers designated as town meeting members at large, each of whom shall have the right to vote in said meeting: (a) any resident member of the general court from the town, whose state legislative district is wholly within the town; (b) the moderator; (c) the town clerk; (d) the members of the select board; (e) the chair of each other elected board of the town, except the housing authority and the commissioners of trust funds.

If any voter elected to be a town meeting member under section six shall become by election one of the officers designated as a town meeting member at large in clauses (a), (b), (c), or (d) of the first paragraph of this section, he shall, upon such election, cease to be a town meeting member elected under section six, and the resulting vacancy in the representation of his precinct shall be filled as provided in section nine. A voter may serve at the same time both as a town meeting member upon election as such under section six and as an officer designated as a town meeting member at large under clause (e) of the first paragraph of this section, but he shall be entitled to vote in proceedings of the town meeting as a single member and shall not be entitled to vote twice by reason of his dual tenure of offices. The designation as a town meeting member at large under clause (e) of the first paragraph of this section shall apply to the chair of the elected board as of the tenth day following the annual town election.

SECTION 4.  Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 16 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 16. Select Board.  There shall be a select board for the town consisting of 5 members elected at each annual town election for terms of 3 years.  The select board is the entity historically known as the board of selectmen, and possesses all the duties, authorities, and legal rights and responsibilities of the Town of Needham’s board of selectmen. The select board shall continue to have and exercise all the powers and duties vested in boards of selectmen by the laws of the commonwealth or by vote of the town, except as otherwise provided herein. For the purposes of the charter and the by-laws of the town, the term “selectmen” or ”board of selectmen” shall mean select board.

Members of the select board may be addressed as “select board member,” or “board member,” “selectwoman,” or “selectman.”

The select board shall have the general authority to execute the civil defense laws within the town and to make any declaration of emergency required by law.

SECTION 5. Section 19 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “Three members of the board of health for a term of three years” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- 5 members of the board of health for a term of three years.

SECTION 6. Section 20C of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “board of selectmen’s” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- select board’s.

SECTION 7.  At the annual town election in 2019 the two additional positions on the board of health shall be placed on the ballot. The candidate receiving the most votes shall be elected for a term of 3 years. The candidate receiving the second most votes shall be elected for a term of 2 years. Thereafter each position shall be for a term of 3 years.

SECTION 8. This act shall take effect upon its passage.