File name: THE_BOSTON_CITY_CHARTER.doc |
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THE BOSTON CITY CHARTER
The Boston City Charter is not a single document,
but a collection of laws consisting of the
surviving portions of the charter
imposed on the city by the legislature
(Chapter 486 of the Acts of 1909),
with its "Plan No. 1" provisions
(selected by 'the then registered male voters of the city' on
November 2, 1910),
those portions of the prior charter
and special laws not inconsistent with it,
many amendments to that charter
(including parts of the form of government contained in
Chapter 479 of the Acts of 1924, called
"Plan No. 2", selected by the voters of the city at the
State Election November 4, 1924),
the charter provisions of Chapter 452 of the Acts of 1948
consistent with its "Plan A" provisions adopted by the voters of
Boston, November 8, 1949
(as amended by Chapter 376 of the Acts of 1951),
all special laws imposed on the city
prior to the effective date of the
89th Article of Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution
(called the 'Home Rule Amendment'),
passed by the voters of the state in 1968,
all so-called 'Local Option' legislation accepted by the city,
and, all legislation adopted under the terms of Article 89.
In addition, those portions of the General Laws
applying to all cities, or
applying to all municipalities, which are not inconsistent with
any of the foregoing, have the effect of charter provisions.
Although the charter is commonly referred to as "Plan A,"
Boston does not operate under the provisions of Plan A
contained in Chapter forty-three of the General Laws.
Significant legislation affecting the 1948 charter
includes:-Chapter 849 of the Acts ofl 969 which
changed the
fiscal year of Boston and all other municipalities to
begin on July first of each year; Chapter 190 of the
Acts of
1982 (called 'Tregor Bill'), which made major changes
to the financial operations of the city and the
budgetary
powers of the Mayor and Council (major amendments to
that act appear as Chapter 701 of the Acts of 1986);
Chapter 605 of the Acts of 1982 which changed the
number of School Committee members and Councillors
from
nine to thirteen and provided four of these be elected
at-large and nine from equally populous districts;
Chapter
108 of the Acts of 1991 which replaced the elected
School Committee with a board of seven members serving
four-year terms, appointed by the Mayor from nominees;
and. Chapter 233 of the Acts of 1993 concerning
vacancies in the office of District City Councillor.
Two useful works containing (and indexing), many of
the various statutes which are part of Boston's
charter
are "Special Laws Relating to the City of Boston
Enacted Prior to January 1, 1938," and, "City of
Boston Code
(1975)," both of which are out of print but available
in libraries.
The following pages contain a selection of currently
operative portions of the charter most often sought as
they
relate to public spending, organization of city
departments, general powers of the Mayor and City
Council, and,
procedures relating to elections.
EXCERPTS FROM BOSTON'S CHARTER
Section numbers refer to Chapter 452 of the Acts of
1948,
as amended through January 1, 1996
GENERAL PROVISIONS
SECTION 1 The following words as used in this act
shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the
following meanings:
"City", the city of Boston
"Board of election commissioners", the board of
election commissioners of the city of Boston.
"Regular municipal election", the biennial election
held for electing officers of the city as provided in
this
act.
"Preliminary election", the election held for the
purpose of nominating candidates whose names shall
appear on the official ballot at a municipal election.
PLAN A. GOVERNMENT BY MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND SCHOOL
COMMITTEE, ELECTED AT LARGE WITH PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS
(A form of government designated on the ballot as
"Plan A" was adopted by the voters of the City of
Boston at the Municipal Election held November 8,
1949, Yes, 146,162, No, 73,882.)
SECT. 9. ... The municipal year thereof shall begin on
the first Monday in January and shall continue until
the first Monday of the January next following.1
SECT. 11.2 There shall be in the city a mayor who
shall be the chief executive officer of the city, a
city
council. . . which shall be the legislative body of
the city, and a school committee . . . which shall
have the
powers and duties conferred and imposed by law.
SECT. 11A3 Every person elected mayor and every person
elected or chosen city councillor or school
Committee member shall, before entering upon the
duties of his office, take, and subscribe in a book to
be kept
by the city clerk for the purpose, the oath of
allegiance and oath of office prescribed in the
constitution of this
commonwealth and an oath to support the constitution
of the United States. Such oaths shall he
administered,
to a person elected mayor, by a justice of the supreme
judicial court, a judge of a court of record
commissioned
to hold such court within the city or a justice of the
peace, and to a person elected or chosen city
councillor or
school committee member, by the mayor or any of the
persons authorized to administer said oaths to a
person
elected mayor.4
SECT. 11 B. Whenever the mayor is absent from the city
or unable from any cause to perform his duties,
and whenever there is a vacancy in the office of mayor
from any cause, the president of the city council,
while
such absence, inability or vacancy continues, shall
perform the duties of mayor. If there is no president
of the
city council or if he also is absent from the city or
unable from any cause to perform such duties, they
shall be
performed, until there is a mayor or president of the
city council or the mayor or president of the city
council
returns or is able to attend to said duties, bv such
member of the city council as that body by a vote
which, for
the purposes of section seventeen D, shall be deemed
to be a vote electing an official, may elect, and
until such
elections by the city clerk. The person upon whom such
duties shall devolve shall be called "acting mayor"
and he shall possess the powers of mayor only in
matters not admitting of delay, but shall have no
power to
make permanent appointments.
SECT. 12. ... at every second regular municipal
election after a regular municipal election at which a
mayor
is elected, a mayor shall be elected at large to hold
office for the four municipal years following the
municipal
year in which he is elected and thereafter until his
successor is elected and qualified.
SECT. 13. If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor
within sixteen weeks prior to a regular municipal
election other than a regular municipal election at
which a mayor is elected, or within sixteen months
after a
regular municipal election, or if there is a failure
to elect a mayor or a person elected mayor resigns or
dies
before taking office, the city council shall forthwith
adopt an order calling a special municipal election
for the
purpose of electing at large a mayor for the unexpired
term, which election shall be held on such Tuesday,
not
less than one hundred and twenty days nor more than
one hundred and forty days after the adoption of such
order, as the city council shall in such order fix. If
a vacancy occurs in the office of the mayor at any
other time, a mayor shall be elected at large at the
next regular municipal election to hold office for a
term expiring at ten o'clock in the forenoon on the
first Monday of the fourth January following his
election. A person elected mayor under either of the
foregoing provisions shall take and subscribe the
oaths required by section eleven A as soon as
conveniently may be after the issuance to him of his
certificate of election. Such person shall hold office
from the time of taking and subscribing such oaths
until the expiration of his term and thereafter until
his successor is elected and qualified. The provisions
of this section shall not apply if a vacancy occurs in
the office of mayor in the period beginning on the
date of a regular municipal election at which a new
mayor is elected and ending at the time he takes
office.
SECT. 13A5 The mayor shall be paid an annual salary
... as may from time to time be fixed by ordinance.
The mayor shall not receive for his services any other
compensation or emolument whatever; nor shall he hold
any other office of emolument under the city
government.
SECT. 146 At the next regular municipal election
following the adoption of Plan A and at every regular
municipal election thereafter, there shall be elected
four at large and nine district city councillors, each
to hold office for the two municipal years following
the municipal year in which he is elected.
SECT. 157 If at any time a vacancy occurs in the
office of city councillor-at-large for any cause, the
city clerk shall forthwith notify the city council
thereof; and within fifteen days after such
notification, the remaining city councillors shall
choose, as city councillor-at-large for the unexpired
term, whichever of the defeated candidates for the
office of city councillor-at-large at the regular
municipal election at which city councillors-a-large
were elected for the term in which the vacancy occurs,
who are eligible and willing to serve, received the
highest number of votes at such election, or, if there
is not such defeated candidate eligible and willing to
serve, a registered voter of the city duly qualified
to vote for a candidate for the office of city
councillor-at-large. If the remaining city councillors
fail to choose as hereinbefore provided within fifteen
days after the notification of the city council by the
city clerk, the choice shall be made by the mayor, or,
if there is no mayor, by the president of the city
council.
SECT. 15A. If a vacancy occurs in the office of
district city councillor more than one hundred and
eighty
days prior to a regular municipal election, the city
clerk shall forthwith notify the city council thereof;
and at
the first city council meeting after the notice has
been read, the citv council shall forthwith adopt an
order
calling a special preliminary election for the purpose
of nominating a district city councillor for the
unexpired
term, which election shall be held on a Tuesday, not
less than sixty-two nor more than seventy-six days
after
the adoption of such order, as the city council shall
in such order fix. The two candidates for district
city
councillor receiving the greatest number of votes at
the special preliminary election shall be deemed nomi-
nated and their names shall be placed on the ballot
for the special municipal election, which election
shall be
held twenty-eight days following the special
preliminary election.
SECT, 15B. A call for a special preliminary election
as provided in section fifteen A shall be in effect
upon
vote of the citv council and no such vote shall be
presented to the mavor for his approval
notwithstanding the
provisions of section seventeen D. All such special
elections as provided in section fifteen A shall be
governed
by the provisions of this act except: (a) the
subscription required by section fifty-five shall be
done within ten
days of the call, (b) no nomination petition shall be
issued by the election commission before the seventh
day
following the call, (c) the nomination petition shall
be signed, in the case of a district city councillor
in a special
preliminary election by the same number of signatures
as provided in section fifty-six for a district city
council-
lor candidate in a regular preliminary election, (cl)
all nomination petitions shall be filed with the
election
commission before five o'clock in the afternoon on the
fifteenth day following the adoption of the order
calling
a special preliminary election, (e) no candidate for
district city councillor shall withdraw his name from
nomination after the last day to file objections to
nomination petitions, (/) the election commission
shall
complete the certification required by section
fifty-seven within two weeks of the last day for the
filing of
nomination petitions, (g) a nomination petition which
has been filed and is in apparent conformity with the
law shall be valid unless written objection thereto is
made by a registered voter of the city. Such objection
shall
be filed with the election commission within three
days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays
following the certification of signatures, (h) no
candidate shall be substituted as provided for in
section fifty-
seven B and (i) nothwithstanding the provisions of any
General Law to the contrary, a petition for recount
may
be filed with the election commission before five
o'clock in the afternoon on the third day following
the
certification of a special preliminary election for
nominating a district city councillor.
SECT. 16.8 Every city councillor shall be paid an
annual salary ... and no other sum shall be paid from
the city treasury for or on account of any personal
expenses directly or indirectly incurred by or in
behalf of any
city councillor.
SECT. 17. The city council shall be the judge of the
election and qualification of its members; shall elect
from its members by vote of a majority of all the
members a president who when present shall preside at
the
meetings thereof; and shall from time to time
establish rules for its proceedings. The member eldest
in years
shall preside until the president is chosen, and in
case of the absence of the president, until a
presiding officer
is chosen.
SECT. 17A, The mayor may, whenever in his judgment the
good of the city requires it, summon a meeting
or meetings of the city council although said council
stands adjourned to a more distant day, and shall
cause
suitable written notice of such meeting or meetings to
be given to the city councillors.
SECT. 17B. The city council may, subject to the
approval of the mayor, from time to time establish
such
offices, other than that of clerk, as it may deem
necessary for the conduct of its affairs and at such
salaries as it
may determine, and abolish such offices or alter such
salaries; and without such approval may fill the
offices
thus established and remove the incumbents at
pleasure. The city clerk shall act as clerk of the
city council.
