PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
19.1. Membership. The Town shall have an elected Board of Selectmen consisting of five registered voters of the Town.
19.2. Term. The term of office shall be three years.
PART II. GENERAL DUTIES
19.3. Powers. The Selectmen shall be the chief executive board of the Town and oversee all matters affecting the interest and welfare of the Town. They shall exercise the power and authority vested in the Town not specifically delegated by law to any other board or office.
19.4. War Memorial Scholarship Fund Trustees. The Selectmen shall be ex officiis the War Memorial Scholarship Fund Trustees, who shall manage said fund in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 229 of the Acts of 1951, as amended and as the same shall be amended from time to time hereafter. The Town Treasurer shall be the custodian of all funds and securities thereof. The Selectmen shall include in the Annual Report a financial report of said fund, showing the total amount thereof, investments, receipts and their sources and disbursements and their purposes.
19.5 Capital Budgeting and Investments.
19.5.1. “Capital Project” Defined. For the purposes of this section, a "Capital Project" means:
a. A project, estimated to cost in excess of $100,000, for the construction, reconstruction, replacement, major repair or renovation, extension or other improvement of a public building, highway, sidewalk, storm drain, sewerage installation, incinerator, bridge, playground, park or like public works, including any work done by any public utility operated by the Town or for a facility, structure, or utility appurtenant to any of them; or
b. A purchase of land, equipment, buildings or structures, estimated to cost in excess of $100,000; or
c. The preparation of plans, specifications or working drawings (estimated to cost in excess of $10,000) for any project described in subsections (a.) and (b.)
19.5.2. Report of Capital Projects. The Board of Selectmen shall annually coordinate the preparation and maintenance of the Town’s Long-Range Capital Budget Program as follows:
a. The Selectmen shall work with other boards in coordinating the timing of proposed and anticipated capital projects, taking into account the relative need for and cost of such projects, the effect the expenditures might have on the financial position of the Town, and alternative methods of financing.
b. On the basis of the information submitted by each board pursuant to the provisions of Section 6.16. as may be modified with the consent of such board, the Selectmen shall compile and present to the Annual Town Meeting a Five Year Capital Budget Program for the Town identifying proposed and anticipated capital
projects and their timing. The Program shall show expected use of borrowing for such projects, any expected so-called Proposition 2½ debt exclusion overrides in connection with such borrowing, and the impact of such borrowing on the Town’s outstanding debt and its real estate property tax rates in upcoming years.
c. The Selectmen shall recommend to any Annual or Special Town Meeting a method of financing for each capital project proposed to be submitted for approval at such Town Meeting. The Selectmen’s recommendation shall state, for each proposed project, the proposed use of borrowing for the project, whether any so-called Proposition 2½ debt exclusion override is proposed in connection with such borrowing, and the impact of such borrowing on the Town’s outstanding debt and its real estate property tax rates in upcoming years.
d. The Selectmen shall prepare the Five Year Capital Budget Program sufficiently in advance of the Annual Town Meeting to permit the publication of the Program in the Reports to the Annual Town Meeting, pursuant to Section 11.8. of the Bylaws, together with any comments of the Advisory Committee on the Program. Before any appropriation article is considered, the Selectmen shall deliver an oral report to the Annual Town Meeting on the substance of the Program; the oral report may include recommendations or comments as the Selectmen deem appropriate. Any board may provide an oral report at the Annual Town Meeting on aspects of proposed or anticipated capital projects that relate to their areas of jurisdiction. Following the oral report on the Program, there shall be an opportunity for comments from the Advisory Committee and
from Town Meeting Members.
e. At the request of the Advisory Committee pursuant to Section 11.14., the Selectmen shall make a presentation to the Advisory Committee of the Five Year Capital Budget Program. The Selectmen may supplement their written presentation to the Advisory Committee with such recommendations or comments as they deem appropriate. The Selectmen may subsequently update or amend the Program before it is published in the Reports to the Annual Town Meeting or presented at the Annual Town Meeting.
f. All Town boards and officers shall fully cooperate and participate, at the request of the Selectmen, in preparing and maintaining the Five Year Capital Budget Program and in presenting aspects of proposed or anticipated capital projects that relate to their areas of jurisdiction.”
