USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > North Adams > North Adams city directory 1904 > Part 4
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Dr. G. F. Simpson, Chairman J. D. Hunter E. E. Vadnais, D. D. S. BOARD OF HEALTH, CITY OF NORTH ADAMS.
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CITY CHARTER
1904
VOTED APRIL 8, 1895 IN FORCE 1896
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NORTH ADAMS DIRECTORY.
North Adams City Charter
AN ACT
TO
Incorporate the City of North Adams
See an Act to Abolish the Board of Public Works of the City of North Adams and for Other Purposes on Page Following Charter
Be it enacted, etc., as follows :
TITLE I. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
Section 1. The inhabitants of the town of North Adams, shall, in case of the acceptance of this act by the voters of the said town as hereinafter provided, continue to be a body politic and corporate, under the name of the city of North Adams; and as such shall have, exercise and enjoy all rights, immunities, powers and privileges, and shall be subject to all the duties and obliga- tions, now pertaining to and incumbent upon the said town as a municipal corporation.
Section 2. The administration of all the fiscal, prudential and mu- nicipal affairs of said city, with the government thercof, shall, ex- cept the affairs of public schools, be vested in an executive de- partment, which shall consist of one officer, to be called the mayor, and in a legislative department which shall consist of a single body, to be called the city council, the members whereof shall be called councilmen. The executive department shall never ex- ercise any legislative power, except as herein otherwise provided
Section 3. The territory of said city shall first be divided into seven wards, as hereinafter provided, but said number, upon any subsequent division cf said city into new wards, may be increased
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by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the city council, passed previous to and in the year of such division.
TITLE 2. ELECTIONS AND MEETINGS.
Section 4. The municipal election shall take place annually on the third Tuesday of December, and the municipal year shall be- gin on the first Monday of January following. All meetings of the citizens for municipal purposes shall be called by warrants issued by order of the city council, which shall be in such form and be served and returned in such manner and at such tmes, as the city council may by ordinance direct.
Section 5. At such municipal election the qualified voters shall give in their votes by ballot in the several wards for mayor and councilmen. and fo" the members of the board of assessors, board of trustees of the public library, and of the school committee then to be elected, and the person receiving the highest number of votes for any office shat be deemed and declared to be elected to such office; and whenever two or more persons are to be elected to the same office the several persons, up to the number required to be chosen, receiving the highest number of votes shall be deemed and declared to be elected. If it shall appear that there is no choice of mayor, or if the person elected mayor shall refuse to accept the office, or shall die before qualifying, or if vacancy in said office shall occur subsequently and more than three months previous to the expiration of the municipal year, the city council shall forth- with cause warrants to be issued for a new election. and the same proceedings shall be had in all respects as hereinbefore provided for the election of mayor and shall be repeated until the election of mayor is completed. If the full number of members of the city council has not been elected, or if a vacancy in the office of coun- cilman shall occur subsequently and more than six months pre- vious to the expiration of the municipal year, the council may forthwith elect some person or persons to fill the vacancy or va- cancies until the next annual municipal election. The board of assessors shall consist of three persons, who shall be elected in a manner provided in section forty-one for the election of trustees of the public library.
Section 6. All meetings for the election of national, state, county and district officers shall be called by order of the city council, in the same manner as meetings for municipal elections are called.
Section 7. The city council may, when no convenient wardroom for holding the meetings of the citizens of any ward can be had
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within the territorial limits of such ward, appoint and direct, in the warrant for calling any meeting of the citizens of such ward that the meeting be held in some convenient place within the limits of any adjacent ward of the city; and for such purpose the place so assigned shall be deemed and taken to be a part of the ward for which the election is held.
Section 8. General meetings of the citizens qualified to vote may from time to time be held according to the right secured to the people by the constitution of this Commonwealth, and all such meetings may, and upon the request in writing of fifty qualified voters setting forth the purposes thereof, shall be duly called by the city council ..
TITLE :. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.
Section 9. The members of the city council shall consist of twenty-one councilmen at large, who shall be elected by the inhab- itants of the city as follows: At the first muncipal election held under this act twenty-one members at large of the council shall be elected by the qualified voters of the entire city, seven to serve for the term of three years, seven for the term of two years and seven for the term of one year, beginning with the first Monday in Jan- uary then next ensuing; and thereafter seven members at large of said city council shall be elected in a like manner at each annual municipal election, to serve for the term of three years beginning with the first Monday in January next ensuing, in place of the members at large whose term then expires. At the first municipal election no voter shall vote for more than five of the councilmen to to be elected for each term, that is to say, not more than fifteen in the aggregate on one ballot, and the seven having the highest num- ber of votes for each term shall be declared elected. At all muni- cipal elections subsequent to the first election no voter shall vote for more than five of the seven councilmen to be elected at an an- nual election on one ballot, and the seven having the highest num- ber of votes shall be declared elected. The councilmen shall hold office for three years, except as herein otherwise provided, begin- ning with the first Monday in January next succeeding their elec- tion and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. In case an election is held to fill a vacancy or vacan- cies in the council a voter may vote for the councilmen necessary to fill such vacancies in addition to the number above provided.
