SECTION 1. The charter of the city of Amesbury, 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, in the title, the word “City” and inserting in place thereof the word:- Home Rule.

SECTION 2. The title of part one of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “PART” and inserting in place thereof the word:- ARTICLE.

SECTION 3. The first sentence of subsection 2 of section 1 of said part I of said charter is hereby amended by inserting prior to the words “Amesbury Home Rule Charter” the following words:- City of.

SECTION 4. The second sentence of subsection 3 of section 1 of said part I of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “municipal” and inserting in place thereof the word:- city.

SECTION 5. Subsection 5 of section 1 of said part I of said charter is stricken in its entirety, and subsections 6 and 7 of said section 1 of said part I of said charter shall be renumbered a subsections 5 and 6, respectively.

SECTION 6. The title of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “PART” and inserting in place thereof the word:- ARTICLE.

SECTION 7. The first sentence of subsection 1(c) of section 2 of said part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “municipal” and inserting in place thereof the word:- city.

SECTION 8. The second sentence of said subsection 1(c) of said section 2 of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “councillors” and inserting in place thereof the word:- councilors.

SECTION 9. The first sentence of subsection 3 of section 2 of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “board” and inserting in place thereof the word:- boards.

SECTION 10. Said subsection 3 of section 2 of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “head librarian” and inserting in place thereof the words:- library director.

SECTION 11. Said subsection 3 of section 2 of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the third sentence in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:- Unless otherwise provided by this charter, appointments of all city officers, department heads, and members of boards, commissions, and committees shall become effective twenty-one days after submission of a written notice of any appointment to the city clerk, provided however, that the city council may, during such period, by a two-thirds vote of the full city council, reject any such appointment or has sooner voted to affirm it.

SECTION 12. The third sentence of subsection 5 of section 2 of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “effect” and inserting in place thereof the word:- affect.

SECTION 13. The first sentence of subsection 7(b) of section 2 of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “councillors” and inserting in place thereof the word:- councilors.

SECTION 14. The title of subsection 8 of section 2 of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “of” and inserting in place thereof the word: or. 

SECTION 15. The second sentence of subsection 8(d) of section 2 of part II is hereby amended by striking out the words “his or her” and inserting in place thereof the word:- their.

SECTION 16. The third sentence of paragraph 1 of subsection 10 of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “municipal” and inserting in place thereof the word:- city. 

SECTION 17. The first sentence of paragraph 2 of subsection 10 of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “municipal” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- city.

SECTION 18. The second sentence of paragraph 2 of subsection 10 of part II of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “municipal” and inserting in place thereof the word:- city.

SECTION 19. The third sentence of paragraph 2 of section 2-10 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “councillor” and inserting in place thereof the word: councilor.

SECTION 20. The title of part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “PART” and inserting in place thereof the word:- ARTICLE.

SECTION 21. Section 1 of said chapter 3 of part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out subsection 1 in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(a) Composition

There shall be a city council composed of nine members that shall exercise the legislative powers of the city. Three members, to be known as councilors-at-large, shall be nominated and elected by and from the voters at large. Six members, to be known as district councilors, shall be nominated and elected by and from the voters of each district, one such district councilor to be elected from each of the six council districts into which the city is divided in accordance with Section 7-4.

(b) Eligibility

Any voter shall be eligible to hold the office of councilor-at-large. A district councilor shall at the time of election be a voter and resident of the district from which the councilor is elected.

A councilor-at-large who shall cease to be a resident of the city during the term for which such councilor was elected shall be deemed to have vacated the office of councilor-at-large and the office shall be considered vacant. If a district councilor moves from one district to another within the first twelve months of the term of office for which such councilor was elected, the office shall be considered vacant. Any district councilor who continues to reside in the city but who moves from the district they represent during the last twelve months of their term of office shall continue to serve for the balance of the term for which the district councilor was elected. Any vacancy in the office of councilor-at-large or district councilor shall be filled in accordance with Section 3-4.

(c) Election and Term

The term of office of city council members shall be for two years beginning on the first business

day of January following the regular city election, and continuing until their successors are qualified.