19.5.3. Investment of Town Funds. The Selectmen, after consultation with the Executive Director of General Government Services, shall set guidelines and criteria for the Department of Financial Services for the investment of any and all types of Town funds, including trust funds, and shall establish adequate procedures for the reporting of investments of Town funds.
19.6. General Duties. The Selectmen shall have all of the powers and duties of boards of selectmen under the General Laws.
19.7. Appointments. The Selectmen shall appoint qualified persons to those positions which by law the board fills by appointment. Those positions include but are not limited to:
1. Executive Director of General Government Services |
14. Constables |
2. Fire Chief |
15. Civil Defense Director |
3. Police Chief |
16. Inspector of Wires |
4. Town Counsel |
17. Inspector of Gas |
5. Zoning Board of Appeals (including associate members) |
18. Building Inspector |
6. Historical Commission |
19 Council on Aging |
7. Celebrations Committee |
20. Youth Commission |
8. Registrars of Voters |
21. Keeper of the Lockup |
9. Election Officers (three of four) |
22. Special Police |
10. Director of Veterans' Services |
23. Dog Officer |
11. Veterans' Grave Officer |
24. Historic District Commission |
12. Sealer of Weights and Measures |
25. Cable Television Committee |
13. Public Weighers |
26. Wellesley Cable Access Board (three members) |
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27. Municipal Light Board (two members) |
19.8. Communication and Cooperation. The Selectmen shall encourage and facilitate close communication and cooperation among all boards, officers and officials.
19.9. Investigations. The Selectmen shall exercise the authority granted by Chapter 41, Section 23B of the General Laws to investigate the conduct and operation of any Town department and publish a report upon completion of such investigation.
19.10. Appearance Before Other Bodies. The Selectmen may appear personally, by counsel or by a designee before any committee of the General Court or before any other person or body to protect the interests of the Town. They are not authorized by this section to commit the Town to any course of action.
19.11. Legal Actions and Settlements. The Selectmen shall have full authority as agents of the Town, acting upon the advice of counsel, to institute, prosecute, defend and compromise any and all claims, actions, and proceedings on behalf of or against the Town and in which the interests of the Town are or may be involved. However, this authority shall not restrict the Collector of Taxes in the exercise of the powers for the collection of taxes and accounts due the Town conferred upon the Collector of Taxes by the General Laws. No settlement shall be made by a payment of more than $5000 without authority from the Town.
19.12. Actions of Town Meeting. The Selectmen shall oversee the implementation of the actions of Town Meeting.
19.13. Enforcement of Bylaws and Regulations. The Selectmen shall be responsible for the enforcement of all bylaws and regulations of the Town.
19.14. Review of Bylaws and Government. The Selectmen shall periodically review the bylaws and the structure and functioning of Town government and make appropriate recommendations to the Town.
19.15. Budgets and Administration. Except as otherwise provided in or required by Chapter 164 of the General Laws, the Selectmen shall supervise those boards appointed by them and those departments responsible to them and shall recommend and present to the Advisory Committee and to the Town Meeting budgets for all those departments.
19.16. Town-Wide Financial Planning and Budgeting.
19.16.1. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, a “Town-Wide Financial Plan” means a sequenced combination of forecasts of the Town’s operating budget (i) for the current fiscal year, (ii) for the next following fiscal year and (iii) for one or more fiscal years beyond the next following fiscal year. Forecasts shall be in the format commonly called “sources and uses of funds”. The words “sequenced combination” are intended to require that the three component parts of the Town-Wide Financial Plan build upon one another in an orderly, reasonable manner. A “deficit balance” in a forecast means that the total uses of funds in the forecast exceed the total sources of funds in the forecast.
