AN ACT AMENDING THE CHARTER OF THE CITY KNOWN AS THE TOWN OF GREENFIELD
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 of the charter of the city known as the town of Greenfield, 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 subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(b) Term of Office – The term of office for town councilors shall be for 4 years, beginning on the first business day of January after the town election, and until the town councilors’ successors have been qualified.
SECTION 2. Section 2-2 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(a) Election and Term – As soon as practicable after the councilors-elect have been qualified following each town election or on the first business day of the new year, the members of the town council shall elect from among its members a council president who shall serve during the ensuing year.
SECTION 3. Clause 1 of subsection (c) of section 2-6 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “bylaw” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- ordinance.
SECTION 4. Section 3-1 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(b) Term of Office – The term of office of the mayor shall be 4 years beginning on the first business day of January following the town election at which the mayor was chosen and until a successor is qualified.
SECTION 5. Section 3-3 of said charter is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-
(d) The mayor shall appoint 5 members of the board of trustees for soldiers’ memorials, subject to confirmation by the town council, consistent with section 105 of chapter 41 of the General Laws.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a) of section 3-9 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “twenty-seven (27)” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 39.
SECTION 7. Section 4-1 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(b) Term of Office - The term of office for the 6 members of the school committee elected by the voters shall be for 4 years each, with staggered terms, beginning on the first business day of January after the town election and continuing until the school committee member’s successor has been qualified.
SECTION 8. Section 4-2 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(a) Election and Term – As soon as practicable after the school committee members-elect have been qualified following each town election or on the first business day of the new year, as provided in section 8-8, the school committee shall organize by electing 1 of its members to serve as school committee chair and 1 of its members to serve as school committee vice-chair for the ensuing year.
SECTION 8A. The sixth sentence of subsection (c) of section 6-1 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “section 6-1 (a), above,” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- subsection (b).
SECTION 8B. Subsection (b) of section 6-9 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “July” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- January.
SECTION 9. Section 6-11 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(c) The members shall serve 3-year staggered terms. Commission members shall serve without compensation.
SECTION 10. Subsection (a) of section 6-14 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “three (3) years” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 4.
SECTION 11. Said subsection (a) of said section 6-14 of said charter is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “years” the following words:- , beginning on the first business day of January after the town election and until such member’s successor is qualified.
SECTION 12. Section 6-22 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(a) At the election, the voters shall, in every year when the terms of officers referred to herein expire, elect the following town officers for the following terms: 3 trustees of the A.K. Warner Trust for a term of 2 years; 3 trustees of the Jennie L. Bascom Education Fund for a term of 2 years; 1 elector under the Will of Oliver Smith for a term of 2 years; and such other officers as required by law to be elected.
SECTION 13. Section 7-1 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “second Tuesday in June” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- first Tuesday after the first Monday in November on years ending in an odd number.
SECTION 14. Subsection (b) of section 7-2 of said charter is hereby amended by inserting after the word “sought” the following words:- ; and for the office of assessor, not less than 100 signatures, provided, however, that not more than 25 signatures from any 1 precinct shall be counted in the minimum number of required signatures.
SECTION 15. Said subsection (b) of said section 7-2, is hereby further amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- All other elected officials shall be required to obtain not less than 25 signatures to place the official’s name on the ballot.
SECTION 16. Subsection (a) of section 8-8 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “in July of each year” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- of the new year.
SECTION 17. Said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section 9-5.
SECTION 18. (a) The first town election following the acceptance of this act by the voters will be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November on years ending in an odd number.
(b) Upon acceptance of this act by the voters, the terms of office of all elected officials holding office on that date will expire on December 31, 2015.
(c) Transitional elections in the year 2015 shall provide for 1 mayor to be elected for a 4-year term; 2 town councilors at large and precinct councilors in precincts 1, 2, 3 and 4 for 4-year terms; 2 town councilors at large and precinct councilors in precincts 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 for 2-year terms; 3 school committee members to be elected for 4-year terms; 3 school committee members to be elected for 2-year terms; 1 assessor to be elected for a 4-year term; and 1 assessor to be elected for a 2-year term. Thereafter, elections shall provide for elected officials to hold terms of office as provided for in the charter.
SECTION 19. This act shall be submitted for acceptance to the voters of the city known as the town of Greenfield at an annual or special town election in the form of the following question which shall be placed on the ballot: “Shall an act passed by the general court in the year 2014, entitled 'An Act amending the charter of the city known as the town of Greenfield' be accepted?”
If a majority of the votes cast in answer to the question is in the affirmative, the voters shall be taken to have accepted the amendments to the charter of the city known as the town of Greenfield.
SECTION 20. The town attorney shall prepare a fair and concise summary of the charter amendments in this act to include the most significant proposed changes from the charter currently applicable, which summary shall appear below the question on the ballot.
SECTION 21. Chapter 422 of the acts of 2012 is hereby repealed.
SECTION 22. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved, June 6, 2014.