SECT. 17C. All elections by the city council under any
provision of law, including the choosing of a city
councillor under section fifteen, shall be made by a
viva voce vote, each member who is present answering
to
his name when it is called by the clerk or other
proper officer, and stating the name of the person for
whom he
votes, or declining to vote, as the case may be; and
the clerk or other proper officer shall record every
such
vote. No such election shall be valid unless it is
made as aforesaid.
SECT. 17D. Every order, ordinance, resolution and vote
of the city council (except special municipal
election orders adopted under section thirteen, votes
relating to the internal affairs of said council,
resolutions
not affecting legal rights, votes electing officials,
and votes confirming appointments by the mayor) shall
be
presented to the mayor for his approval. If he
approves it, he shall sign it; and thereupon it shall
be in force. If
he disapproves it, he shall, by filing it with the
city clerk with his objections thereto in writing,
return it to the
city council which shall enter the objections at large
on its records. Every order, ordinance, resolution and
vote authorizing a loan or appropriating money or
accepting a statute involving the expenditure of
money,
which is so returned to the city council, shall be
void, and no further action shall be taken thereon;
but the city
council shall proceed forthwith to reconsider every
other order, ordinance, resolution and vote so
returned,
and if, after such reconsideration, two thirds of all
the city councillors vote to pass it notwithstanding
the
disapproval of the mayor, it shall then be in force;
but no such vote shall be taken before the seventh day
after
the city council has entered the objections at large
on its records. Every order, ordinance, resolution or
vote
required by this section to be presented to the mayor
which, within fifteen days after such presentation, is
neither signed by him nor filed with his written
objections as hereinbefore provided, shall be in force
on and
after the sixteenth day following such presentation.
Every order, ordinance, resolution or vote required by
this section to be presented to the mayor shall be
approved as a whole or disapproved as a whole; except
that, if the same authorizes a loan or appropriates
money, the mayor may approve some of the items in
whole or in part and disapprove other of the items in
whole or in part; and such items or parts of items as
he approves shall, upon his signing the same, be in
force
and such items or parts of items as he disapproves by
filing with the city clerk his written objections
thereto
shall be void, and such items or parts of items as he
neither signs nor so disapproves with fifteen days
after the
order, ordinance, resolution or vote shall have been
presented to him shall be in force on and after the
sixteenth day following such presentation.
Every order of the city council approving a petition
to the general court pursuant to Clause (1) of Section
8
of Article 2 of the amendments to the Constitution of
the Commonwealth shall be presented to the mayor who
shall forthwith consider the same, and, within fifteen
days of presentation, either approve it, or file with
the
city council a statement in detail of his reasons for
not approving the same, including any objection based
on
form, on content, or both; provided, that no such
order shall be deemed approved or in force unless the
mayor
affixes his signature thereto.9
SECT. 17E.10 The mayor from time to time may make to
the city council in the form of an ordinance or loan
order filed with the city clerk such recommendations
as he may deem to be for the welfare of the city. The
city
council shall consider each ordinance or loan order so
presented and shall either adopt or reject the same
within sixty days after the date when it is filed as
aforesaid. If such ordinance or loan order is not
rejected
within said sixty days, it shall be in force as if
adopted by the city council unless previously
withdrawn by the
mayor. Nothing herein shall prevent the mayor from
again presenting an ordinance or loan order which has
been rejected or withdrawn. The city council may
originate an ordinance or loan order and may reduce or
reject any item in any loan and, subject to the
approval of the mayor, may amend an ordinance. All
sales of land
other than school lands, all appropriations for the
purchase of land, and all loans voted by the city
council shall
require a vote of two thirds of all the city
councillors and shall be passed only after two
separate readings and
by two separate votes, the second of said readings and
votes to be had not less than fourteen days after the
first,
except that in the case of loan orders for temporary
loans in anticipation of taxes the second of said
readings
and votes may be had not less than twenty-four hours
after the first. No amendment increasing the amount to
be paid for the purchase of land, or the amount of
loans, or altering the disposition of purchase money
or of the
proceeds of loans shall be made at the time of the
second reading and vote. If a petition signed by three
city
councillors requesting that action be taken forthwith
upon a loan order presented by the mayor is filed in
the
office of the city clerk not earlier than fourteen
days after the presentation of such loan order, action
shall be
taken by the yeas and nays on the question of the
adoption of such loan order at the next meeting of the
council, or, if one vote has already been taken
thereon, at the next meeting after the expiration of
the required
interval after such vote; provided, that such action
thereon has not sooner been taken or such loan order
has
not been withdrawn by the mayor.
SECT. 17F.11 The city council at anytime may request
from the mayor specific information on any munici-
pal matter within its jurisdiction, and may request
his presence to answer written questions relating
thereto at
a meeting to be held not earlier than one week from
the date of the receipt of said questions, in which
case the
mayor shall personally, or through a head of a
department or a member of a board, attend such meeting
and
publicly answer all such questions. The person so
attending shall not be obliged to answer questions
relating
to any other matter.
Specific information, as used in this section, shall
include any and all records, other than those exempt
from
disclosure under clause Twenty-six of section
seventy-seven of chapter four of the General Laws,
within the
control of any executive department or agency of the
city, including the Boston water and sewer commission
and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, whether the
information is in printed or electronic form. For the
purposes of enforcing this section, the city council
shall have standing to request a justice of the
superior court
department of the trial court of the commonwealth to
issue appropriate orders to compel compliance with
this
section. The mayor at any time may attend and address
the city council in person or through the head of a
department, or a member of a board, upon such subject
as he may desire.
SECT. 17G. Except as otherwise provided in chapter
four hundred and eighty-six of the acts of nineteen
hundred and nine, neither the city council nor any
member, committee, officer or employee thereof shall
directly or indirectly on behalf of the city or of the
county of Suffolk take part in the employment of
labor, the
making of contracts, or the purchase of materials,
supplies or real estate; nor in the construction,
alteration, or
repair of any public works, buildings, or other
property; nor in the care, custody, or management of
the same;
nor in the conduct of the executive or administrative
business of the city or county; nor in the appointment
or
removal of any city or county employee; nor in the
expenditure of public money except such as may be
necessary for the contingent and incidental expenses
of the city council. Any person violating any
provision of
this section shall be punished by imprisonment for not
more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one
thousand dollars, or both.
SECT. 17H. No city councillor nor any person elected
city councillor shall during the term for which he is
elected or chosen, be appointed to, or hold, any
office or position which is under the city government
or the
salary of which is payable out of the city treasury
except the office of city councillor and any office
held ex
officio by virtue of being a member, or president, of
the city council; provided, however, that nothing
herein
contained shall prevent a city councillor or any
person elected city councillor from, during the term
for which
he is elected or chosen, being appointed by the
governor, with or without the advice and consent of
the
council, to, and holding, any such office or position
if before entering upon the duties of such office or
position
he resigns as city councillor or city
councillor-elect.
SECT. 18.12 ... at every regular municipal election .
. . there shall be elected at large four school
commitee members, and nine elected from equally
populous districts, each to hold office for the two
municipal years
following the municipal year in which he is elected.
SECT. 19. If at any time a vacancy occurs in the
school committee from any cause, the mayor, the
president of the city council and the remaining school
committee members, meeting in joint convention, shall,
by a majority vote, choose, as school committee member
for the unexpired term, any registered voter of the
city duly qualified to vote for a candidate for the
office of school committee member. If there is a
failure to elect
a school committee member or a person elected school
committee member resigns or dies before taking office,
the remaining school committee members elect upon
taking office and the then mayor and the then
president
of the city council shall meet in joint convention and
by a majority vote choose such a registered voter as
school committee member for the unexpired term.
SECT. 20. The members of the school committee shall
meet and organize on the first Monday of January
following their election. The school committee shall
be the judge of the election and qualifications of its
members. The members of the school committee shall
serve with compensation. Said compensation shall be a
sum as may from time to time be fixed by ordinance.
SECT. 53. Every municipal officer required by sections
twelve, thirteen, fourteen and eighteen to be
elected at large shall be elected at a biennial
municipal election, or, in the case of a mayor for an
unexpired
term, at a special municipal election, after, in
either case, nomination at a preliminary municipal
election,
except as otherwise provided in section fifty-seven C.
In sections fifty-three to sixty-five, inclusive, the
term
"regular election" shall be construed to refer to the
biennial municipal election or the special municipal
election, as the case may be, and the term
"preliminary election" to the preliminary municipal
election held
for the purpose of nominating candidates for election
at such regular election. Every preliminary election
shall, unless dispensed with under said section
fifty-seven C, be held on the sixth Tuesday preceding
the
regular election.
SECT. 54. Any person who is a registered voter of the
city duly qualified to vote for a candidate for an
elective municipal office therein may be a candidate
for nomination to such office; provided, that a
petition for
the nomination of such person is obtained, signed and
filed as provided in sections fifty-five, fifty-five
A, and
fifty-six, and signatures of petitioners thereon, to
the number required by section fifty-six, certified as
pro-
vided in section fifty-seven by the board of election
commissioners, in sections fifty-five to sixty-five,
inclusive,
called the election commission.
SECT. 55.13 A nomination petition shall be issued only
to a person subscribing after the thirteenth Tues-
day, and before the eighth Tuesday, preceding the
preliminary election, in a book kept for the purpose
by the
election commission, a statement of candidacy in
substantially the following form:-
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
CITY OF BOSTON
STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY.
I, (name with first or middle name in full), under the
pains and penalties of perjury declare that I reside
at
(street and number, if any) in District (number) of
the City of Boston; that I am a registered voter of
said City
duly qualified to vote for a candidate for the office
hereinafter memtioned; that I am a candidate for
nomina-
tion for the office of Mayor or City
Councillor-at-Large or City Councillor representing
District (number) or
School Committee member-at-Large or School Committee
member representing District (number); that I
request that my name be printed as such candidate on
the official ballot to be used at the preliminary
munici-
pal election to be held on Tuesday, , 19 , for the
purpose of nominating candidates for election to
such office; and that I also request that my
nomination petition contain the following statement
(not exceeding
eight words) concerning the elective public offices
now or formerly held by me:-
.....................................................
Signature of Candidate.
SECT. 55A. A nomination petition shall be issued by
the election commission not later than twelve o'clock
noon on the second day (Saturdays, Sundays and legal
holidays excluded) after the subscription of a
statement
of candidacy, except that no such petition shall be
issued before the eleventh Tuesday preceding the
prelimi-
nary election. A nomination petition shall not relate
to more than one candidate nor to more than one
office. A
nomination petition may state the elective public
offices which the candidate holds or has held under
the
government of the commonwealth, the county of Suffolk
or the city of Boston or in congress as a representa-
tive or senator from the commonwealth; provided, that
such statement shall not exceed eight words and shall,
with respect to each such office, consist solely of
the title, as hereinafter given, of such office,
preceded, if the
candidate is the then incumbent thereof, by the word
"Present", otherwise, by the word "Former."