19.16.2. Report of Town-Wide Financial Plan. The Board of Selectmen shall annually coordinate the preparation and maintenance of the Town’s Town-Wide Financial Plan as follows:
a. The Selectmen shall work with other boards in coordinating the preparation of a Town-wide budget for the next following fiscal year, taking into account (i) the Town’s ability to generate the real estate property taxes assumed in the Plan and to fund any deficit balance in the Plan; (ii) the relative need for and level of the various expenditures proposed to be made by the Town; and (iii) alternatives to any of the various sources and uses of funds in the Plan.
b. The Selectmen shall compile and present to the Annual Town Meeting a Town-Wide Financial Plan for the Town. In this Plan, the forecast for the next following fiscal year shall be constructed by using (i) the information submitted by each board pursuant to the provisions of Sections 6.15. and 11.11. as may be modified with the consent of such board, and (ii) estimates and assumptions acceptable to the Selectmen for all other line items. The Selectmen shall identify significant estimates and assumptions used in constructing the Town-Wide Financial Plan, including assumptions as to receipt of real estate property tax revenue.
c. For any future fiscal year in a Town-Wide Financial Plan, the Selectmen shall estimate the property tax rate that would generate real estate property taxes equal to the sum of (a) the real estate property taxes assumed as a source of funds in the forecast for the fiscal year and (b) any deficit balance in the forecast for that fiscal year. In so doing, the Selectmen may use reasonable assumptions as to growth in the valuation of properties in the Town.
d. The Selectmen shall prepare the Town-Wide Financial Plan sufficiently in advance of the Annual Town Meeting to permit the publication of the Plan in the Reports to the Annual Town Meeting, pursuant to Section 11.8. of the Bylaws, together with any comments of the Advisory Committee on the Plan. Before any appropriation article is considered, the Selectmen shall deliver an oral report to the Annual Town Meeting on the substance of the Plan; the oral report may include recommendations or comments as the Selectmen deem appropriate. Any board may provide an oral report at the Annual Town Meeting on aspects of the Plan that relate to their areas of jurisdiction. Following the oral report on the Plan, there shall be an opportunity for comments from the Advisory Committee and from Town Meeting Members.
e. At the request of the Advisory Committee pursuant to Section 11.14., the Selectmen shall make a presentation to the Advisory Committee of the Town-Wide Financial Plan. The Selectmen may supplement their written presentation to the Advisory Committee with such recommendations or comments as they deem appropriate. The Selectmen may subsequently update or amend the Plan before it is published in the Reports to the Annual Town Meeting or presented at the Annual Town Meeting.
f. All Town boards and officers shall fully cooperate and participate, at the request of the Selectmen, in preparing and maintaining the Town-Wide Financial Plan and in presenting aspects of the Plan that relate to their areas of jurisdiction.”
19.17. Weekly Warrant. The Selectmen shall approve all bills before payment by the Treasurer.
19.18. System for Citizen Inquiries. The Selectmen shall establish a system to be administered by the Executive Director of General Government Services to take effective and efficient action on citizen complaints and requests for service.
19.19. Licensing Board. The Selectmen shall serve as the licensing board for the Town under those statutes granting licensing powers to boards of selectmen.
19.20. House Numbers. The Selectmen may at any time in their discretion, and shall within ten days from the receipt of a request from the owner of any building, designate the numbers to be affixed to or painted on the building. The owner of each building so designated shall comply within ten days after receiving notice thereof.
19.21. General Provisions. The Board shall also be governed by Articles 2 through 7 of these bylaws and other provisions of these bylaws applicable generally to all boards, except as it is specifically directed by law or a provision of these bylaws to act otherwise.
PART III. PROFESSIONAL STAFF
19.31. Executive Director of General Government Services. The Town shall have an Executive Director of General Government Services (the "Executive Director") who shall be appointed by the Selectmen and who shall act for and with the authority of the Selectmen. The Selectmen may elect to enter into a contract with the Executive Director pursuant to G.L. c. 41, section 108 N.
The Executive Director shall be the Chief Operating Officer of the Town, whose principal duties shall include but not be limited to:
a. Implementing the Town's policies and procedures as promulgated by the Selectmen as the Town's Chief Executive Board.
b. Overseeing and being responsible to the Selectmen in their responsibilities for the Town's finances, including without limitation the annual Town-Wide Financila Plan and Five Year Capital budget program required under these bylaws, and the investment of Town funds.
c. Overseeing the development and enforcement of internal controls, using best municipal finance and general accounting practices as appropriate.
d. Overseeing and being responsible for maintenance and quality control of all buildings and other structural assets under the Selectmen's jurisdiction and, upon request, of such assets under the jurisdiction of other boards and committees.
e. Overseeing and being responsible for all other operating facets under the jurisdiction fo the Selectmen, and as established by these bylaws, applicable special acts, and other duties as the Selectmen may from time the time specify.
f. Coordinating the activites of the Town departments and arranging meetings between Town department heads in order to deal with common problems and allow an interchange of ideas and information and to lead the Town's strategic planning.
g. Overseeing the Town's network and information systems.
