AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY KNOWN AS THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN.
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 2-1-4 of the home rule charter of the city known as the town of Franklin 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 word “first” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- second.
SECTION 2. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out sections 2-3-1 and 2-3-2 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
2-3-1 At the first council meeting following each regular town election, the council shall choose from its membership a chairman, vice-chairman and clerk, each of whom shall serve for a 1-year term. The council may reorganize itself at any time during the year by a 2/3 vote of its membership. The chairman shall preside at meetings of the council and shall perform such other duties as provided by this charter, by by-law or by council vote. The vice-chairman shall act as chairman during the absence or disability of the chairman. The clerk shall ensure that proper notice of all council meetings is provided to its members and to the public, that all votes of the council are recorded and that minutes of all council proceedings are kept and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by this charter, by by-law or by vote of the council.
SECTION 3. Section 2-4-3 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “for a journal” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- minutes.
SECTION 4. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 2-5-1 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
2-5-1 The town council shall meet regularly at least once each month. Special meetings may be held at any time if called by the chairman or by 4 members of the council; provided, however, that for special meeting, at least 48 hours personal notice shall be given to each council member, except in case of an emergency. All council meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the open meeting provisions of the General Laws.
SECTION 5. Section 2-6-4 of said charter is hereby amended by inserting after the word “by-law” the following words:- , resolution or other action.
SECTION 6. Section 2-6-5 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “journal” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- minutes.
SECTION 7. Clause (a) of section 3-1-1 of said charter is hereby amended by inserting after the word “for” the following word:- concurrent.
SECTION 8. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 3-1-2 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
3-1-2 The following officers of the town shall be elected at large for 4-year terms: (a) town clerk; and (b) 3 constables.
SECTION 9. Section 3-3-2 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “, Town treasurer-collector”.
SECTION 10. Section 4-2-1 of said charter is hereby amended by inserting after the word “chief” the following words:- executive and.
SECTION 11. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 4-2-2 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
4-2-2 The administrator shall not hold any other elective or appointive town office, but may be appointed by the council to serve on committees, both standing and ad hoc. The administrator shall devote full-time to the duties of the office and shall not engage in any other business or occupation without the advance written authorization of the council.
SECTION 12. Section 4-2-3 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out clauses (g) and (h) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 clauses:- (g) be responsible for all aspects of the personnel system, (h) serve as chief procurement officer;.
SECTION 13. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 4-2-5 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
4-2-5 Subject to ratification by the town council, the administrator may appoint, on the basis of merit and fitness alone: (a) a fire chief, a police chief, a director of public works, a town comptroller, a town counsel, a library director, and 3 registrars of voters; (b) 5 members of a board of library trustees, 9 members of a council on aging, 7 members of a conservation commission, 7 members of an historic commission and 3 members of a zoning board of appeals, the members of which shall serve for 3-year overlapping terms within their respective board, council or commission; (c) 5 members of a housing authority, 4 of whom shall serve for 5-year overlapping terms and 1 of whom shall be appointed under the authority of the commonwealth; and (d) members of such other boards, commissions and committees as are authorized by the General Laws, this charter or by-laws and for whom appointment is not otherwise provided.
SECTION 14. Said charter is hereby further amended by inserting after section 4-2-5 the following section:-
4-2-6 Subject to ratification by the town council, the town administrator shall also appoint, on the basis of merit and fitness alone, a treasurer-collector.
SECTION 15. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 4-4-1 and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sections:-
4-4-1 The town administrator may designate a qualified person to serve as acting town administrator and to perform the duties of the office for up to 21 days on account of the temporary absence or unavailability of the town administrator.
4-4-2 The town council may designate a qualified person to serve as acting town administrator and to perform the duties of the office during the period of any vacancy caused by the administrator’s absence or unavailability for more than 21 days or because of the illness, suspension, removal or resignation of the town administrator. The appointment shall be for not more than 180 days, but such appointment may be extended for 2 additional 90-day periods by vote of the council.
SECTION 16. Section 6-2-1 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- A finance committee of 9 members shall be appointed by the town council for staggered 3-year terms.
SECTION 17. The third sentence of said section 6-2-1 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “Accountant” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- comptroller.
SECTION 18. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 6-2-2 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
6-2-2 For its initial appointment of a finance committee, the town council shall appoint 3 members for 3-year terms, 3 members for 2-year terms and 3 members for 1-year terms and thereafter the town council shall annually appoint 3 members for 3-year terms. Vacancies on the finance committee shall be filled promptly by the council for the unexpired term.
SECTION 19. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 6-5-1 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
6-5-1 The proposed budget shall provide a complete financial plan for all town funds and activities, including the proposed school department budget for the ensuing year.
Except for the school budget or as may be required by law, the proposed budget shall be in such form as the town administrator deems desirable.
SECTION 20. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 6-5-2 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
6-5-2 In submitting the proposed budget, the town administrator shall utilize modern fiscal principals so as to afford maximum information and financial control. The budget shall detail all estimated revenue from the property tax levy and other sources and all proposed expenditures, including debt service for the previous, current and ensuing years, and shall indicate separately proposed expenditures for both current operations and capital projects during the ensuing year, detailed by department, purpose and position, together with proposed financing methods.
SECTION 21. The first sentence of section 6-6-1 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “proposed” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- town administrator’s proposed.
SECTION 22. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 6-7-1 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
6-7-1 The town administrator shall submit to the town council and file copies with the finance committee a 5-year capital improvements program which shall include: (a) a clear summary of its contents; (b) a list of all capital improvements proposed to be undertaken during the next 6 fiscal years, together with supporting data; (c) cost estimates, methods of financing and recommended time schedules; and (d) the estimated annual cost of operating and maintaining any facility to be constructed or acquired.
SECTION 23. Section 7-4-1 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “a journal of” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- minutes of its.
SECTION 24. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out sections 7-7-1 to 7-7-5, inclusive.
SECTION 25. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 8-1-1.
SECTION 26. The incumbent holding the office of treasurer-collector on the effective date of this act shall continue to serve until the expiration of his elected term of office or until his resignation, whichever occurs first. Thereafter, the position of treasurer-collector shall be filled by appointment as provided in section 4-2-6 of the charter of the city known as the town of Franklin.
SECTION 27. The state secretary shall cause the following 2 questions to be placed on the official ballot to be used in the city known as the town of Franklin at the biennial state election to be held on November 2, 2010:
“Shall sections 1 to 7, inclusive, sections 10 to 13, inclusive, and sections 15 to 25, inclusive, of an act passed by the General Court in the year 2010 entitled ‘An Act Relative to the Charter of the City known as the Town of Franklin’, be accepted?”
“Shall the Town Treasurer-Collector be appointed, as provided in Sections 8, 9, 14 and 26 of that act, rather than elected?”
SECTION 28. Sections 1 to 7, inclusive, sections 10 to 13, inclusive, and sections 15 to 25, inclusive, shall take effect upon acceptance by a majority of the voters of the town voting in the affirmative on the first ballot question specified in section 27, but not otherwise.
SECTION 29. Sections 8, 9, 14, and 26 shall take effect upon acceptance by a majority of the voters of the town voting in the affirmative on the second ballot question specified in section 27, but not otherwise.
SECTION 30. Section 27 shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved, September 3, 2010.