SECTION 22. The first sentence of subsection 2 of said section 3 of part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “councillors-elect” and inserting in place thereof the word:- councilors-elect.

SECTION 23. Subsection 3 of said section 3 of said part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence in its entirety. 

SECTION 24. The first sentence of subsection 4 of section 3 of part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “councillor” and inserting in place thereof the word:- councilor.

SECTION 25. The last sentence of said subsection 4 of section 3 of said part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “councillor” and inserting in place thereof the word:- councilor.

SECTION 26. The third sentence of subsection 5(b) of said section 3 of part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “councillors” and inserting in place thereof the word:- councilors.

SECTION 27. The third sentence of subsection 5(c) of said section 3 of part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “that” and inserting in place thereof the word:- than.

SECTION 28. The first sentence of subsection 6 of said section 3 of part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “it” and inserting in place thereof the word:- is.

SECTION 29. The last sentence of subsection 7(b) said section 3 of said part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “late” and inserting in place thereof the word:- later.

SECTION 30. The first sentence of subsection 10 of section 3 of said part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “councillor” and inserting in place thereof the word: councilor. 

SECTION 31. Said subsection 10 of section 3 of said part III of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:- No former councilor shall hold any compensated appointive office or employment under the city until one year after the expiration of their service on the city council.

SECTION 32. The second paragraph of section 3-11 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “councillors” and inserting in place thereof the word:- councilors.

SECTION 33. The title of part four of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “PART” and inserting in place thereof, the word:- ARTICLE.

SECTION 34. Subsection 1 of section 4 of part IV of said charter is hereby amended by deleting the text thereof and inserting in place thereof the following:- In addition to the mayor and city council, the offices to be filled by the voters shall be a school committee, a planning board, a board of library trustees and such other regional authorities, districts, or committees as may be established by law or inter-local agreement. The members of the school committee, planning board, and board of library trustees shall be nominated and elected by and from the voters at large and their terms of office shall begin on the first business day of January following their election, and continuing until their successors are qualified.

SECTION 35. Subsection 6 of section 4 of said part IV of said charter is hereby deleted in its entirety, and the remaining subsections of said section 4 shall be renumbered accordingly.

SECTION 36. Subsection 7 of section 4 of part IV of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following new sentence:- If a vacancy occurs in the membership of the school committee, planning board or board of library trustees, whether by failure to elect or otherwise, the remaining members of said board or committee shall notify the president of the city council who will declare such vacancy to exist.

SECTION 37. The penultimate sentence of the third paragraph of said subsection 7 of said section 4 of said part IV of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word:- “shall”.

SECTION 38. Said subsection 7 of said section 4 of part IV of said charter is hereby further amended by deleting the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following:- Should the remaining members of the school committee, planning board, or board of library trustees fail to declare a vacancy, the city council shall be the sole judge of whether a vacancy exists in the office of any elected office under this section and may declare any such elected office vacant by a majority vote of the council.

SECTION 39. Section 4 of part IV of said charter is hereby further amended by deleting the text of subsection 8 and inserting in place thereof the following:- No elected member of the school committee, board of library trustees, or planning board shall hold any compensated appointive office or employment under the city until one year after the expiration of the term of office of such elected member. This provision shall not prevent a city officer or employee who has been granted a leave of absence, by their appointing authority, from such duties in order to serve as a member of such elected office from returning to such employment or office following service as an elected member of the school committee, board of library trustees or planning board.

SECTION 40. Said section 4 of part IV of said charter is hereby amended by inserting, at the end, a new subsection, as follows:-  Section 4-9  Eligibility for Health Insurance  Notwithstanding chapter 32B of the General Laws, and excluding the mayor and city councillors, officials of the city of Amesbury elected under subsection 4-1 who receive a salary or a stipend shall not be eligible for participation in the city’s contributory health and life insurance plan.  Officials elected under this section who receive a salary or a stipend and who elect to pay 100 per cent of the cost of the official's participation in the city's health and life insurance benefit plan, plus any administrative costs that may be assessed by the city council, may be considered eligible to participate.

SECTION 41. The title of part 5 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “PART” and inserting in place thereof the word:- ARTICLE.