For the purposes of such statement, the titles of the
elective public offices which may be stated shall be
deemed to be as follows:- city councillor-at-large,
district city councillor, school committee
member-at-large,
district school committee member, mayor, district
attorney, sheriff, register of deeds, register of
probate,
county clerk of superior (criminal) court, county
clerk of superior (civil) court, county clerk of
supreme
judicial court, state representative, state senator,
governor's councillor, attorney general, state
auditor, state
treasurer, state secretary, lieutenant governor,
governor, congressman, and United States senator.
If the candidate is a veteran as defined in section
twenty-one of chapter thirty-one of the General Laws,
his
nomination petition may contain the word "Veteran,"
which, in the case of a candidate holding or having
held
elective public office as aforesaid, shall, for the
purposes of this section and sections fifty-five,
fifty-eight and
sixty-two, be counted as a part of the statement
concerning the elective public offices held by him,
and, in the
case of a candidate who does not hold and has never
held elective public office as aforesaid, shall, for
the
purposes of said sections, be deemed to be a statement
concerning the elective public offices held by him.
A nomination petition may consist of one or more
sheets; but each sheet shall be in substantially the
following form:-
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
CITY OF BOSTON
NOMINATION PETITION.
Whereas (name of candidate) residing at (street and
number, if any) in District (number) of the City of
Boston, (here insert any lawfully requested statement
concerning the elective public offices held by
candidate) is
a candidate for nomination for the office of (Mayor or
City Councillor-at-Large or District City Councillor
or
School Committee member-at-Large or District School
Committee member), the undersigned, registered
voters of the City of Boston, duly qualified to vote
for a candidate for said office, do hereby request
that the
name of said (name of candidate) as a candidate for
nomination for said office be printed on the official
ballot to
be used at the preliminary municipal election to be
held on Tuesday, , 19
Each of the undersigned does hereby certify that he or
she has not subscribed (if the petition relates to the
office of mayor or district city councillor or
district school committee member, here insert: - any
other nomina-
tion petition for said office; if the petition relates
to the office of city councillor-at-large or school
committee member-at-large, here insert: - more than
three other nomination petitions for said office).
In case the above named candidate withdraws his name
from nomination or is found to be ineligible or dies,
we authorize (names and residences of a committee of
not less than five persons) or a majority thereof as
our
representatives to fill the vacancy in the manner
prescribed by law.
Signature of
Nominators
(To be signed in person with name as registered)
Residence
January 1. 19
(If registered after above
date. residence when
registered)
Ward Precinct Present Residence
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
SUFFOLK, ss. Boston, , 19
The undersigned, being the circulator or circulators
of this sheet, severally certify, under the pains and
penalties of perjury, that the persons whose names are
written upon the lines the numbers of which appear
opposite our signatures below, signed the same in
person.
NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF PERSONS CIRCULATING THIS SHEET
Numbers of Lines Upon Which Appear Signatures to Which
Certification is Made Hereby
Name Address
Add here or at some other convenient place on
the nomination petition sheet the following.
I hereby accept the nomination.
............................................
Signature of Candidate.
This nomination petition sheet filed by
............................................
Signature of Filer.
............................................
Number, Street, City.
Every nomination petition sheet shall, before
issuance, be prepared by the election commission by
printing
or inserting thereon the matter required by the first
two paragraphs of the foregoing form. Not more than
three hundred nomination petition sheets shall be
issued to any candidate for nomination to the office
of
mayor under Plan A and not more than one hundred and
fifty such sheets shall be issued to any candidate for
nomination to the office of city councillor-at-large
or any candidate for nomination to the office of
school
committee member-at-large. Not more than twenty
nomination sheets shall be issued to any candidate for
nomination to the office of district city councillor
or district school committee member. No nomination
peti-
tion sheet shall be received or be valid unless
prepared and issued by the election commission; nor
shall any
such sheet be received or be valid unless the written
acceptance of the candidate thereby nominated is
endorsed thereon, anything in section three A of
chapter fifty of the General Laws to the contrary
notwith-
standing.
SECT. 56.14 The nomination petition shall be signed,
in the case of a candidate for mayor, by at least
three
thousand registered voters of the city qualified to
vote for such candidate; in the case of a candidate
for city
councillor-at-large or school committee
member-at-large by at least five hundred registered
voters; and in the
case of a candidate for district city councillor or
district school committee member, by at least the
number of
voters residing in the district as shall be set in
ordinance by the city council and mayor, in accordance
with the
last paragraph of section three of chapter six hundred
and five of the acts of nineteen hundred and
eighty-two.
Every voter signing a nomination petition shall sign
in person, with his name as registered, and shall
state
his residence on January first preceding, or his
residence when registered if subsequent thereto, and
the place
where he is then living, with the street and number,
if any; but any voter who is prevented by physical
disability from writing may authorize some person to
write his name and residence in his presence. No voter
may sign as a petitioner more than one nomination
petition for the office of mayor or district city
councillor or
district school committee member, nor more than four
nomination petitions of the office of city
councillor-at-
large or school committee member-at-large. If the name
of any voter appears as petitioner on more nomination
petitions for an office than prescribed in this
section, his name shall, in determining the number of
petitioners,
be counted, in the case of the office of mayor,
district city councillor or district school committee
member,
only on the nomination petition sheet bearing his name
first filed with the election commission, and in the
case of the office of city councillor-at-large or
school committee member-at-large, only on the four
nomination
petition sheets bearing his name first filed with the
commission. If the name of any voter appears as
petitioner
on the same nomination petition more than once, it
shall be deemed to appear but once. The signature of
any
petitioner which is not certified by the circulator of
the sheet as provided in the form set forth in section
fifty-
five A shall not be counted in determining the number
of petitioners.
The separate sheets of a nomination petition may be
filed all at one time or in lots of one or more from
time
to time, but shall all be filed with the election
commission at or before five o'clock in the afternoon
on the
eighth Tuesday preceding the preliminary election.
Every nomination petition sheet shall be filed by a
re-
sponsible person, who shall sign such sheet and, if he
is other than the candidate, add to his signature his
place
of residence, giving street and number, if any; and
the election commission shall require satisfactory
identification of such person.
The names of candidates appearing on nomination
petitions shall, when filed, be a matter of public
record; but no nomination petition shall be open to
public inspection until the signatures on all
nomination petitions
for the same office have been certified.
SECT. 57. Upon the filing of each nomination petition
sheet the election commission shall check each
name to be certified by it on such sheet and shall
certify thereon the number of signatures so checked
which
are the names of registered voters of the city
qualified to sign the same; provided, however, that
said commis-
sion shall not certify, in connection with a single
nomination petition, a greater number of names than
re-
quired by section fifty-six with twenty per cent of
such number added thereto. Names not certified in the
first
instance shall not thereafter be certified on the same
nomination petition. All nomination petitions not con-
taining names certified pursuant to this section, to
the number required by said section fifty-six, shall
be
invalid. The election commission shall complete the
certification required by this section at or before
five
o'clock in the afternoon on the thirty-fourth day
preceding the preliminary election.
SECT. 57A. A nomination petition which has been filed
and is in apparent conformity with law shall be
valid unless written objection thereto is made by a
registered voter of the city. Such objection shall be
filed
with the election commission at or before five o'clock
in the afternoon of the forty-ninth day preceding the
preliminary election. Objections filed with the
election commission shall forthwith be transmitted by
it to the
Boston ballot law commission. Certification pursuant
to section fifty-seven shall not preclude a voter from
filing objections to the validity of a nomination
petition.
SECT. 57B.15 Any candidate may withdraw his name from
nomination by a request signed and duly
acknowledged by him; provided, however, that all
withdrawals shall be filed with the election
commission at
or before five o'clock in the afternoon on the
forty-ninth day preceding the preliminary election. If
a candidate
so withdraws his name from nomination before five
o'clock in the afternoon of the twenty-ninth day
preceding
the preliminary election, or is found to be ineligible
or dies, the vacancy may be filled by a committee of
not
less than five persons or a majority thereof, if such
committee be named and so authorized in the nomination
petition; provided, however, that all certificates of
substitution, except any certificate of substitution
for a
deceased candidate for mayor under Plan A, shall be
filed with the election commission at or before five
o'clock in the afternoon on said twenty-ninth day.
The certificate of substitution for a deceased
candidate for mayor under Plan A shall be filed with
the
election commission (a) at or before five o'clock in
the afternoon on the first Tuesday preceding the
prelimi-
nary election if he dies on or before the second
Friday preceding the preliminary election (b) at or
before five
o'clock in the afternoon on the first Friday following
the preliminary election if he dies after the second
Friday
preceding such election and before the closing of the
polls at such election (c) at or before five o'clock
in the
afternoon on the Tuesday preceding the regular
election if he dies after the closing of the polls at
the prelimi-
nary election and on or before the second Friday
preceding the regular election, and (d) at or before
five
o'clock in the afternoon on the first Friday following
the regular election if he dies after the second
Friday
preceding such election and before the closing of the
polls at such election; provided, however, that no
certificate of substitution for such a deceased
candidate shall be filed after the closing of the
polls at the
preliminary election unless such candidate, if living,
would be deemed under either section fifty-seven C or
sixty-one to have been nominated for the office of
mayor under Plan A.
If a certificate of substitution for a deceased
candidate for mayor under Plan A is filed at or before
five
o'clock in the afternoon on the first Tuesday
preceding the preliminary election, the ballots for
use at such
election shall be printed with the name, residence and
ward of the substitute in the place of the name,
residence and ward of the deceased; and the voting
machine ballot labels for use at such election, if not
previously printed, shall be printed with the name,
residence and ward of the substitute in the place of
the
name, residence and ward of the deceased, and, if
previously printed shall have a slip containing the
name,
residence and ward of the substitute pasted over the
name, residence and ward of the deceased. If such a
certificate is filed after five o'clock in the
afternoon on the first Tuesday preceding the
preliminary election, all
ballots and voting machine ballot labels for use as
such election shall bear the name, residence and ward
of the
deceased but shall be deemed as a matter of law to
bear the name, residence and ward of the substitute in
the
place of the name, residence and ward of the deceased,
and a vote for the deceased at such election shall be
counted as a vote for the substitute. If such a
certificate is filed at or before five o'clock in the
afternoon on the
first Tuesday preceding the regular election, the
ballots for use at such election other than absent
voting
ballots shall be printed with the name, residence and
ward of the substitute in the place of the name,
residence
and ward of the deceased; and the absent voting
ballots for use at such election, if not previously
printed, shall
be printed with the name, residence and ward of the
substitute in the place of the name, residence and
ward of
the deceased and, if previously printed, shall be
deemed as a matter of law to bear the name, residence
and
ward of the substitute in the place of the name,
residence and ward of the deceased so that a vote
thereon for
the deceased shall be counted as a vote for the
substitute; and the voting machine ballot labels for
use at such
election, if not previously printed, shall be printed
with the name, residence and ward of the substitute in
the
place of the name, residence and ward of the deceased,
and, if previously printed, shall have a slip
containing
the name, residence and ward of the substitute pasted
over the name, residence and ward of the deceased. If
a
candidate for mayor under Plan A in whose nomination
petition a committee of not less than five persons or
a
majority thereof is authorized to fill a vacancy dies
after the second Friday preceding the regular election
and
a certificate of substitution is not filed at or
before five o'clock in the the afternoon on the first
Tuesday
preceding such election, so far, but only so far, as
it is for the purpose of electing a person for the
office of
mayor shall be postponed for four weeks and no vote
cast for any candidate for mayor at the originally
scheduled election shall be counted.