Section 10. The mayor and the councilmen elect shall annually, on the first Monday in January, at ten o'clock in the forenoon,
JAMES T. LARKIN'S
meet and be sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties. The cath shall be administered at their first meeting after the ac- ceptance of this act, by the town clerk, and in subsequent years by the city clerk, or, in his absence, by any justice of the peace, and shall be duly certified on the journal of the city council. In case of the absence of the mayor elect on the first Monday in January, or if a mayor shall not then have been elected, the oath of office may be at any time thereafter be administered to him, and at any time thereafter in like manner, the oath of office may be admin- istered to any member of the council who has been previously ab- sent or has been subsequently elected; and every such oath shall be duly certified as aforesaid.
Section 11. After the oath has been administered to the council- men present they shall be called to order, at their first organiza- tion by the town clerk, and in subsequent years by city clerk, or in case of the absence of the city clerk, by the oldest senior member present. The council shall then proceed to elect one of their own number president of the council by ballot. If no quorum is pres - ent an adjournment shall be taken' to a later hour or to the next dy, and therealter the same proceedings shall be had from day to day until a quorum is present. If any person receives the votes of a majority of all the members of the council, such person shall be declared chosen president thereof. If on the first day on which a quorum is present. no person receives the votes of such majority, they shall proceed to ballot until some person receives the votes of such majority or an adjournment to the succeeding day is taken, ant on cach succeeding day a plurality of those voting shall be suf- ficient for an election. No other business shall be in order until a president is chosen. The president shall be sworn by the town or city clerk, as the case may be, or in case of the absence of the clerk, by any justice of the peace. The council shall then proceed to the choice of a city clerk, in the same manner as above pro-' v'ded for the choice of president. The president may be removed from the presidency of the council and the clerk may be removed from office by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the mem- bers of the council, taken by roll call. The president of the council shall have the same right to vote as any other member thereof.
Section 12. The mayor may at any time call a special meeting of the city council, ny causing written notification thereof together with a statement of the subjects to be considered thereat, to be deposited in the postoffice, postpaid and addressed to the persons
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to be notified, or left at the usual place of residence of each mem- ke. of the council, at least twenty-four hours before the time ap- pointed for such meeting.
Section 13. The city council shall determine the rules of its own proceedings and shall be judge of the election returns and qualifications of its own members. In case of the absence of the president the council shall choose a president pro tempore. and a plurality of the votes cast shall be sufficient for a choice. The council shall sit with open doors, whether in session as a council cr as a committee of the whole, and shall cause a journal of its proceedings to be open to public inspection. The vote of the coun- cil upon any question shall be taken by roll call when the same is requested by at least three members. A majority of the mem- bers of the council shall be required to constitute a quorum, but a smal'er number may adjourn from day to day. The council shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with this act, have and exercise all the legislative powers of the towns, and have all the powers and subject to all the liabilities of city councils and of either branch thereof, under the general laws of the Commonwealth, and it may by ordinance prescribe the manner in which powers shall be exer- cised. They shall receive no compensation for their services as members of the city council or any committee thereof.
Section 14. Neither the city council nor any members of com- mittee thereof shall directly or indirectly take part in the em- ployment of labor, the making of contracts, the purchase of ma- terials or supplies, the construction, alteration or repair of any public works, buildings or other property, or the care, custody or management of the same, or in the conduct of any of the execu- tive or administrative business of the city, or in the expenditure of public money, except such as may be necessary for the contin- gent and incidental expenses of the city council, nor in the ap- pointment or removal of any officers, except as herein otherwise provided; but nothing in this section contained shall affect the powers or duties of the council in relation to state aid to disabled soldiers and sailors and of the families of those killed in the civil war.
Section 15. The city council shall in the month of January choose an auditor of accounts, who shall hold office for the ter.n of one year beginning with the first Monday in February next ensu- ing, and until his successor is chosen and qualified. A majority of the votes of all the members of the council taken by roll call
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shall be necessary for the choice of the auditor of accounts, and he may be removed by the council.