SECTION 42. The title of subsection 3 of section 5 of part V of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “of” and inserting in place thereof the word:- on.

SECTION 43. The second sentence of subsection 3(a) of said section 5 of said part V of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “if” and inserting in place thereof the word:- of.

SECTION 44. The second sentence of subsection 4(b) of said section 5 of part V of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “date” and inserting in place thereof the word:- data.

SECTION 45. The second sentence of subsection 4(c) of said section 5 of said part V of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “resources” and inserting in place thereof the word:- sources.

SECTION 46. The first sentence of subsection 5 of said section 5 of said part V of said charter section 5-5 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “accounts” and inserting in place thereof the word:- accountants.

SECTION 47. The second sentence of said subsection 5 of said section of said part V of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “east” and inserting in place thereof the word:- least.

SECTION 48. Part VI of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the title in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following words:- ARTICLE VI  Administration of City Government.

SECTION 49. Subsection 1(a)(1) of section 6 of part VI of said charter is hereby amended by striking it in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following new subsection:- The city council may, by ordinance passed by two-thirds of the full city council membership, reorganize, consolidate, create, merge, divide or abolish any city division, department or agency, in whole or in part, establish such new city agencies as deemed necessary or advisable, and prescribe the functions and the administrative procedures to be followed by all such agencies.

SECTION 50. The first sentence of subsection 3(b) of said section 6 of said part VI of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “municipal” and inserting in place thereof the word:- city. 

SECTION 51. Subsection 3(b) of said chapter 6 of said part VI of said charter is hereby further amended, by striking out, in the first sentence of the second paragraph, the word “the” prior to the word:- auditing.

SECTION 52. The title of part seven of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “PART” and inserting in place thereof the word “ARTICLE.”

SECTION 53. The second sentence of subsection 1 of section 7 of part VII of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “municipal” and inserting in place thereof the word:- city.

SECTION 54. The first sentence of  subsection 2(a) of section 7 of part VII of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “councillor-at-large” inserting in place thereof the words:- councilor-at-large. 

SECTION 55. The first sentence of said subsection 2(a) of said section 7 of part VII of said charter is hereby further amended by striking out the word “councillor” and inserting in place thereof the word:- councilor.

SECTION 56. The first sentence of subsection 4 of said section 7 of said part VII of said charter is hereby amended by inserting prior to the word “known” the word:- of.

SECTION 57. Subsection 4 of said section 7 of said part VII of said charter is hereby further amended by inserting, at the end of said section, the following new sentence:-  Every 10 years in years ending with 1, the city council shall review these districts to ensure their uniformity in number of inhabitants.

SECTION 58. Subsection 5 of said section 7 of said part VII of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “municipal” and inserting in place thereof the word:- city. 

SECTION 59. The title of part 8 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “PART” and inserting in place thereof the word:- ARTICLE.

SECTION 60. Subsections 2 through 8 of section 8 of part VIII of said charter are hereby amended by striking out the text and titles thereof and inserting in their place, the following:-

Section 8-2 Citizen Initiative Measures

(a) Commencement of Proceedings.  Initiative procedures shall be started by the filing of an initiative petition with the city clerk or clerk of the school committee.  The petition shall be addressed to the city council or to the school committee, shall contain a request for the passage of a particular measure which shall be set forth in full in the petition and shall be signed by at least 250 voters.  The petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit signed by 10 voters and containing their residential stating that those voters will constitute the petitioners’ committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form. 

(b) Referral to City Attorney. The city clerk or the clerk of the school committee shall, immediately following receipt of a proposed petition, deliver a copy of the petition to the city attorney. The city attorney shall, within 15 days following receipt of a copy of the petition, in writing, advise the city council or the school committee and the city clerk whether the measure as proposed may lawfully be proposed by the initiative process and whether, in its present form, it may lawfully be adopted by the city council or the school committee. If the opinion of the city attorney is that the measure is not in proper form, the reply shall state the reasons for this opinion, in full. A copy of the opinion of the city attorney shall be mailed to the members of the petitioners’ committee.