Every certificate of substitution shall state:--(1) the
name of the substitute, (2) his residence, with street
and number, if any, and ward, (3) the office for which
he is to be a candidate, (4) the name of the original
candidate, (5) the fact of his death, withdrawal or
ineligibility, and (6) the proceedings had for making
the
substitution. The chairman and secretary of the
committee shall sign and make oath to the truth of the
certificate; and it shall be accompanied by the
written acceptance of the candidate substituted. A
certificate of
substitution shall be open to objection in the same
manner, so far as practicable, as a nomination
petition.
SECT. 57C. On the first day, other than a legal
holiday or Saturday or Sunday, following the
expiration of
the time for filing withdrawals and the final
disposition of any objections filed, the election
commission shall
post in a conspicuous place in city hall the names,
residences and districts of the candidates for
nomination for
mayor and for city councillor-at-large and school
committee member-at-large who have duly qualified as
such
candidates, as they are to appear on the official
ballots to be used in the preliminary election or
special
preliminary election for filling an unexpired term of
mayor, except to the order of the names. The election
commission shall also post in city hall the names,
addresses and districts of all candidates for
nomination as
district city councillors and school committee
members, the lists grouped by numerical identifying
district
and showing names of candidates duly qualified to
appear on the official ballots to be used at the
preliminary
election to fill a district vacancy. In at least one
place in a public building in each of the districts
the election
commission shall cause to be posted the names and
addresses of all candidates for district office in the
respec-
tive district office in the respective district and
the names, addresses and districts ofat-large
candidates. If
there are so posted the names of not more than two
candidates for the office of mayor or district city
councillor
or district school committee member, the candidates
whose names are so posted shall be deemed to have been
nominated for said office and the preliminary election
for the purpose of nominating candidates thereof shall
be dispensed with; if there are posted the names of
not more than eight candidates for the office of city
councillor-at-large or school committee
members-at-large, the candidates whose names are so
posted shall be
deemed to have been nominated for said office, and the
preliminary election to nominate candidates therefor
shall be dispensed with.
SECT. 58. On the day of the posting provided for by
section fifty-seven C, or as soon thereafter as
conven-
iently may be, the election commission shall draw by
lot the position of the candidates on the ballot. Each
candidate shall have an opportunity to be present at
such drawing in person or by one representative. As
soon
as conveniently may be after such drawing, the
election commission shall cause the ballots to be
printed. Said
ballots shall, in addition to the directions and
numbers provided for by section fifty-nine, contain,
in the order
drawn by the election commission, the names posted as
aforesaid (except those of candidates deemed under
section fifty-seven C to have been nominated), and no
others, with a designation of residence and district
and
the title and term of the office for which the person
named is a candidate, and the statement, if any,
contained
in his nomination petition concerning the elective
public offices held by him. Said ballots shall be
official and
no others shall be used at the preliminary election.
Said ballots shall be headed as follows:
OFFICIAL PRELIMINARY MUNICIPAL
ELECTION BALLOT
Candidates for nomination for the offices of in the
City of Boston at the preliminary municipal election
to be held on Tuesday, ,19 .
The heading of said ballots shall be varied in
accordance with the offices for which nominations are
to be
made.
SECT. 59. At every preliminary election, and every
regular election under Plan A, each voter shall be
entitled to vote for not more than one candidate for
the office of mayor, district city councillor or
district
school committee member and not more than four
candidates for the office of city councillor-at-large
or school
committee member-at-large. On the ballots and voting
machine ballot labels for use at each of said
elections,
there shall, as a direction to the voter, be printed
in capital letters, near the title of each office to
be voted for,
the words "VOTE FOR (here insert in words the number
of candidates specified in this section with respect
to
such office"). The election commission, when drawing
under section fifty-eight the position on the ballot
of
the candidates for nomination at every preliminary
election, shall draw the positions of all candidates
for
mayor, if any are to be drawn, before drawing the
position of any candidate for city councillor or
school
committee member and shall draw the positions of all
candidates for city councillor, if any are to be
drawn,
before drawing the position of any candidate for
school committee member. The election commission imme-
diately prior to drawing positions for mayor, if such
office is to be contested, shall announce and deposit
in
alphabetical order in the receptacle from which names
are to be drawn cards bearing the names and addresses
of candidates for nomination or for election for the
office. Names then drawn shall determine the order of
appearance on the ballot. After the drawing for mayor
has been completed, the election commission shall
announce and deposit in alphabetical order in the
receptacle from which names are to be drawn, cards
bearing the names and addresses of all candidates for
election to the city council, whether for at-large or
district seats. Cards for candidates for city
councillor-at-large shall have no other marking;
provided, however,
that each card for a candidate for district city
councillor shall bear the number of the district in
which the
candidate is running. After all cards have been
deposited, the election commission shall proceed to
draw
names, the order of drawing to determine the sequence
each name will have on its respective at-large or
district ballot. After all names have been drawn for
city council, the election commission shall proceed in
the
same fashion to announce, deposit, draw and assign
ballot positions to candidates for school
committee member-at-large and from districts.
SECT. 60. The election officers shall, immediately
upon the closing of the polls at preliminary
elections,
count the ballots and ascertain the number of votes
cast in the several voting places for each candidate,
and
forthwith make return thereof upon the total vote
sheets or, if voting machines are used, the general or
precinct record sheets, as the case may be, to the
election commission which shall forthwith canvass said
returns and, subject to the provisions of the first
sentence of section one hundred and thirty-seven of
chapter
fifty-four of the General Laws, determine and declare
the result thereof, publish said result in one or more
newspapers in the city, and post the same in a
conspicuous place in the city hall.
SECT. 61. The two persons receiving at a preliminary
election under Plan A the highest number of votes
for nomination for the office of mayor, district city
councillor or district school committee member, shall
be
deemed to have been nominated for said office; and the
eight persons receiving at such election under Plan A
the highest number of votes for nomination for the
office of city councillor-at-large or school
committee member-at-large shall be deemed to have been
nominated for such office. If a preliminary election
under Plan A or D results in a tie vote among
candidates for nomination receiving the lowest number
of votes,
which, but for said tie vote, would entitle a person
receiving the same to be deemed to have been
nominated,
all persons participating in said tie vote shall be
deemed to have been nominated, although in consequence
there be printed on the official ballot to be used at
the regular election names to a number exceeding twice
the
number to be elected.
SECT. 62. The name of every person deemed under
section fifty-seven C or section sixty-one to have
been
nominated, together with his residence and district
and the title and term of the office for which he is a
candidate, and the statement, if any, contained in his
nomination petition concerning the elective public
offices held by him, shall, in addition to the
directions provided for by section fifty-nine, be
printed on the
official ballots to be used at the regular election;
and said persons shall be the sole candidates whose
names
may be printed on such ballots. As soon as
conveniently may be after the sixth Tuesday preceding
every
regular election, the election commission shall draw
by lot the position of said names on said ballots; and
said
names shall be printed on such ballots in the order so
drawn. Each candidate shall have an opportunity to be
present at such drawing in person or by one
representative.
SECT. 63. No ballot used at any preliminary or regular
election shall have printed thereon any party or
political designation or mark, and there shall not be
appended to the name of any candidate any such party
or
political designation or mark or anything showing how
he was nominated or indicating his views or opinions.
SECT. 64. On every ballot to be used at a preliminary
or regular election, there shall be left, at the end
of
the list of candidates for each office, blank spaces
equal to the number for which a voter may vote for
such
office, in which blank spaces the voter may insert the
name of any person not printed on the ballot for whom
he
desires to vote for such office.
Section Numbers refer to
Chapter 452 of the Acts of 1948,
as amended through-January 1, 1996
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SECT. 3.16 All appropriations, excepting those for
school purposes, to be met from taxes, revenue or any
source other than loans, shall originate with the
mayor. The mayor, not later than the second Wednesday
in
April of each year, shall submit to the city council
the annual budget of the current expenses of the city
and
county for the forthcoming fiscal year, and may submit
thereafter such supplementary appropriation orders as
he may deem necessary. The city council may reduce or
reject any item but, except upon the recommenda-
tion of the mayor, shall not increase any item in, nor
the total of, a budget, nor add any item thereto, nor
shall it
originate a budget. Not later than the second
Wednesday in June, the city council shall take
definite action on
the annual budget by adopting, reducing or rejecting
it, and in the event of their failure so to do, the
items and
the appropriation orders in the budget as recommended
by the mayor shall be in effect as if formally adopted
by the city council and approved by the mayor. The
city council shall take definite action on any
supplemen-
tary appropriation order and any order for a transfer
of appropriations by adopting, reducing or rejecting
it
within sixty days after it is filed with the city
clerk; and in the event of their failure so to do,
such supplemen-
tary appropriation order or transfer as submitted by
the mayor shall be in effect as if formally adopted by
the
city council and approved by the mayor. It shall be
the duty of the city and the county officials when
requested
by the mayor, to submit to the mayor forthwith in such
detail as the mayor may require estimates for the next
fiscal year of the expenditures of the department or
office under their charge, which estimates shall be
transmitted to the city council; provided, however,
that the mayor shall neither submit, nor thereafter
reduce,
the appropriations for the city council at or to a
level below that which existed for the previous fiscal
year, nor
shall the city council reduce the appropriations for
the mayor's office below that which existed for the
pre-
vious fiscal year.
SECT. 3A.17 In the period after the expiration of any
fiscal year, and before the regular appropriations
have
been made by the city council and the school
committee, city and county officers who are authorized
to make
expenditures, and the school committee, may incur
liabilities in carrying on the work of the several
depart-
ments and offices entrusted to them, and payments
therefor shall be made from the treasury from any
availa-
ble funds therein and charged against the next annual
appropriation, or special appropriation, if any is
made;
provided, that the liabilities incurred during such
interval for regular employees do no exceed in any one
month the average monthly expenditure of the last
three months of the preceding fiscal year, and that
the total
liabilities incurred during said interval do no exceed
in any one month the sums spent for similar purposes
during any one month of the preceding fiscal year; and
provided, further, that said officers who are
authorized
to make expenditures may expend in any one month for
any new officer or board lawfully created an amount
not exceeding one twelfth of the estimated cost for
the current fiscal year; and provided, further, that
until a
regular or special appropriation has been made for
snow removal, expenditures maybe made for that purpose
to an amount not exceeding the average of the annual
expenditures for snow removal in the five preceding
fiscal years. Notwithstanding the foregoing
limitations upon the authority of city officers to
incur liabilities
during said interval, such officers may incur
liabilities to such extent as may be necessary for the
purpose of
compensating first assistant assessors for their
regular duties.
SECT. 3B.18 After an appropriation of money has been
made by the city for any specific purpose, or for the
needs and expenditures of any city department or
county office, no transfer of any part of the money
thus
appropriated, between such department or office and
another department or office, shall be made, except in
accordance with and after the written recommendation
of the mayor to the city council, approved by a yea or
nay vote of two-thirds of all of the members of the
city council, provided that the city auditor, with the
approval in each instance of the mayor, may make
transfers, other than for personal service, from any
item to
any other item within the appropriations for a
department, division of a department or county office.