Section 16. The city council shall appropriate annually in the months of March and April the amount necessary to meet the ex- penditures of the city for the current municipal year. It shall take care that no money is paid from the treasury unless granted or appropriated, and shall secure a just and proper accountability by requiring bonds with sufficient penalties and sureties from all per- sons entrusted with the receipt, custody or disbursement of money. It shall as often as once in each year, ten days at least prior to the annual election, cause to be published for the use of the inhabi- tants a particular account of the receipts and expenditures of said city and a schedule of all city property and of the city debt. Any appropriation made by the city council for the erection of a city hall, or for land for a location for such building, shall be subjected to ratification by the legal voters of the city voting in their res- pective precincts at an annual municipal election. The city coun- cil may appropriate money from time to time in aid of the North Adams Hospital, and in return for such appropriations and said hospital shall receive persons for the reception of whom the city may erect, establish and maintain a hospital; but such appropria- tions shall not exceed in any one year a sum amounting to one- tent !. of one per cent. of the valuation of the city for the preced- ing real.
Section 17. The city council shall have the power within said city to make and establish ordinances and by-laws, and to affix pen- alties as herein and by general law provided, without the sanction of any court or justice therepf: provided, however, that all laws and regulations now in force in the town of North Adams shall, until they shall expire by their limitation or be revised or re- pealed by the council, remain in force. Complaint for the breach of any ordinance or by-law may be made by the mayor or any head of a department or any resident of the city.
Section 18. No vote of the city council granting or bestowing an exclusive franchise of any description to any person or corpora- tion shall be valid unless the same shall be approved by a vote of the qualified voters of the city, voting at large in their respectiv precincts at the annual municipal election. -
Section 19. The city council shall not authorize the erection of school house, or of any addition thereto, nor pass any appropria- tion for such purpose until plans for the same have been approved by vote of the school committee, and such approval has been certified in writing to the chairman of said committee.
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Section 20. The city council shall establish a fire department for said city, to consist of a chief and of such officers and members as the city council by ordinance shall from time to time prescribe; and said council shall have authority to define their ranks and duties and in general to make such regulations concerning the con- duct and government of such department, the management of fires and the conduct of persons attending fires, as they may deem ex- pedient, and may fix such penalties for any violation of such regu- lations or any of them as are provided for breach of the ordinance of said citv. The appointment of all the officers and members of such department shall be vested in the mayor exclusively, who shall have authority to remove from office any officer or member for cause. The chief and officers shall be the firewards of the city.
Section 21. The city council shall have power to establish fire limits within the city, and from time to time change or enlarge the same, and by ordinance they may regulate the construction of all buildings, erected within said fire limits, stipulating their location, size and the material of which they shall be constructed, together with such other rules and regulations as shall tend to prevent damage by fire; provided that such rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with the laws of this Commonwealth.
Section 22. The city council shall establish by ordinance a police department, to consist of a chief of police and such officers and men as it may prescribe, and make regulations for the government of the department. The appointment of all the members of such department shall be vested in the mayor exclusively, who shall have power to remove any member for cause.
Section 23. The city council shall, with the approval of the mayor, have exclusive authority and power to order the laying out, locating anew or discontinuing of all streets and ways and highways within the limits of said city, and to'assess the damages sustained by any person thereby, and further, except as herein otherwise provided, to act in all matters relating to such laying out, locating anew, altering or discontinuing. Any person aggrieved by the assessment of his damages, or other action of the coun- cil under this section, shall have the right and priv- fleges now allowed by law in such cases in appeals from decisions of the selectmen of towns.
Section 24. In case any ordinance, order, resolution or vote in- volves the appropriation or expenditure of money to an amount which may exceed two hundred dollars, the laying of an assess- ment or the granting to a person or corporation of any right in, over or under any street or other public ground of said city, the
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affirmative votes of a majority of all the members of the city council shall be necessary for its passage. Every such ordinance, order, resolution or vote shall be read twice, with an interval of at least three days between the two readings before being finally passed and the vote on its final passage shall be taken by roll call: provided, however, that upon and after the written recommenda- tion of the mayor, the city council may pass such ordinance, reso- lution or vote upon the same day, by a two-thirds yea and nay vote.
Section 25. At any meeting of the city council it shall be in order for any member thereof to give written notice, seconded in writing by a majority at least of all the members of the council, of his in- tention to move at the next meeting thereof, occurring within not less than ten days, a resolution that the mayor be removed for offi- cial misconduct or neglect of duty. Such notice shall specify as particularly as possible the acts of misconduct or the instances of neglect of duty complained of, shall be entered at large by the clerk in the minutes of the council, and the clerk shall, within two days, serve a copy on the mayor and mail a copy to each of the members of the council at his residence. At such next meeting of the council the mayor shall have the right to speak in his own defence and to be heard by counsel. The vote on the resolution shall be by roll call. If the resolution fails to receive the affirma- tive votes of three-fourths of all the members of the council it shall have no effect and shall not be re-introduced during that meeting of the council. If it receive the affirmative votes of three- fourths of all the members of the council it shall, upon the re- cording of such vote, take effect, and the office of mayor shall thereupon become vacant. The council shall thereupon order a warrant for a new election for mayor to be issued, and such fur- ther proceedings shall be had as are provided in section five of this act in case of a failure to elect a mayor.