(c) Submission to City Clerk. If the city attorney determines that the petition is in a proper form, the city clerk shall provide blank forms for the use of subsequent signers and shall print at the top of each blank form a fair, concise summary of the proposed measure, as determined by the city attorney, together with the names and addresses of the petitioners' committee who signed the originating petition. The city clerk shall notify the petitioners' committee that the blank forms are issued. Within 30 days following the date of the notice, the petition shall be returned and filed with the city clerk signed by at least 10 percent of the total number of registered voters as of the date of the most recent regular city election. Signatures to an initiative petition need not all be on 1 paper, but all papers pertaining to any single measure shall be fastened together and shall be filed as a single instrument, with the endorsement on it of the name and address of the person designated as filing the papers. With each signature on the petition there shall also appear the street and number of the residence of each signer. Within 10 days following the filing of the petition, the registrars of voters shall ascertain the number of voters that signed the petition and the percentage that number is of the total number of voters as of the date of the most recent regular city election. The registrars of voters shall attach to the petition a certificate showing the results of its examination and shall return the petition to the city clerk or the clerk of the school committee, depending on how the petition is addressed. A copy of the registrars of voters' certificate shall also be mailed to the members of the petitioners' committee.

(d) Action on Petitions. Within 60 days following the date a petition has been returned to the city clerk or the clerk of the school committee, the city council or the school committee shall act with respect to each initiative petition by passing it without change, by passing a measure which is stated to be in lieu of the initiative measure or by rejecting it. The passage of a measure which is in lieu of an initiative measure shall be deemed to be a rejection of the initiative measure. If the city council or the school committee fails to act within 60 days following the date the measure is returned to it, the measure shall be deemed to have been rejected on the sixtieth day. If an initiative measure is rejected, the city clerk or the clerk of the school committee shall promptly give notice of that fact to the petitioners' committee by certified mail.

(e) Supplementary Petitions. Within 60 days following the date an initiative petition has been rejected, a supplemental initiative petition may be filed with the city clerk or the clerk of the school committee, but only by persons constituting the original petitioners' committee. The supplemental initiative petition shall be signed by a number of additional voters equal to at least 5 percent of the total number of registered voters as of the date of the most recent regular city election. The signatures on the initial petition filed under subsection (c) and the signatures on the supplemental petition filed under this subsection, taken together, shall contain the signatures of at least 15 percent of the total number of registered voters as of the date of the most recent regular city election. If the  number of signatures to this supplemental petition is found to be sufficient and certified by the registrars of voters, the registrars shall prepare and submit such certifications to the city clerk, and the city council shall call a special election to be held on a date not less than 35 nor more than 90 days following the date of the certificate of the registrars of voters that a sufficient number of registered voters have signed the supplemental initiative petition and shall submit the proposed measure, without alteration, to the voters for determination, but if a city election is to be held within 120 days following the date of the certificate, the city council may omit calling the special election and cause the question to appear on the election ballot at the approaching election for determination by the voters.

(f) Publication. The full text of an initiative measure which is submitted to the voters shall be published in at least 1 local newspaper not less than 7 nor more than 14 days preceding the date of the election at which the question is to be voted upon. Additional copies of the full text shall be available for distribution to the public in the office of the city clerk, and also posted on the city bulletin board.

(g) Form of Question. The ballots used when voting on a measure proposed by the voters under this section shall contain a question in substantially the following form:

Shall the following measure which was proposed by an initiative petition take effect?

(Here insert the fair, concise summary of the proposed measure, as determined by the city attorney as referenced in subsection (c)).

__ YES    __ NO

(h) Time of Taking Effect

Subject to section 8-6, if a majority of the votes cast on the question is in the affirmative, the measure shall be deemed to be effective immediately, unless a later date is specified in the measure.

Section 8-3 Citizen Referendum Procedures

(a) Petition, Effect on Final Vote.  If, within 21 days following the date on which the city council or the school committee has voted finally to approve any measure, a petition signed by a number of voters equal to at least 12  percent of the total number of voters as of the date of the most recent regular city election and addressed to the city council or to the school committee, protesting against the measure or any part of it is filed with the clerk of the school committee or city clerk, the effective date of that  measure shall be temporarily suspended. The school committee or the city council shall  immediately reconsider its vote on the measure or part of it and, if the measure is not rescinded, the city council shall provide for the submission of the question for a determination by the voters  either at a special election, which it may call at its convenience, within such time as may be requested by the school committee or at the next regular city election; provided, however, that  pending this submission and determination, the effect of the measure shall continue to be suspended.