The Executive Director shall be the Town's Chief Procurement Officer, who may delegate the powers and duties of such position as provided by law.
19.32. Executive Director, Term. The term of office shall be three years commencing on July 1.
19.33. Staff. The Executive Director shall appoint the Finance Director, the Facilities Maintenance Administrator and the Network and Information Systems Director, such appointments to be subject to the apporval of the Selectmen (hereinafter referred to as "principal staff") and such other staff as the Executive Director shall deem appoorpriate and for which funding has been provided. The Executive Director shall exercise genreal supervision over all town departments for which the Selectmen are the appointing or employing authority.
19.34. Principal Staff, Term. The appointments of all principal staff shall be for a period not to exceed three years.
PART IV. DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
19.41. Department. The Town shall have a Department of Financial Services headed by the Finance Director who shall be the Town's Chief Financial Officer.
19.42. Finance Director. The Executive Director may elect to enter into a contract with the Finance Director pursuant to G.L. c. 41, section 108 N, subject to the Selectmen's approval. The Finance Director shall be the Town Accountant and shall have, except as expressly provided by these bylaws, the powers and duties vested by law in comptrollers and town accountants. Among the duties and responsibilities of the Finance Director shall be the following:
a. Coordination and administration of Town financial services and activities including providing support as needed to the Advisory Committee and other Town boards and committees.
b. Serving as a member of the Retirement Board, ex officio.
c. Assisting in the development of budgets and reviewing of all budgets for format, completeness, and accuracy before submission to the Advisory Committee.
d. Assisting the Executive Director in preparing and surpevising purchasing and inventory control procedures.
e. Administering the disposal of Town property.
f. Maintaining Town accounting recordds and financial statements.
g. Paying all Town obligations, after secruing required approvals.
h. Monitoring all expenditures of Town funds.
i. Timely reporting to the Selectmen and to other appropriate boards of actual or foreseeable incurring of obligations or expenditures of funds in excess of budgeted appropriations.
j. Maintaining payroll and other financial records relating to all Town personnel.
k. Sending to each board, at regular intervals, a statement of the funds expended during the preceding month and a statement of the balances remaining under appropriated budgets.
19.43. Treasurer and Collector of Taxes. The Town shall have a Town Treasurer and Collector of Taxes ("Treasurer/Collector"), who shall be appointed by the Finance Director, for a three year term commencing on July 1, subject to the approval of the Executive Director. The Treasurer/Collector shall have, except as otherwise expressly provided by these bylaws, the powers and duties vested by law in Town treasurers and collectors of taxes. Among the duties and responsibilities of the Treasurer and Collector of Taxes shall be the following:
a. Collection of taxes and other funds due the Town, including the receipt of payments made on utility bills prepared and sent by the Department of Public Works;
b. Initiation, with the assistance of the Executive Director and with the approval of the Selectmen, of legal action to collect overdue funds payable to the Town;
c. Delivery of copies of any notice required by General Laws, Chapter 60, of intent to take land for the Town for nonpayment of taxes and of subsequent action relating to such taking and copies of any court order of judgment with respect to the validity or invalidity of the title in any parcel of land so taken, to the Selectmen, Planning Board, Board of Public Works, Natural Resources Commission, Housing Authority, Recreation Commission, School Committee and any other board that may request such notice, or their successors; and
d. Investment of Town funds in accordance with the guidelines and criteria set by the Board of Selectmen for the investment of any and all types of Town funds as provided in Article 19.5.3. Investment of Town Funds.
e. Inform all licensing authorities and assist in the collection of unpaid taxes, fees, assessments, betterments, and other municipal charges in accordance with the following procedure:
(I) The Tax Collector shall annually furnish to each department, board, commission or division, hereinafter referred to as the Licensing Authority, that issues licenses or permits including renewals and transfers, a list of any person, corporation, or business enterprise, hereinafter referred to as The Party, that has neglected or refused to pay any local taxes, fees, assessments, betterments, or other municipal charges for not less than a twelve month period, and that such party has not filed in good faith a pending application for an abatement of such tax or a pending petition before the appellate tax board.