After the
close of the fiscal year, the city auditor may, with
the approval of the mayor in each instance, apply any
income,
taxes and funds not disposed of and make transfers
from any appropriation to any other appropriation for
the
purpose only of closing the accounts of such fiscal
year, provided further that the city auditor within
seventy
days after the close of the fiscal year, shall
transmit to city council and the city clerk a report
listing what
income, taxes or funds were applied and what transfers
were made and the reasons therefor.
SECT. 4A.19 The mayor may designate one clerical
assistant for whose acts he shall be responsible to
sign
his name in approval of all vouchers of less than five
hundred dollars each.
SECT. 5.20 The city council with the approval of the
mayor may from time to time make bylaws or ordi-
nances for any or all of the following purposes:--(a)
to create a new department or agency; (b) to abolish,
in
whole or in part, any department or agency; (c) to
reorganize, in whole or in part, any department or
depart-
ment head or any agency or agency head; (d) to confer
or impose on any department or agency any power or
duty of the city not appertaining at the time of the
making of the bylaw or ordinance to any department or
agency; (e) to transfer any or all of the powers,
duties and appropriations of any division of any
department or
agency to another division of the same department or
agency; (f) to transfer any or all of the powers,
duties and
appropriations of any department or division thereof
or of any agency or division thereof either to another
department or division thereof or to another agency or
division thereof; and (g) to increase, reduce,
establish
or abolish the salary of any department or agency
head. Every department or agency head created by, or
resulting from a reorganization effected by, a bylaw
or ordinance made under this section shall, unless ex-
officio, be appointed by the mayor without
confirmation by the city council for a term expiring
on the first
Monday of the January following the next biennial
municipal election at which a mayor is elected or, in
the
case of a person serving without compensation or of a
person serving on the board of appeal, the board of
examiners, the board of examiners of gasfitters or
other like board, for such other term as the bylaw or
ordinance may prescribe. Every person holding an
office or position subject to the civil service law
and rules
shall, if the office or position is abolished by a
bylaw or ordinance made under this section and the
bylaw or
ordinance so provides, be reappointed without civil
service examination or registration to a similar
office or
position with similar status in any new department or
agency, or division of either, thereby created or in
any
department or agency, or division of either, not
thereby abolished; and every such person shall upon
such
reappointment, retain all rights to retirement with
pension that shall have accrued or would thereafter
accrue
to him; and his services shall be deemed to have been
continuous to the same extent as if such abolition had
not taken place. As used in this section, the term
"agency" shall be construed to mean any office in
charge of a
board or officer not subject to the direction of a
department head. Nothing in this section shall
authorize any
action in conflict with the civil service laws or
rules except as expressly provided herein; nor shall
any bylaw or
ordinance made under this section affect in any way
the school committee or any board or officer of the
school
committee or school department, or the board of
commissioners of school buildings or the
superintendent of
construction, or the board of trustees of the
teachers' retirement fund or the board of trustees of
the perma-
nent school pension fund, or the Boston retirement
board, or the city clerk, or the board of election
commis-
sioners, or the Boston traffic commission, or any
board or officer appointed by the governor.
SECT. 6. No contract for lighting the public streets,
parks, or alleys, or for the collection, removal, or
disposal of refuse, extending over a period of more
than one year from the date thereof, shall be valid
without
the approval of the mayor and the city council after a
public hearing held by the city council of which at
least
seven days' notice shall have been given in the City
Record.
SECT. 8. Neither the city council, nor any member or
committee, officer, or employees thereof shall,
except as otherwise provided in this act, directly or
indirectly on behalf of the city or the county of
Suffolk take
part in the employment of labor, the making of
contracts, the purchase of materials, supplies or real
estate; nor
in the construction, alteration, or repair of any
public works, buildings, or other property; nor in the
care,
custody, and management of the same; nor in the
conduct of the executive or administrative business of
the
city or county; nor in the appointment or removal of
any municipal or county employee; nor in the expendi-
ture of public money except such as may be necessary
for the contingent and incidental expenses of the city
council. . . .
It shall be unlawful for the mayor or for a member of
the city council or for any officer or employee of the
city
or of the county of Suffolk or for a member of the
finance commission directly or indirectly to make a
contract
with the city or with the county of Suffolk, or to
receive any commission, discount, bonus, gift,
contribution or
reward from or any share in the profits of any person
or corporation making or performing such contract,
unless such mayor, member of the city council,
officer, or employee or member of the finance
commission
immediately upon learning of the existence of such
contract or that such contract is proposed, shall
notify in
writing the mayor, city council, and finance
commission of such contract and of the nature of his
interest in
such contract and shall abstain from doing any
official act on behalf of the city in reference
thereto. In case of
such interest on the part of an officer whose duty is
to make such contract on behalf of the city, the
contract
may be made by any other officer of the city duly
authorized thereto by the mayor, or if the mayor has
such
interest by the city clerk; provided, however, that
when a contractor with the city or county is a
corporation or
voluntary association, the ownership of less than five
percent of the stock or shares actually issued shall
not be
considered as being an interest in the contract within
the meaning of this act, and such ownership shall not
affect the validity of the contract, unless the owner
of such stock or shares is also an officer or agent of
the
corporation or association, or solicits or takes part
in the making of the contract.
A violation of any provision of this section shall
render the contract in respect to which such violation
occurs
voidable at the option of the city or county. Any
person violating the provisions of this section shall
be
punished by a fine of not more than one thousand
dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one
year, or
both. . . .
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
SECT. 9. All heads of departments and members of
municipal boards, including the board of street com-
missioners, as their present terms of office expire
(but excluding the school committee and those
officials by
law appointed by the governor), shall be appointed by
the mayor without confirmation by the city council.
They shall be recognized experts in such work as may
devolve upon the incumbents of said offices, or
persons
specially fitted by education, training or experience
to perform the same, and (except the election
commissioners, who shall remain subject to the
provisions of existing laws) shall be appointed
without regard to party
affiliation or to residence at the time of appointment
except as hereinafter provided.
SECT. 12. A vacancy in any office to which the
provisions of section nine of this act apply, shall be
filled by
the mayor under the provisions of said section and
pending a permanent appointment he shall designate
some
other head of a department or member of a board to
discharge the duties of the office temporarily.
SECT. 13.21 Members of boards shall be appointed for
the terms established by law or by ordinance. Heads
of departments shall be appointed for terms of four
years beginning with the first of May of the year in
which
they are appointed and shall continue thereafter to
hold office during the pleasure of the mayor.
SECT. 14.22 The mayor may remove any head of a
department or member of a board (other than the
election commissioners, who shall remain subject to
the provisions of existing law) by filing a written
state-
ment with the city clerk setting forth in detail the
specific reasons for such removal, a copy of which
shall be
delivered or mailed to the person thus removed, who
may make a reply in writing, which, if he desires, may
be
filed with the city clerk, but such reply shall not
affect the action taken unless the mayor so
determines. The
provisions of this section shall not apply to the
school committee, the public facilities commission, or
any
official by law appointed by the governor.
SECT. 15. The positions of assistants and secretary
authorized by section twenty of chapter four hundred
and forty-nine of the acts of the year eighteen
hundred and ninety-five except those in the election
depart-
ment are hereby abolished, and except as aforesaid the
said section is hereby repealed.
The civil service laws shall not apply to the
appointment of the mayor's secretaries, nor of the
stenogra-
phers, clerks, telephone operators and messengers
connected with his office, and the mayor may remove
such
appointees without a hearing and without making a
statement of the cause of their removal.
SECT. 16.23 No official of said city or county except
in case of extreme emergency involving the health and
safety of the people or their property, shall expend
intentionally in any fiscal year any sum in excess of
the
appropriations duly made in accordance with law, nor
involve the city in any contract for the future
payment
of money in excess of such appropriations, except as
provided in section six of this act. Any official who
violates
the provisions of this section shall be personally
liable to the city for any amounts expended
intentionally in
excess of an appropriation to the extent the city does
not recover such amounts from the person to whom paid.
The trial court of the commonwealth or a single
justice of the supreme judicial court shall have
jurisdiction to
adjudicate claims brought by the city hereunder and to
order such equitable relief as the court may find
appropriate to prevent further violations of this
section. Any official who shall violate the provisions
of this
section shall be punished by imprisonment for not more
than one year, or by a fine of not more than one
thousand dollars, or both.
SECT. 16A.24 Anything in section three A or section
sixteen to the contrary notwithstanding, city and
county officers who are authorized to make
expenditures, and the school committee, may, during
any fiscal
year, at the time of, or after, contracting for the
performance or delivery during the remainder of such
year of
any work, services or supplies of a constantly
recurrent nature, contract, without an appropriation,
upon like
or more favorable terms and conditions, for the
performance or delivery of such work, services or
supplies for
the whole or any part of the first three months of the
next fiscal year; provided, that in no event shall the
average monthly liability incurred with respect to the
next fiscal year exceed the average monthly liability
for
such work, services or supplies during the last nine
months of the then current fiscal year.
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SECT. 27.25 Every officer and board in charge of a
department of the city of Boston or county of Suffolk
shall, on or before the sixth day of February in each
year, prepare and furnish to the city auditor a list
of the
officials and employees under said officer or board
and paid by the city or county on the first of such
February.
Such list shall give the name, residence by street and
ward, designation, compensation, and date of election
or
appointment of each of said officials and employees
and the date when each first entered the employ of the
city
or county. It shall be the duty of the city auditor to
verify said lists by the pay rolls and to keep a copy
of said
lists open for public inspection, and to prepare and
publish in the City Record on or before the tenth day
of
April in each year a comparative table containing the
number of such officials and employees holding office
or
employed in each such department or board and paid by
the city or county on the compilation date in each of
the ten years next preceding such publication. The
term "compilation date," as herein used, shall be con-
strued to mean,. . . the first of February.
SECT. 29.26 (T)here shall be published at least once a
week and distributed and sold under the direction
of the mayor and on terms to be fixed by the city
council and approved by the mayor a paper to be known
as the
"City Record." All advertising with reference to the
sale of property for nonpayment of taxes shall appear
exclusively in the City Record. All other advertising,
whether required by law or not, with reference to the
purchase or taking of land, contracts for work,
materials or supplies, and the sale of bonds, shall
appear in said
paper, and in such newspaper or newspapers as the
mayor, in his discretion, may order; a list of all
contracts of
one thousand dollars or more, as awarded, with the
names of bidders, and the amount of the bids; appoint-
ments by the mayor; and changes in the number and
compensation of employees in each department, shall be
published in the City Record. Failure to publish in
such newspaper or newspapers as the mayor may order
shall not invalidate any purchase, contract or sale
made or action taken by the city. The proceedings of
the city
council and school committee together with all
communications from the mayor, shall be published in
the
City Record; provided, that the substance of debates
by and among the members of the city council shall not
be so published or published elsewhere at the expense
of said city.