(b) Certain Initiative Provisions to Apply. The petition described in this section shall be termed a referendum petition and section 8-2(c), as the section relates to the filing and certification of signatures, shall apply to such referendum petitions, except that the words "measure or part thereof protested against" shall be deemed to replace the word "measure" and the word "referendum" shall be deemed to replace the word "initiative". Subject to section 8-6, the measure or part thereof protested against shall be null and void unless a majority of those voting on the question shall vote in favor of the measure or part thereof protested against at the election.

Section 8-4 Ineligible Measures

None of the following shall be subject to the initiative or the referendum procedures:

(1) proceedings relating to the internal organization or operation of the city council or of the school committee;

(2) an emergency measure adopted under the charter;

(3) the city budget or any appropriation contained therein or the school committee budget or any appropriation contained therein;

(4) any appropriation for the payment of the city’s debt or debt service;

(5) any appropriation of funds to implement a collective bargaining agreement;

(6) proceedings relating to the appointment, removal, discharge, employment, promotion, transfer, demotion or other personnel action;

(7) any proceedings repealing or rescinding a measure or part of it which is protested by referendum procedures;

(8) any proceedings providing for the submission or referral to the voters at an election; and

(9) resolutions and other votes constituting ordinary, routine matters not suitable as the subject of a referendum petition.

Section 8-5 Recall

(a) Application

Any holder of an elected office in the city, with more than 6 months remaining in the term of office to which the officer was elected, may be recalled therefrom by the voters of the city in the manner provided in this section. No recall petition shall be filed against an officer within 6 months after taking office.

(b) Recall Petition 

A recall petition may be initiated by the filing of an affidavit containing the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for recall, provided that the affidavit is signed by at least 300 voters for the office of mayor; 200 voters for any office elected at large, and at least 75 voters for a district councilor, all such signatures from voters of the district. The city clerk shall thereupon deliver to those voters making the affidavit, copies of petition blanks demanding such recall, copies of which printed forms the city clerk shall keep available. The blanks shall be issued by the city clerk, with signature and official seal attached thereto. The blanks shall be dated, shall be addressed to the city council and shall contain the names of all the persons to whom the blanks are issued, the number of blanks so issued, the name of the person whose recall is sought, the office from which removal is sought and the grounds of recall as stated in the affidavit. A copy of the petition shall be entered in a record book to be kept in the office of the city clerk. Said recall petition shall be returned and filed with the city clerk within 28 days after the filing of the affidavit, and shall have been signed by at least 20 percent of the voters of the city for any officer elected at large and signed by at least 20 percent of the voters of the district for an officer elected by district. The city clerk shall submit the petition to the registrars of voters and the registrars shall, within 5 days, certify thereon the number of signatures which are names of voters.

(c) Recall Election

If the petition shall be found and certified by the registrars of voters to be sufficient, the city clerk shall submit such certificate to the city council within 5 days, and the city council shall give written notice of the receipt of the certificate to the officer sought to be recalled and shall, if the officer does not resign within 5 days thereafter, order an election to be held on a date fixed by the city council not less than 64 days and not more than 90 days after the date of the city clerk's certificate that a sufficient petition has been filed; provided, however, that if any other city election is to occur within 120 days after the date of the certificate, the city council shall postpone the holding of the recall election to the date of such other election. If a vacancy occurs in said office after a recall election has been ordered, the election shall not proceed as provided in this section.

(d) Office Holder

The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the office until the recall election. If said incumbent is not recalled, the incumbent shall continue in office for the remainder of the unexpired term subject to recall as before. If recalled, the officer shall be deemed removed and the office vacant. The vacancy created thereby shall be filled under articles 2, 3, and 4 of this charter for filling vacancies in such office. A person chosen to fill the vacancy caused by a recall shall hold office until the next regular city election. Should the person be a candidate in the subsequent election, that person will not be allowed to have “candidate for re-election” appear on the ballot at such election.