(II) The Licensing Authority may deny, revoke or suspend any license or permit, including renewals and transfers of any party whose name appears on said list furnished to the Licensing Authority from the Tax Collector; provided, however, that written notice is given to the party and the Tax Collector, as required by applicable provisions of law, and the party is given a hearing, to be held not earlier than fourteen days after said notice. Said list shall be prima facie evidence for denial, revocation or suspension of said license or permit to any party. The Tax Collector shall have the right to intervene in any hearing conducted with respect to such license denial, revocation or suspension. Any findings made by the Licensing Authority with respect to such license denial, revocation or suspension shall be made only for the
purpose of such proceeding and shall not be relevant to or introduced in any other proceeding at law, except for any appeal from such license denial, revocation or suspension. Any license or permit denied, suspended or revoked under this section shall not be reissued or renewed until the Licensing Authority receives a certificate issued by the Tax Collector that the party is in good standing with respect to any and all local taxes, fees, assessments, betterments or other municipal charges, payable to the Town as the date of issuance of said certificate.
(III) Any party shall be given an opportunity to enter into a payment agreement, thereby allowing the Licensing Authority to issue a certificate indicating said limitations to the license or permit and the validity of said license shall be conditioned upon the satisfactory compliance with said agreement. Failure to comply with said agreement shall be grounds for the suspension or revocation of said license or permit; provided, however, that the holder be given notice and a hearing as required by applicable provisions of law.
(IV) The Board of Selectmen, may waive such denial, suspension or revocation if it finds there is no direct or indirect business interest by the property owner, its officers or stockholders, if any, or members of his immediate family, as defined in Section one of Chapter two hundred and sixty-eight in the business or activity conducted in
or on said property.
This section shall not apply to the following licenses and permits: (The references hereinafter set forth being to the General Laws): Open Burning (Section thirteen of Chapter forty-eight); Bicycle Permits (Section eleven A of Chapter eighty-five); Sales of Articles for Charitable Purposes (Section thirty-three of Chapter one hundred and one); Children Work Permits (Section sixty-nine of Chapter one hundred and forty-nine); Clubs and Associations
Dispensing Food or Beverage Licenses (Section twenty-one E of Chapter one hundred and
forty); Dog Licenses (Section one hundred and thirty-seven of Chapter one hundred and
forty); Fishing, Hunting, Trapping License (Section twelve of Chapter one hundred and
thirty-one); Marriage Licenses (Section twenty-eight of Chapter two hundred and seven) and
Theatrical Events, Public Exhibition Permits (Section one hundred and eighty-one of Chapter
one hundred and forty).
19.44. Purchasing Guidelines. The Executive Director, in cooperation with the Superintendent of Schools, the Director of Public Works and any other Town Officers selected by the Executive Director, shall adopt policies and procedures governing the process by which each board or department of the Town purchases or leases any item or service. The policies and procedures shall, among other things:
a. Implement the several General Laws governing procurements by all Town departments, by providing internal procedures and guidelines for all Town procurements including, without limitation, those procurements governed by General Laws, Chapter 30B, the Uniform Procurement Act, and such other governing authority, when deemed by the Executive Director to be helpful to the procuring departments and to the Department of Financial Services;
b. Ensure compliance with the 3-year limitation in procurement contracts governed by the Uniform Procurement Act, except to the extent a longer term has been authorized by Town Meeting pursuant to General Laws, Chapter 30B, Section 12 (B), in the following respects:
TYPE OF CONTRACT |
LIMIT ON DURATION |
1. Communication, (Equipment and/or servicing thereof) |
5 Years |
2. Trash removal from municipal buildings |
5 Years |
3. Transportation of school children |
5 Years |
4. Food services beverages |
5 Years |
c. Facilitate cooperation among all Town boards and departments to ensure that, to the extent possible, all Town boards and departments jointly purchase materials and supplies used by more than one board and department;
d. Encourage bidding for serial purchasing of major items, as defined by the Director, by requiring that each board or department prepare annually a schedule of the anticipated quantity of major items to be purchased and the anticipated timing for writing specifications, advertising for bid, awarding contracts, and receiving the merchandise.