Section 26. No member of the city council shall during the term for which he is elected, hold any other office in or under the city government, have the expenditure of any money appropriated by the council, or act as counsel in any matter before the council or any committee thereof; and no person shall be eligible for ap- pointment to any municipal office established by the council during any municipal year within which he was councilman, until the ex- piration of the succeeding municipal year.
Section 27. Every ordinance, order, resolution or vote of the city council, except such as relates to its own internal affairs, to its own officers or employes to the election or duties of the auditor of accounts and any city clerk, to the removal of the mayor or to
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the declaration of a vacancy in the office of mayor, shall be pre- sented to the mayor for his approval, and like proceedings shall be had thereon as are in such case provided by the general laws relating to cities
TITLE 4. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
Section 28. The executive powers of the city shall be vested solely in the mayor, and may be exercised by him either person- ally or through the several officers and boards of the city in their departments, under his general supervision and control. In case of a vacancy in any office to which appointment is made by the mayor he may personally perform the duties thereof, but he shall not be entitled to receive any salary or pay attached thereto. The mayer shall hold office for the municipal year beginning with the first Monday in January following his election unless sooner re- moved, and until his successor is elected and qualified.
Section 29 The mayor shall have the sole power of appoint- m:11 to all municipal offices established by or under this act, un- less herein otherwise provided; and he may, except as herein otherwise provided, remove from office by written order any offi- er so appointed hereunder, for any cause which he shall in his official discretion deem sufficient, which cause he shall assign in his order of removal. Such office shall become and be vacant upon the filing with the city clerk of such order of removal and the service of a copy thereof upon the officer so removed either personally or by leaving the same at his last or usual place of residence. The city clerk shall keep such order of removal on file, where it shall be open to public inspection.
Section 30. Whenever by reason of sickness or other cause the mayo shall be disabled from performing the duties of his office he may designate by a writing filed in the office of the city clerk, either the city treasurer, the city clerk, or the city solicior, to act as mayor or in case of failure of the mayor to make such designa- tion. the above mentioned officers in the order above named, then performing the duties of his office, shall act as mayor. Such officer shall during the continuance of such disability have all the rights and powers of mayor, except that he shall not when so act- ing have the power of removal, unless thereto in any instance au- thorized by vote of the city council, nor any power of appoint- ment unless such disability of the mayor has continued for a period of thirty days, and then subject to the approval of the city coun- cil, nor power to approve or disapprove any ordinance, order, reso- lution or vote until within twenty-four hours of the time when it
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would take effect withou. the approval of the mayor. In case such disability of the mayor continues for a period exceeding sixty days the city council may at any time after the expiration of that period declare a vacancy to exist in the office of mayor.
Section 31. Whenever there shall be a vacancy in the office of mayor the president of the city council shall act as mayor and possess all rights and powers of mayor during such vacancy, ex- cept that when so acting as mayor he shall not have the power of appointment or removal unless thereto in any instance authorized by vote of the council.
TITLE 5. SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Section 32. The management and control of schools of said city shali be vested solely in a school committee, consisting of six members at large, who shall be elected by the inhabitants of the city as follows: At the first municipal election held under this act six members of the school committee shall be elected by the qualified voters of the entire city, two to serve for the term of three years, two for the term of two years and two for the term of one year, beginning with the first Monday in January then next ensuing, and thereafter two members at large of the school com- mittee shall be elected in like manner at each annual municipal elertion, to serve for the term of three years beginning with the first Monday in January next ensuing, in place of the members at large whose term then expires. The school committee shall at its first meeting in each municipal year, or as soon thereafter as may be, choose a chairman from among its members by ballot, and the votes of a majority of all the members of the board shall be re- quired in order to elect.
Section 33. The school committee shall on the first Monday in June, or as soon thereafter as may be, choose by vote of a majority of its members, but not from their number, a superintendent of schools, who shall be under its direction and control. Such super- intendent shall hold office until the first Monday in June next en- suing, unless sooner removed, and until his successor is chosen and qualified, and he may be removed at any time by the school committee by a majority of its members. The school committee shall, in case of a vacancy in their number, forthwith notify the city council, and the council shall call a joint convention of the members thereof and of the school committee, and at such conven- tion the vacancy shall, by a vote of a majority of all the members of the two bodies, be filled until the end of the municipal year in which the warrant for the next ensuing annual municipal election
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