(e) Ballot Proposition

The form of the question to be voted upon shall be substantially as follows:

"Shall [here insert the name and title of the elective officer whose recall is sought] be recalled?"

__Yes  ___No

If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of recall is in the affirmative, such elected officer shall be recalled.

(f) Repeat of Recall

In the case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not recalled thereby, no recall petition shall be filed against such officer until at least 270 days after the election at which the officer's recall was submitted to the voters of the city.

(g) Office Holder Recalled

No person who has been recalled from an office or who has resigned from office while recall proceedings were pending against such person, shall be appointed to any city office within 2 years after such recall or such resignation.

Section 8-6 Required Voter Participation

For any measure to be effective under initiative or referendum procedure(s), at least 20 percent of the voters shall vote at an election upon which an initiative or referendum question is submitted to the voters.

Section 8-7 Submission of Proposed Measure to Voters

The city council may on its own motion and shall, upon request of the school committee, if a measure originates with that body and pertains to affairs under its jurisdiction, submit to the voters at a regular city election for adoption or rejection a measure in the same manner and with the same force and effect as are provided for submission by initiative or referendum petitions.

Any measure adopted pursuant to initiative procedures shall not be subject to amendment or repeal by the city council for a period of 6 months after the election at which said measure was adopted.

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the city council may place one or more non-binding public opinion advisory questions on the ballot for either a regular or special city election under the procedures established by the laws of the commonwealth.

Section 8-8 Conflicting Provisions

If 2 or more measures passed at the same election contain conflicting provisions, only the 1 receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall take effect.

SECTION 61. The title of part IX of the charter of the city of Amesbury is hereby amended by striking out the word “PART” and inserting in place thereof the word:- ARTICLE.

SECTION 62. Subsection 4(d) of section 9 of part IX of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the entire subsection and replacing it with the following words:- The phrase ‘city bulletin board’ shall mean the display on the city’s website established and maintained by the city as its online repository of city information, or the display at any other location(s) as may be designated from time to time by the City Council.

SECTION 63. Subsection 4 of section 9 of part IX of said charter is hereby further amended by inserting, after subsection 4(g) the following:-

(h) Measures - All matters to come before the Council which are inherently legislative in nature, including ordinances, charter amendments, free petitions, appropriations, loan orders, lease approvals, acceptance of statutes, petitions to the General Court, tax classification votes, contract approvals or property transactions (real and personal).

(i) “Full council”, “full school committee” or “full multiple-member body” - the entire authorized complement of the council, school committee or other multiple-member body notwithstanding any vacancy which might exist.

(j) Majority vote - when used in connection with a meeting of the council, school committee or a multiple-member body, shall mean a majority of those present and voting, unless another provision is made by general law or ordinance.

(k) Multiple-member body - any board, commission, committee, subcommittee or other body consisting of two or more persons whether elected, appointed or otherwise constituted, but not including the council, the school committee, or executive ad hoc or working groups advisory to the mayor.

(l) Ordinance - any rule, law or regulation adopted by the municipality in accordance with this charter.

(m) Referendum - a measure adopted by the council or the school committee that is protested under the referendum procedures of this charter.

(n) Resolution - a formal expression of opinion or a ceremonial declaration voted by the council not requiring the signature of the mayor and having no force of law.

SECTION 64. Subsection (5)(a) of said section 9 of said part IX of said charter is hereby amended by deleting the text in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following new section:-

Except subcommittees of the city council and as otherwise provided by law or this charter, all boards, commissions and committees shall consist of three or more members appointed by the mayor for terms of three years each, so arranged that the term of one-third of the members, or as nearly the number as may be possible, shall expire each year. Appointments made hereunder shall begin on March 1 and shall expire on the last day of February of the third year following appointment; provided, however, that any person appointed hereunder shall serve until their successor is appointed and qualified, or until their sooner vacating of office.  Failure to reappoint at the end of an expired term shall not constitute removal from office.  All members of boards, commissions, and committees shall serve without compensation or benefits and shall be sworn into office within four weeks of their appointment; notwithstanding the prior clause, however, members of the school committee shall receive such compensation as may be included in the budget and appropriated by the city council from time to time. All board, commission or committee members must take the oath of office prior to entering upon the duties of their office.