19.45. Inventory Records and Controls. The Executive Director shall adopt policies and procedures by which all boards and departments maintain inventory records of all Town supplies, materials, and equipment and the procedures to be used for maintaining inventory controls.
19.46. Payment of Town Funds. The Executive Director shall adopt policies and procedures governing the disbursement of Town funds. These policies and procedures shall, among other things, require that payment for purchases shall be processed in the following manner:
a. No money shall be paid from the treasury of the Town without a warrant or order prepared by the Town Accountant and signed by a majority of the Selectmen.
b. The Town Accountant shall have custody of all vouchers which have been entered on warrants for payment and approved by the Selectmen. These vouchers shall be available for inspection during regular business hours.
c. Whenever the account of any appropriation, other than an appropriation for a special purpose (such as a construction contract), for which the work has not been completed shows an unexpended balance at the end of the fiscal year, such balance (except in the case of the Municipal Light Plant) shall revert to the treasury of the Town as unappropriated funds; and
d. No work, the payment for which is in any part to be contributed voluntarily by private individuals, firms or corporations shall be performed by the officer, official, department, or board of the Town having charge thereof, until a sufficient sum has been deposited with the Town Treasurer to cover such voluntary contributions.
19.47. Disposal of Town Property. The Executive Director shall adopt policies and procedures governing the disposal of surplus and obsolete Town property. "Disposal" includes any method by which the officer, official, board, or department responsible for the property terminates or substantially reduces its right to control the property. The policies and procedures shall, among other things:
a. Implement the General Laws governing the disposal to a third party of a tangible supply no longer useful to the Town but having re-sale or salvage value (General Laws, Chapter 30B, Section 15) and the rental, conveyance or other disposition of real property (General Laws, Chapter 30B, Section 16).
b. Establish internal procedures to ensure that no tangible or real property of the Town shall be disposed of to a third party without first ascertaining that it is not in the Town's interest to retain and/or transfer the property to another Town department.
c. Provide that no property belonging to the Municipal Light Plant having a value in excess of $30,000, no other tangible Town property having a value in excess of $10,000, and no real property shall be disposed of without Town Meeting approval.
d. Provide that each board, officer, official, and department shall annually view its property for obsolescence and report thereon to the Executive Director and shall promptly take steps for all surplus and obsolete property.
19.48. Evasion. No action shall be taken to increase or decrease, by combination or division or in any other way, the value of any item, service, or piece of property so as to avoid the effects of policies and procedures adopted by the Executive Director under Sections 19.44. and 19.47.
19.49. Annual Report. In addition to the requirements of Article 4, the Executive Director's annual report shall satisfy the requirements of Chapter 41, Section 61 of the General Laws and shall include financial statements showing the financial condition of the Town at the close of the last completed fiscal year, the results of operations in the fiscal year last completed (in the usual accounting format but of limited length and complexity), and a summary statement of (i) all investments made by the Town during the last completed fiscal year, including the rates of return, (ii) all borrowings, including amounts, rates of interest, and names of lenders from whom the money was borrowed and (iii) a list of insurance policies showing the property covered, the amount of each policy, the premiums, the names of the insurers,
and the agents through whom the policies were purchased. The Executive Director's report need not repeat information contained in the annual report of the Audit Committee.
PART V. TOWN MEETING DUTIES
19.51. Town Meeting. The Selectmen are responsible for calling all Town Meetings and shall take such actions as are required by law or by Article 8 of these bylaws relative to Town Meeting.
19.52. Closing of Warrant. The Selectmen shall, by notice to each board and by notice in a newspaper generally circulated in the Town, specify the date when the warrant for any Town Meeting shall close.
19.53. Copies of Warrant. The Selectmen, after drawing a warrant for a Town Meeting, shall transmit as soon as possible a copy of the same to each member of the Advisory Committee and to each Town Meeting Member.
19.54. Copies of Motions. The Selectmen shall distribute copies of all draft motions received by them to the Moderator, Advisory Committee, Town Counsel, and to any board which in its opinion is likely to have an interest in the motion, so that they may communicate with the author of the motion as far in advance of the meeting as possible. Copies of such drafts shall also be available for public inspection at the Selectmen's office and at the Wellesley Free Library.
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