SECT. 31.27 Without obtaining the consent of any other
board or officer or further authority than that
contained in this act, the public facilities
commission, in the name of the city, may acquire by
purchase, lease,
gift, devise or otherwise for any municipal purpose a
fee simple absolute or any lesser interest in any
land,
public or private, within the limits of the city,
including air rights and riparian rights, and may take
by eminent
domain under chapter seventy-nine or chapter eighty A
of the General Laws any fee or interest except in
parks
and playgrounds and except also, unless there be
express consent, in lands belonging to or covered by
contract
with the United States, the commonwealth, the Boston
Housing Authority or the Boston Redevelopment
Authority. Whenever the price proposed to be paid for
any land to be acquired for any municipal purpose is
more than twenty-five percent higher than its average
assessed valuation during the previous three years,
such land shall not be acquired by purchase but shall
be taken by eminent domain. No land shall be taken
until an appropriation by loan or otherwise for the
general purpose for which land is needed shall have
been made by the mayor and city council by a two
thirds vote of all its members; nor shall a price be
paid in excess of the appropriation, unless a larger
sum is awarded by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Nothing in this section shall affect in any way the
powers and duties of the real property board under
chapter four hundred and seventy-four of the acts of
nineteen hundred and forty-six as now or hereafter
amended, or of the public improvement commission as
successor in function to the board of street
commissioners under chapter four hundred and
thirty-seven of the acts of eighteen hundred and
ninety-three or chapter four hundred and twenty-six of
the acts of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven or
chapter three hundred and ninety-three of the acts of
nineteen hundred and six, as severally now or
hereafter amended, or acts in addition thereto.
SECT. 31A.28 Without obtaining the consent of any
board or officer other than the mayor, and without
interdepartmental payment, the public facilities
commission, without further authority, may transfer
any land
now or hereafter belonging to the city, except parks
and playgrounds, but including school lands and land
acquired by foreclosure of tax title, from the
municipal purpose, if any, to which it is devoted at
the time of
such transfer to any other specific municipal purpose,
and may also transfer the care, custody, management
and control of any such land, except parks and
playgrounds, but including school land and land
acquired by
foreclosure of tax title, from such board or officer,
including itself, as at the time of such transfer may
have the
same to such other board or officer, including itself,
as it may determine.
SECT. 31B.29 Without obtaining the consent of any
board or officer other than the mayor, the public
facilities commission, without further authority, may,
for such rent or price and upon such terms as said
commission may deem appropriate, lease or sublease or
sell, grant and convey any surplus land as hereinafter
defined, to the federal government or any agency
thereof, the commonwealth or any political subdivision
or
authority thereof or, if notice of intent to lease or
sell such land or buildings together with a statement
of when
and where written details of such proposed lease or
sale may be examined shall first have been publicly
advertised in the City Record once a week for two
successive weeks, to any person, firm, corporation or
trust.
"Surplus land", as used in this section, shall be
deemed to mean land, buildings and real estate now or
hereafter belonging to the city and in the care,
custody, management and control of said commission
(except
parks and playgrounds) which at the time of such lease
or sale are or have been used for school purposes, or
which have been acquired by foreclosure of tax titles
or acquired under section eighty of chapter sixty of
the
General Laws, or which, irrespective of the manner or
time of acquisition, are not held by the city for a
specific
purpose, or which have been transferred to the
commission by the city council.
SECT. 31C.30 Notwithstanding the provisions of any
general or special law to the contrary the proceeds
from the disposition of any surplus property other
than that acquired through tax title foreclosure shall
be
deposited in a separate fund which shall be set up on
the books of the city and shall be known as the
Surplus
Property Disposition Fund, and shall be used only as
follows:
(1) The amount equivalent to the debt incurred, and
interest paid or payable thereon, as a result of the
acquisition or improvement from time to time of the
property shall be used only for purposes for which the
city is authorized to incur debt for a period often
years or more;
(2) All proceeds in excess of such amount shall be
credited to the capital fund of the city unless the
city council by a majority vote determines with the
approval of the mayor to credit such proceeds to the
general fund of the city.
SECT. 31D Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter
four hundred and seventy-four of the acts of nine-
teen hundred and forty-six or any other general or
special law to the contrary, the public facilities
commission
of the city of Boston may dispose of any or all of the
off-street parking structures, including the real
estate
related thereto, owned In the city of Boston, as
surplus property in accordance with sections
thirty-one B and
thirty-one C of chapter lour hundred and eighty-six of
the acts of nineteen hundred and nine, only when
transferred to the commission by a majority vote of
the city council.
SECT. 32.31 Beginning in the year nineteen hundred and
twenty-five, the municipal election in said city
shall take place biennially in every odd numbered year
on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Section numbers refer to Chapter 190 of the Acts of
1982,
as amended through January 1, 1996
SECT. 14. There shall be appointed by the mayor
subject to confirmation by the city council, a audit
committee of five members, all residents of the city
of Boston, whose members shall serve for five
years,.... Members shall serve without compensation
but may be reimbursed for expenses necessarily
incurred, and shall be deemed special municipal
employees for the purposes of chapter two hundred and
sixty-eight A of the General Laws.
The city shall retain the services of an independent,
certified public accounting firm which shall annually
audit the accounts of the city. The audit committee
shall monitor the progress of such audit and shall
meet
with the accounting firm at least quarterly. The said
committee shall review the recommendations of the firm
and shall present to the mayor and city council such
recommendations at it may have.
SECT. 17A.32 To provide for extraordinary and
unforeseen expenditures, the city of Boston shall,
prior to
the date when the tax rate for a fiscal year is fixed,
include in the appropriations for such fiscal year as
a
segregated reserve fund a sum not less than two and
one-half per cent of the preceding year's
appropriations
for city and county departments, excepting the school
department, provided, however, that the amount
required to be appropriated for such reserve fund in
any fiscal year may be reduced by the amount, if any,
remaining in the reserve fund established for the
preceding fiscal year after all transfers have been
made
thereform as hereinafter authorized and such remaining
amount shall be retained in the reserve fund pro-
vided for such fiscal year. The mayor, with the
approval of the city council, may make direct drafts
or transfers
against such fund before the close of the fiscal year,
provided that no such drafts or transfers may be made
before June first in any fiscal year.
Each transfer recommended by the mayor to the city
council shall be accompanied by written documenta-
tion detailing the amount of such transfer and an
explanation of the reason for the transfer. If the
reserve fund
for a fiscal year beginning on or after July first,
nineteen hunched and eight-six is exhausted through
transfer
.and the city incurs an appropriation or revenue
deficit in such fiscal year,. the reserve fund
appropriation
requirement shall increase by fifty per cent for the
fiscal year following such fiscal year ....
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the
contrary, in the city of Boston, the segregated
reserve
fund established by this section shall be deemed to
satisfy the requirement of section fourteen of chapter
sixty-
four J of the General Laws that a city accepting said
chapter sixty-four J shall establish a segregated
reserve
fund. The reserve fund established pursuant to this
section shall become effective for the fiscal year
beginning
July first, nineteen hundred and eight-six.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the
contrary, effective for the fiscal year beginning July
first, nineteen hundred and eight-six, the school
department shall establish a segregated reserve fund
of not less than one percent of the current fiscal
year's appropriation to the school department within
ten days of final approval of such appropriations. No
expenditures may be made from this fund before May
first in any fiscal year. Expenditures from this fund
shall require the approval of the mayor and the city
council. If the reserve fund for a fiscal year is
exhausted through transfers and the school department
incurs an appropriation deficit in such fiscal year,
the reserve fund requirement shall increase by fifty
per cent for the fiscal year next following such
fiscal year, provided that. in no event shall the
school department be required to maintain a segregated
reserve fund greater than two and one-half per cent of
the current fiscal year's school department
appropriations.
SECT. 18. On or before August first of each year, or
within ten days after the approval of the city council
and the mayor of the annual appropriation order for
such fiscal year, whichever shall occur later, the
city or county officials in charge of departments or
agencies, including the superintendent of schools for
the school department, shall submit to the city
auditor, with a copy to the city clerk, in such form
as the city auditor may prescribe, an allotment
schedule of the appropriations of all personnel
categories included in said budget, indicating the
amounts to be
expended by the department or agency for such purposes
during each of the fiscal quarters of said fiscal
year.
The allotment specified by the school department for
the first fiscal quarter in each fiscal year may not
exceed twenty per cent of the total appropriations of
all personnel categories for said fiscal year, and the
allotment specified for any one of the remaining three
quarters may not exceed in such quarter thirty percent
of the total appropriation.
The allotment specified for each of the departments
and agencies, except for the school department, for
either the first or second fiscal quarter in each
fiscal year may not exceed thirty per cent of the
total appropria-
tions of all personnel categories in said fiscal year,
and the allotment specified for each of the
departments and
agencies, except for the school department, for both
the third and fourth fiscal quarter in each fiscal
year may
not be less than twenty-one per cent of the total
appropriations of all prersonnel categories in said
fiscal year.
Whenever the city auditor determines that any
department or agency, including the school department,
will exhaust or has exhausted its quarterly allotment
and any amounts unexpended in previous quarters, he
shall give notice in writing to such effect to the
department head, the mayor and the city clerk, who
shall
transmit the same to city council.
The mayor, within seven days after receiving such
notice, shall determine whether to waive or enforce
such allotment. If the allotment for such quarter is
waived or not enforced by the mayor, as provided
above, the department or agency head shall reduce the
subsequent quarter's allotments appropriately and the
director of administrative services, within seven
days, shall state in writing to the city council and
the city clerk what reductions in each subsequent
quarter's allotment will be taken or what
reallocations or transfers will be made to support the
spending level in each subsequent quarter's allotment.
If the allotment for such quarter is enforced or not
waived, thereafter the department shall terminate all
personnel expenses for the remainder of the quarter.
All actions taken pursuant to this section shall be
reported to the city council and the city clerk. All
reports provided for in this section shall be
transmitted to the city council and the city clerk
within seven days.
No personnel expenses earned or accrued, within any
department, shall be charged to or paid from such
department's or agency's allotment of a subsequent
quarter without approval by the mayor, except for
subsequently determined retroactive compensation
adjustments. Approval of a payroll for payment of
wages,
or salaries or other personnel expenses which would
result in an expenditure in excess of the allotment
shall
be a violation by the department or agency head,
including the superintendent of schools and the school
committee of section sixteen of chapter four hundred
and eight-six of the acts of nineteen hundred and
nine. If
the continuation of operations is not approved in a
quarter where a department has exhausted the quarterly
allotment or allotments as specified above, or, in any
event, if a department has exceeded its entire
appropria-
tion for a fiscal year, the city shall have no
obligation to pay any personnel cost or expense
arising after such
allotment or appropriation has been exhausted.
Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or
special law
to the contrary, every collective-bargaining agreement
entered into by the city, the school department, or
the
county shall be subject to and shall expressly
incorporate the provisions of this section.