All appointed multiple-member body members shall be residents of the city. However, the provisions of this subsection with respect to residency may be waived by majority vote of the city council upon recommendation of the mayor. The mayor’s recommendation shall set out the reason(s) why said waiver is in the best interest of the city.

SECTION 65. The second sentence of subsection 5(b) of said section 9 of said part IX of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “nor” and inserting in place thereof the word:- or.

SECTION 66. Said subsection 5(b) of said section 9 of part IX of said charter is hereby further amended by striking out the seventh sentence in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-  If any member of an appointed board, commission or committee fails to attend one half of the meetings held by such board, commission or committee during a calendar year, upon notice to the mayor from the City Council, board, commission or committee affected, the mayor shall within thirty (30) days of said notice determine, based on their own investigation, of which a public record shall be kept, whether to retain said member or to declare the seat vacant and to fill the vacancy.

SECTION 67. Subsection 5(c) of said section 9 of part IX of said charter is hereby amended by inserting, at the end of the section, two new sentences as follows:- The provisions of the subsection may be waived by majority vote of the city council upon recommendation of the mayor.  The mayor’s recommendation shall set out the reason(s) why said waiver is in the best interests of the city.

SECTION 68. Subsection 9 of said section 9 of part IX of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the phrase “Beginning in 2018 and” and the word “thereafter” and inserting the follow clause at the beginning of the first sentence:- No later than the first day in April.

SECTION 69. The title of part X of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “PART” and inserting in place thereof the word:- ARTICLE.

SECTION 70. The first sentence of subsection 2 of said section 10 of part X of said charter shall hereby be amended by striking out the word “town” in both places in which it appears and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the word:-_city.

SECTION 71. The second sentence of subsection 2 of said section 10 of said part X of said charter shall hereby be amended by deleting the word “town” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- city.

SECTION 72. Subsection 3 of said section 10 of part X of said charter shall hereby be amended by striking out the word “town” in both places in which it appears and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the word:- city. 

SECTION 73. The first sentence of subsection 4 of said section 10 of said part X of said charter hereby be amended by deleting the word “town” in each instance in which it appears and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the word:- city.

SECTION 74. The second sentence of said subsection 4 of said section 10 of said part X of said charter shall hereby be amended by deleting the word “town” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- city.

SECTION 75. Subsection 5 of said section 10 of said part X of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “town” and inserting in place thereof the word:- city.

SECTION 76. Upon the effective date of this act, the changes made in subsections 1, 6, 7, and 8 of section 4 of part IV of said charter deleting, in each place in which it appears, reference to the elected housing authority thereby abolishes said elected housing authority and creates an appointed housing authority consistent with the provisions of section 5 of chapter 121B of the general laws; provided, however, that all persons elected to the housing authority as of the effective date of this act shall continue to serve for a time equivalent to the remainder of their respective elected term or sooner vacating of office.  As vacancies arise, whether by expiration of term or otherwise, the mayor shall fill such vacancies consistent with the provisions of section 5 of chapter 121B of the General Laws and this section, so that the term of one member expires each year, and thereafter all members shall be appointed in accordance with subsection 3 of section 2 of said part II of the said charter and consistent with the provisions of section 5 of chapter 121B as it may be amended from time to time.

SECTION 77. To implement the provisions of section 40 of this act, any incumbent compensated elected official elected under section 4-1 of said charter then participating in the city participatory health and benefits program shall be entitled to continue to so participate in the same manner for the remainder of their unexpired term.

SECTION 78. To implement the provisions of section 64 of this act, the terms of all appointees holding office on the effective date of this act, that would otherwise expire prior to the last day of February in the third year following appointment, shall nevertheless continue until said last day of February that year, and the terms of appointees holding office on the effective date of this act that would otherwise expire following the last day of February in the third year of appointment shall instead expire on said last day of February.  

SECTION 79. This act shall take effect upon its passage, but no earlier than January 1, 2022.