SENATE DOCKET, NO. 3209        FILED ON: 6/15/2022

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2946

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Marc R. Pacheco

_________________

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 town of Bridgewater's town charter relative to the makeup of the town council.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 3209        FILED ON: 6/15/2022

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2946

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

_______________

An Act amending the town of Bridgewater's town charter relative to the makeup of the town council.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

ORDERED, that the Town Council assembled votes to amend the Bridgewater Home Rule Charter, Article Il, Section 2-1 and to send said amendment to the State Legislature as a Special Act as follows:

Section 2-1 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

SECTION 2-1. COMPOSITION; ELIGIBILITY; TERM OF OFFICE

(a) Composition - There shall be a town council consisting of nine members which shall exercise the legislative powers of the town. Three of these members, to be known as District Councilors, shall be nominated and elected by and from the voters of the three Districts into which the town is divided and six of the members to be known as Councilors-at-Large, shall be nominated and elected by and from the voters at large.

(b) Eligibility - Any voter shall be eligible to hold the office of Councilor-at-Large. A District Councilor must be a voter and resident of the District in which election is sought. If a District Councilor or a Councilor-at-Large moves out of the town during the term for which elected, such office shall immediately be deemed vacant and filled in the manner provided in section 2-5. If a District Councilor moves from the District from which the councilor is elected, or is removed by a change in District lines, and more than 14 months remains of the term for which elected, the office shall be deemed vacant and shall be filled in the manner provided in section 2-5. If less than 6 months of the term remains, the District Councilor who remains a resident of the town may continue to serve during the term for which elected.

ROLL CALL VOTE - REQUIRES MAJORITY OF FULL COUNCIL

(c) Term of Office - After completion of the transitional terms as outlined in Section 10-7, the term of office of District Councilors and Councilors-at-Large shall be staggered terms of 3 years each, beginning on the next business day following election and continuing until their successors are qualified.