AN ACT AMENDING THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF WESTBOROUGH.
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. Subsection (d) of section 3-2 of the charter of the town of Westborough is hereby amended by striking out the third clause and inserting in place thereof the following clause:- town boards, commissions or committees for which section 5-2 of this charter has designated the selectmen as appointing authority.
SECTION 2. Subsection (f) of said section 3-2 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence.
SECTION 3. Section 3-3 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(c) Powers and Duties – the moderator shall have the powers and duties provided for that office by statute, charter, by-law and vote of town meeting.
SECTION 4. Section 3-3 of said charter is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (d) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(d) Appointments – the moderator shall appoint for fixed overlapping terms: all members of the advisory finance committee, 2 members of the capital expenditure planning committee and members of other committees, special or standing, as may from time to time be established by town meeting designating the moderator as the appointing authority. These appointments shall be made so that the terms of office of as nearly an equal number of members shall expire each year.
SECTION 5. Subsection (a) of section 4-2 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out clause (ii) and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-
(ii) Members of other town boards, commissions or committees and other personnel for which the board of selectmen, town by-law or town meeting action has directed the town manager to act as appointing authority, as long as that appointing authority does not contradict an appointing authority designated in this charter.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a) of section 5-2 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “Walkup Robinson Fund” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- Representative to the Walkup Robinson Fund.
SECTION 7. Subsection (e) of section 5-3 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “Filling Vacancies on Boards, Commissions or Committees. Notwithstanding any contrary special or general law to the contrary, a vacancy, on a board, commission or committee for a permanent temporary position shall be filled in the same manner as prescribed for the initial appointment.” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- All vacancies on any board, commission or committee shall be filled in the same manner as the initial appointment.
SECTION 8. Said charter is hereby further amended by inserting after Article 7 the following article:-
Article 8 – Department of Public Works. There shall be a department of public works which shall have all the powers and duties vested by law in the following boards, departments or offices: highway superintendent, water commissioners, sewer commissioners and tree warden. The department of public works shall in all respects be the lawful successor of the aforementioned boards, departments and offices.
The department shall provide for: engineering services; the maintenance and repair of the town buildings and property; and perform the duties of any other boards, departments and offices of the town as may be reasonably related to the duties and responsibilities of this department and any other duties the town may require under the charter, notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary.
The department shall be headed by a manager who shall be appointed under subsection (d) of section 3-2. The department manager shall be responsible for the efficient exercise and performance of all powers, rights, and duties of the department. The department manager shall be especially fitted by education, training and experience to perform the duties of the office and may be a resident of the town at the time of appointment. During the department manager’s tenure, the manager of the department of public works shall not hold elective office, nor engage in any other business or occupation unless the other business or occupation is approved in advance by the board of selectmen. The department manager shall keep full and complete records of the office and render to the town, as often as it may require, a full report of all operations under the department manager’s control during the period reported upon; and, as required by the selectmen, the department manager shall make a synopsis of the reports for publication. The department manager shall keep the selectmen fully advised as to the needs of the town within the scope of his duties and shall be bonded by a surety company and the cost of that bond shall be borne by the town.
The board of selectmen shall be responsible for the overall supervision of the department of public works and for the establishment of policies to guide the manager of public works.
Approved, April 18, 2012.