To insure that the overall city and county spending
program remains in balance, the mayor may reallocate
no more than three million dollars of nonpersonnel
appropriations other than school appropriations during
a
fiscal year to other departmental purposes provided
that in no department from which appropriations have
been reallocated in accordance with this section shall
any transfers be made under section three B of chapter
four hundred and eighty-six of the acts of nineteen
hundred and nine from personal services to
non-personal
services, except with the approval of a two-thirds
vote of the city council, if such transfer would
require the
layoff of departmental personnel, who have been
permanently appointed to a position in the department
under the provisions of chapter thirty-one of the
General Laws. No reallocation may be made under this
section after April fifteenth in any fiscal year. A
list of each reallocation made by the mayor shall be
transmitted
to the city council and the city clerk by the city
auditor by April thirtieth in any fiscal year. In each
case the
report shall state the accounts from which the
transferred funds were taken and the accounts to which
the
funds were reallocated, and the reasons therefor.
SECT. 18A. To further insure that the overall city and
county spending program remains in balance, the
mayor and city council shall appropriate for the
hospitalization and insurance account an amount not
less than
the average of the past three years actual
expenditures from those accounts. The city auditor
shall certify, in
writing to the board of assessors, that adequate funds
are provided in the operating budget for existing
collec-
tive bargaining contracts. This certification shall be
received by the board no later than ten business days
before the proposed tax rate is submitted to the
department of revenue for approval.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE & SUPERINTENDENT:
COMPENSATION, REMOVAL AND DUTIES
Section numbers refer to Chapter 613 of the Acts of
1987
as amended through January 1, 1996
SECT. 1. Chapter 231 of the acts of 1906, as most
recently amended by section 1 of chapter 701 of the
acts
of 1986, is hereby further amended by striking out
sections 1, 1A and 2 and inserting in place thereof
the
following sections:
Section 1. (a) The school committee of the city of
Boston shall, by majority vote of the whole number of
its
members, elect and contract with a superintendent of
schools for any period of time not to exceed six
years.
The school committee exclusively shall fix the
compensation of such superintendent, which sum shall
be in
full for all services rendered to said city. The
school committee may remove the superintendent for
just cause
by a vote of three-fifths of the whole number of its
members after proper notice and public hearing. Tlie
superintendent shall upon taking employment become,
and during such employment remain, a resident of
said city as the term resident may be defined by
ordinance. Failure to maintain such residence shall be
deemed a voluntary termination of employment.
(b) The superintendent of schools shall be the
executive officer of the school committee in all
matters
pertaining to the powers and duties of the school
committee. The school committee shall take no action
on any
particular matter without first receiving the
superintendent's recommendation thereon. The
superintendent
shall give his recommendation before or during the
regularly scheduled meeting of the school committee
next
following the meeting at which the particular matter
is raised and at which the superintendent is asked to
prepare a recommendation thereon; provided, however,
that the superintendent in his sole discretion may
elect to present any such recommendation at the school
committee meeting at which the particular matter is
raised or thereafter but prior to the next regularly
scheduled school committee meeting. Any such recommen-
dation of the superintendent shall include the
superintendent's estimate of the cost or savings
involved, if any,
and if the superintendent estimates that there are
costs involved, the recommendation shall identify
available
budgeted funding sources or new funding sources. If
the superintendent fails to make a recommendation on a
particular matter when raised at such next regularly
scheduled school committee meeting, the school com-
mittee may take action thereon without receiving the
superintendent's recommendation.
(c) The superintendent of schools shall at the
beginning of the term for which he was appointed,
submit to
the school committee a management plan for all
administrators and community and deputy
superintendents
serving at the discretion of said superintendent. The
school committee of said city, in the year nineteen
hundred and eighty-nine and every sixth year
thereafter or in the year when a superintendent is
appointed
shall vote by a two-thirds majority to accept or
reject the management plan submitted by the
superintendent
of schools. The school committee shall accept a
management plan of the superintendent on or before
Septem-
ber first in the year that the superintendent is
appointed to term.
Section 1A. (a) For the purposes of this section, all
individuals engaged to render services and paid
pursuant
to the school department's budget shall be deemed to
be school department employees and their positions
shall be deemed to be school department positions.
(b) The superintendent of schools shall have the
exclusive authority to make appointments and promo-
tions for all school department positions except for
the positions of community superintendent, an election
or
appointment of a chairman, secretary or treasurer of
the school committee, of school committee administra-
tive assistants appointed pursuant to chapter four
hundred and sixty-five of the acts of nineteen hundred
and
sixty-four, and of special assistant corporation
counsels. Prior to making an appointment or promotion
to the
position of community superintendent, the
superintendent of schools shall present his
recommendation
thereon to the school committee at a regularly
scheduled meeting. Any such appointment or promotion
shall
be deemed approved by the school committee on the
sixth business day following the presentation of said
superintendent's recommendation, unless a majority of
the whole number of the school committee's mem-
bers file with the secretary of the school committee a
written objection to the intended appointment or
promotion within five business days following the
presentation of said superintendent's recommendation;
in
which case, the appointment or promotion shall be
approved only upon majority vote of the whole number
of
the members of the school committee.
(c) Any general or special law to the contrary
notwithstanding, a vote of the school committee shall
not be
required for the appointment or promotion of any
school department employee except as provided in
section
one A.
(d) Except as may be required by any collective
bargaining agreement or by the provisions of chapter
thirty-one and chapter one hundred and fifty E of the
General Laws, and, subject to appropriation, the
superintendent of schools shall have the exclusive
authority to fix the compensation of all school
department
employees with the exception of school committee
members; provided, however, that the school committee
shall fix the compensation of the superintendent as
provided in section one and shall fix the compensation
of
school committee administrative assistants appointed
pursuant to chapter four hundred and sixty-five of the
acts of nineteen hundred and sixty-four.33
(e) The superintendent of schools shall have the
exclusive authority to assign, reassign, suspend,
lay-off,
demote, remove and dismiss any school department
employees except school committee members and ad-
ministrative assistants appointed pursuant to chapter
four hundred and sixty-five of the acts of nineteen
hundred and sixty-four. Any general or special law to
the contrary notwithstanding, the actions of the
superin-
tendent of schools pursuant to this subsection'shall
be deemed to be the actions of the school committee
under the General Laws. In exercising his authority
under this subsection, the superintendent shall have
the
authority and powers, and be subject to the
limitations, otherwise applicable to the school
committee, includ-
ing but not limited to the terms of any collective
bargaining agreement imposed by chapter one hundred
and
fifty E of the General Laws. In the case of actions
taken pursuant to this subsection as to which notice
or
hearing, or both, would otherwise be afforded to the
subject school department employee by the school
committee, such notice or hearing, or both, shall be
afforded instead by the superintendent of schools or
his
designee. In the event that said superintendent
delegates to a designee the conduct of a hearing for
an affected
school department employee, said superintendent shall
base his decision upon the evidence presented at
such hearing. This section shall not affect the rights
of teachers under sections forty-two, forty-three A
and
forty-three B of chapter seventy-one of the General
Laws.
(f) The superintendent of schools shall have the
authority to supervise and direct school department
employees except school committee members and
administrative assistants appointed pursuant to
chapter
four hundred and sixty-five of the acts of nineteen
hundred and sixty-four, and special assistant
corporation
counsels to the extent that their legal work is
directed and supervised by the corporation counsel of
the city of
Boston.
(g) Except as specifically provided herein, nothing in
this section shall be construed or interpreted so as
to
limit in any way the existing employment rights of
school employees, including rights of tenure and
seniority
as provided by chapter seventy-one and chapter
thirty-one of the General Laws as well as those
employment
rights provided under applicable collective bargaining
agreements and chapter one hundred and fifty E of the
General Laws.
Section IB. (a) The school committee may delegate, in
whole or in part, to the superintendent of schools
the authority to approve for the school department the
acceptance and expenditure of grants or gifts of funds
from the federal government, charitable foundations,
private corporations, individuals, or from the common-
wealth, its counties, municipalities or an agency
thereof, the provisions of section fifty-three A of
chapter
forty-four of the General Laws notwithstanding.
(b) The superintendent of schools shall provide to the
school committee, the city auditor and the city
office of budget and program evaluation of the city of
Boston a report, detailing the source, purpose and
balance on hand of all funds received or expended
pursuant to subsection (a), quarterly.
Section ID. The superintendent of schools shall submit
to the school committee for approval an annual
budget of the school department for the forthcoming
fiscal year no later than the first Wednesday in
February
prior to the beginning of such fiscal year. The school
committee may adopt, reject, reduce or increase any
item
in the recommended budget; provided, however, that if
the school committee fails to take definite action on
the annual budget on or before the fourth Wednesday in
March of each year, the annual budget as recom-
mended by the superintendent shall be deemed approved
as if formally approved by the school committee.
After approval of an annual budget by the school
committee, said superintendent shall submit said
approved
budget to the mayor who may approve or reduce the
total recommended budget. Thereafter, not later than
the second Wednesday in May of each year, the mayor
shall submit said annual budget to the city council
for an appropriation of funds. Said superintendent
shall not approve the appointment of am person except
to a budgeted position.
Section IE. For the purposes of section sixteen of
chapter four hundred and eighty-six of the acts of
nineteen hundred and nine, members of the school
committee and the superintendent of schools shall be
deemed to be the officials responsible for the
expenditures of the school department, the provisions
of section
eighteen of chapter one hundred and ninety of the acts
of nineteen hundred and eighty-two to the contrary
notwithstanding.
Section 2. (a) Subject to appropriations therefor, the
superintendent of schools shall have the exclusive
authority to make on behalf of the school committee
contracts, or amendments to contracts, for the
purchase
or rental of equipment, materials, goods or supplies,
leases of property, alterations and repairs of school
property, and for professional or other services, with
the exception of collective bargaining agreements and
contracts for the transportation of students. All
school department contracts or amendments to contracts
shall
otherwise conform to the requirements of the city
charter of the city of Boston.
(b) With respect to all contracts, agreements or
amendments thereto made or entered into by the school
department, the superintendent shall be responsible
for establishing procedures for auditing and
monitoring the compliance of the parties with the
terms and obligations of such contracts, agreements or
amendments thereto.
SECT. 2. Chapter 224 of the acts of 1936 is hereby
amended by striking out section 2, as most recently
amended by section 5 of chapter 701 of the acts of
1986, and inserting in place thereof the following
section:
Section 2. (a) The city of Boston shall annually
provide an amount of money sufficient for the support
of
the public schools as required by law; provided,
however, that said city shall not be required to
provide more
money for the support of the public schools than is
appropriated in accordance with the provisions of
chapter
four hundred and eighty-six of the acts of nineteen
hundred and nine, as amended. In acting on
appropriations for educational costs, the city council
shall vote on the total amount of the appropriations
requested by the mayor, but neither the mayor nor the
city council shall allocate appropriations among
accounts or place any restriction on such
appropriations. The appropriation of said city shall
establish the total appropriation for the support of
the public schools, but may not limit the authority of
the school committee to determine expenditures within
the total appropriation; provided, however, that if
the city auditor determines that school department
expenditures in any fiscal year are projected to be in
excess of total budgeted expenditures for that fiscal
year, as supported by appropriation and other
available funding, then the school committee shall not
reallocate or transfer funds from any item in the
budget for that fiscal year to fund any such projected
additional expenditures.
(b) After the fourth Wednesday of March ofanv fiscal
vear, the school committee shall not initiate or
authorize any new or additional programs or categories
of expenditures requiring additional unbudgeted
expenditures unless such programs or categories have
been incorporated and fully funded in the budget for
the subsequent fiscal year. If such programs or
categories have not been incorporated or fully funded
in the
budget for the subsequent fiscal vear, they shall not
be initiated or authorized until the school committee
shall
have amended its budget submission tor the subsequent
fiscal year to reduce or eliminate other costs, pro-
grams or categories in amounts equal to the projected
annualized costs of the new or additional programs or
categories of expenditures.
(c) The superintendent of schools shall prepare and
submit to the school committee, the city auditor and
the city office of budget and program evaluation, a
monthly budget update report which shall detail and
itemize year-to-date and projected school department
expenditures and budget transfers.
(d) The superintendent may, after the fourth Wednesday
in March, but prior to the annual appropriation, enter
into contracts with the publishers or suppliers of
instructional materials and books for the timely
purchase and delivery of the same to be used in the
schools of the school department of the citv of Boston
for the school year commencing during the fiscal year
for which a recommended appropriation has been
submitted but not yet approved; provided, however.
that such contracts for the supply and delivery of
said instructional materials and books shall be
charged to the appropriation of the next fiscal year.
and provided further that the total amount of funds
obligated for such instructional materials and books
ordered prior to the annual appropriation shall be
limited to the amount appropriated for such
expenditures in the then current annual budget and
shall not exceed that amount. Pending the final annual
appropriation for the school department, the city
auditor may approve such contracts for the purchase
and delivery of instructional materials and books,
pro-
vided, however, that such contracts shall in all other
respects conform to the requirements of the city
charter
of said city.
REORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Section numbers refer to Chapter J08 of the Acts of
1991,
as in force January 1, 1996
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter
605 of the acts of 1982, as amended by chapter 343
of the acts of 1986, chapter 452 of the acts of 1948,
as amended by chapter 376 of the acts of 1951 and as
further amended by chapter 190 of the acts of 1952,
and further notwithstanding sections one hundred and
twenty-eight ot one hundred and thirtv-four,
inclusive, of chapter forty-three of the General Laws
or any other
general or special law to the contrary, the school
committee of the city of Boston as presently
constituted is
hereby abolished as of the date of expiration of the
terms of the incumbent members thereof and no election
for school committee shall be held in 1991 or
thereafter.
SECTION 2. Subject only to the provisions of this act,
the school committee of the city of Boston shall
consist of seven appointed members. The mayor of
Boston shall have the power to appoint the sex en
members
of the school committee subject to the provisions
governing the nominating panel as set forth in this
act. The
members of the school committee shall at all times
during their terms of office be Boston residents. The
mayor
shall strive to appoint individuals who reflect the
ethnic, racial and socioeconomic diversity of the city
of
Boston and its public school population.
SECTION 3. All existing powers and duties hitherto
exercised by the Boston school committee, including
the powers and duties set forth in chapter 613 of the
acts of 1987, shall henceforth be exercised by the
seven-
member appointed school committee.
SECTION 4. The term of office of the members of the
school committee shall be four years and shall
commence on the first day of the municipal year;
provided, however, that of the members initially
appointed
one shall be appointed for a term of one year, two
shall be appointed for a term of two years, two shall
be
appointed for a term of three years, and two shall be
appointed for a term of four \ ears. Upon the
appointment
of all seven members bv the mavor, the citv clerk
shall administer the oath of office to the school
committee
and they shall subscribe in the book kept by the city
clerk in accordance with the provisions of St. 1948,
c. 452,
s. 11A, as amended by St. 1983, c. 342, s.l. The
office of each member shall expire upon the expiration
of the
term of said member and shall become vacant. Any
member whose term of office shall expire may be
consid-
ered for reappointment, but only if renominated by the
nominating panel. A president of the school commit-
tee shall be elected annually by its members at the
first meeting in each municipal year.
SECTION 5. Notwithstanding any special or general law
to the contrary, the members of the school com-
mittee appointed pursuant to this act shall not have
the authority to hire personal staff; provided,
however,
that a paid administrative assistant may be appointed
by the president of the school committee.
SECTION 6. There shall be in the city of Boston a
nominating panel composed of thirteen members whose
sole function shall be to nominate persons for
consideration by the mayor for appointment to the
school
committee. Representation on the panel and the
selection of said members shall be as follows:
(a) Four parents of children in the Boston public
school system as follows: (i) one parent who shall be
selected by the citvwide parents council; (ii) one
parent who shall be selected by the citywide
educational
coalition; (iii) one parent who shall be selected by
the Boston special needs parent advisory council; and
(iv)
one parent who shall be selected by the bilingual
education citywide parent advisory council.
(b) One teacher in the Boston public school system who
shall be selected by the Boston teachers union
from its membership.
(c) One headmaster or principal in the Boston public
school system who shall be selected by the Boston
association of school administrators and supervisors
from its membership.
(d) One representative from the Boston business
community as follows: one representative each shall be
selected by the private industry council, the Boston
municipal research bureau, and Boston chamber of
commerce from their respective memberships. Such
representatives shall serve on a rotating basis as
follows:
the representative from the private industry council
shall serve for the first year of the first term of
the
nominating panel; the representative from the Boston
municipal research bureau shall serve for the second
year of the first term of the nominating panel; the
representative from the Boston chamber of commerce
shall
serve for the first year of the second term of the
nominating panel; and so forth.
(e) One president of a public or private college or
university who shall be selected by the chancellor of
higher education of the commonwealth.
(f) One person shall be the commissioner of education
of the commonwealth.
(g) Four persons who shall be appointed by the mayor.
The members of the nominating panel shall be
selected from time to time no later than September
thirtieth and shall serve for a term of two years,
except as
otherwise provided in this section. In the event that
any member does not complete his or her term for any
reason, the person or entity who selected such member
shall select another person in like manner to complete
the unexpired term.
SECTION 7. (a) The nominating panel annually shall
from among its membership elect a chairman who
shall forthwith file a list of the names and addresses
of the members of the panel with the city clerk. The
panel
shall meet in public for the sole purpose of
deliberating upon, hearing public comment with respect
to, and
finally selecting a list of nominees to be presented
to the mayor from time to time. Each nominee shall be
a
resident of Boston at the time of such nomination. The
panel shall strive to nominate individuals who reflect
the ethnic, racial and socioeconomic diversity of the
city of Boston and its public school population ....
(c) ... on the first Wednesday of October of every
year the nominating panel shall convene to select not
fewer than three but not more than five nominees for
each office of school committee member that shall
become vacant on the first day of the next municipal
year. No later than the first Monday in December of
each
year, the panel shall present to the mayor a list
containing the names and addresses of the said
nominees for
each term of office to commence on the first day of
the next municipal year; provided, however, should the
panel fail to present said list to the mayor by said
first Monday in December, the mayor shall have the
power to
appoint any person he deems suitable to the office of
school committee for the term to commence in the
following January.
(d) Upon notice provided by the city clerk that a
vacancy exists in the office of any school committee
member due to death or resignation, the panel shall
convene within ten days of such notice and shall,
within
thirty days after so convening, select and present to
the mayor a list containing the names and addresses of
not
fewer than three but not more than five nominees.
Within fifteen days after such presentment, the mayor
shall
appoint a school committee member to serve the
unexpired term of the vacant office; provided,
however,
should the panel fail to present said list within said
thirty days, the mayor shall have the power to appoint
any
person he deems suitable to the vacant office to serve
said unexpired term,
SECTION 8. The state secretary shall cause to be
placed on the official ballot to be used in the city
of Boston at the regular general state election in the
year nineteen hundred and ninety-six the following
binding
question: "Shall an act passed in the General Court in
1991, entitled 'An Act Reorganizing the School
Com-mittee of the City of Boston' be repealed as of
January 1998 and in place thereof the school committee
structure as existing in 1991 be reconstituted after
an election held in 1997?" If a majority of the votes
cast on
this question is in the affirmative, this act shall
cease to be effective as of the first Monday in
January, 1998, and
the incumbent members of the school committee serving
pursuant to this act shall cease to hold office,
provided, however, that in place thereof a school
committee shall be elected under existing law in the
year
1997 and the members so elected shall take office on
the first Monday in January, 1998....
SECTION 10. This act shall not be amended or repealed
except by the vote of the people as provided in
section 8 or by special act passed in conformance with
art. 89 of the amendments to the constitution of the
commonwealth.
1 St. 1969, Ch. 849 established a Fiscal Year for all
municipalities running July first through June
thirtieth.
2 St. 1982, c. 605, ss. 1 & 2 changed the composition
of the city council and school committee effective
with
the preliminary election in September, 1983. "the city
council to consist of nine members elected from
equally populous districts and four members elected
at-large, and the school committee to consist of nine
members elected from equally populous districts and
four member elected at-large."
Section 3 of said c. 605, as amended by St.
1986, c. 343, ยง1, requires the city council, by
ordinance, to
redraw the districts "on or before (a) ninety days
from the date that the nineteen hundred and
eighty-five state
census, including census figures for the city of
Boston, is properly certified by the state secretary;
and (b) on or
before August first, nineteen hundred and ninety-six
and on or before said August first, every subsequent
tenth year.
3 By terms of St. 1991, Ch. 108, the School committee
is presently appointed (see below).
4 Rewritten St. 1983, Ch. 342, 1
5 See CBC2-7.11
6 St. 19S2, Ch. 605, sl
7 Section 15 rewritten, sections 15A & 15B added by
St. 1993, Ch. 233
8 See CBC 2-8.1, G.L. Ch. 39, s6A
9 St. 1982, Ch. 190, s22
10 St. 1966, Ch. 642, s14
11 As amended by St. 1982, Ch. 190, s16
12 By terms of St. 1991, Ch. 108, sections 18-20 are
currently inoperative
13 Sections 55, 55A, 56, 57, 57C, 58, 59, 61, and 62
amended by St. 1983, Ch. 342
14 14 As amended by St. 1993, Ch. 90
15 As amended by St. 1958, Ch. 35
16 As amended by St. 1982, Ch. 190, s15; St. 1986, Ch.
701, s2
17 Inserted by St. 1941, Ch. 604, s1; amended by St.
1947, Ch. 120
18 As amended by St. 1986, Ch. 701, s3
19 Inserted by St. 1924, Ch. 479, s3
20 As amended by St. 1953, Ch. 473
21 As amended by St. 1953, Ch. 473
22 As amended by St. 1966, Ch. 642, s11
23 As amended by St. 1982, Ch. 190, s17
24 Inserted by St. 1951, Ch. 182
25 As amended by St. 1919, Ch. 268, s1; St. 1922, Ch.
133, s1; St. 1938, Ch. 263, s1; St. 1951, Ch. Ill
26As amended by St. 1934, Ch. 185, s1; St. 1947, Ch.
447, s1
27 As amended by St. 1966, ch. 642, s12; See also St.
1983, Ch. 643, s11
28 See St. 1983, Ch. 643, s11
29 See St. 1983, Ch. 643, s11
30 Sections 31C & 31D inserted by St. 1982, Ch. 190,
s24; amended by St. 1986, Ch. 701, s4
31 As amended by St. 1924, Ch. 479, s4
32 Sections 17A and 18A inserted, section 18 amended
by St. 1986, Ch. 701
33 See St. 1991, Ch. 108, s5