USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1843-1859 > Part 13
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
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MUNICIPAL REGISTER.
SECT. 3. The Auditor shall receive all accounts and claims against the City after the same shall have been certified, as provided in the preceding section. He shall carefully examine all such accounts and claims, and see that they are all correctly cast, and having certified to the same shall present them to the Committee on Accounts.
SECT. 4. No money shall be drawn out of the City Treasury except upon the written order of the Mayor, or, in his absence, of the Chairman of the Board of Aldermen, addressed to the Treasurer.
SECT. 5. The Mayor is hereby authorized to draw orders on the Treasurer for the payment of all accounts and claims allowed and certified by the Committee on Accounts, as provided in the first section; but he shall not draw his order on the Treasurer for the payment of any account or claim against the City, excepting as provided in the suc- ceeding section, unless the same shall have been allowed and certified by said Committee on Accounts; nor shall he draw any order in payment for any services rendered, or any materials furnished for any department, beyond the sum specifically appro- priated therefor by the City Council.
SECT. 6. Any sum of money which shall have been specifically appropriated for the payment of principal or interest due on any note, bond, or other security of the City, may be drawn from the
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treasury and paid by the order of the Mayor, for the purpose for which it was appropriated, without any action on the part of the Committee on Accounts, and without any action as required in the second and third sections of this ordinance.
SECT. 7. Whenever it shall be necessary to pay . money on account of contracts made, or for work begun and not completed, the Mayor, upon the re- ceipt of a certificate from the Committee having such work in charge that payments are due, shall draw his order on the Treasurer for any sum agreed to be paid on account of such contract. Whenever any money shall be drawn from the Treasury for the pur- poses specified in this section, the Auditor shall re- port the same, and the amount thereof, to the Com- mittee on Accounts at their next meeting, the same to be charged under the appropriate head of expendi- ture.
SECT. 8. The City Treasurer shall, under the direction of the Committee on Accounts, keep a complete set of books, as well as an accurate and true account of all his receipts and payments on behalf of the City. He shall not pay any money out of the City Treasury, except as prescribed in the fourth and fifth sections. He shall present each month a report of the condition of all appropria- tions, giving a statement of the unexpended balances of the same; and annually (or oftener if required) lay before the City Council a complete statement .
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of the condition of the City Treasury, and of al' moneys received and paid by him on account, during the current year. He shall make up his account to the thirty-first day of December, inclusive, and the financial year shall begin on the first day of January, in each year. He shall give a bond or bonds, with sufficient sureties, to the satisfaction of the City Council, in such sum as the City Council may deter- mine, for the faithful performance of the duties of the said office of Treasurer and Collector, and that he will truly and justly account for all moneys that may come into his hands, and pay over all moneys to his successor in office. He shall also cause all books, papers, vouchers, and documents under his care, belonging to the City, to be securely deposited and kept in some one of the fire-proof vaults belonging to the City. He shall render such other service and furnish such other information respecting the accounts, finances, and payments of the City, as either branch of the Council or any committee there- of, from time to time may require; and he shall, in addition to the ordinary duties of his office, collect all assessments, dues, and demands in favor of the City; and if any such sums remain unpaid beyond a reasonable time, he shall proceed to collect the same by legal process.
SECT. 9. All City officers who shall, in their official capacity, receive any money on behalf of the City, shall forthwith pay the same to the Treasurer, accompanied by a statement of the purposes for which the same was received.
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SECT. 10. Whenever a permanent loan shall be authorized by the City Council, bonds of the City, with interest coupons attached, so prepared as to meet its conditions, shall be issued therefor, and disposed of under the direction of the Committee on Finance, in such manner as may best promote the interests of the City; and all bonds issued by the City under the provisions of this ordinance shall be signed, in the name and in behalf of the City, by the Mayor and the City Treasurer, and shall also bear the seal of the City; and for all temporary loans the note or notes of the same shall be signed by the Treasurer and approved by the Mayor.
SECT. 11. The Committee on Finance shall, in the month of February or March, annually prepare and lay before the City Council an estimate of the amount of money necessary to be raised for the cur- rent financial year under the various heads of appro- priation, and the ways and means of raising the same; and shall also annually prepare and lay before the City Council a statement of all the receipts and ex- penditures of the preceding financial year, giving in detail the amount of appropriation and expenditure for cach department; and said statement shall be accompanied with a schedule of the property, real and personal, belonging to the City, and the value thereof and the amount of the city debt.
SECT. 12. The Committee on Finance shall, at the close of each financial year, and as much oftener
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as they shall deem it expedient, examine and audit the accounts of the City Treasurer and Collector, . and for that purpose shall have access to all books and vouchers in his possession, or in possession of any other officer of the City. The said committee shall not only compare said accounts with the vouch- ers therefor, but shall ascertain whether all moneys due the City have been collected and accounted for; they shall also examine all notes and securities in the Treasurer's hands, belonging to the City, and make report thereof to the City Council.
SECT. 13. The City Clerk shall give such bonds for the faithful performance of his duties, and for the delivery to his successor of all books, papers, and property belonging to said office, as the City Council shall determine by a concurrent vote.
SECT. 14. The bonds of the City Clerk and the City Treasurer shall be deposited with the Mayor for the time being, for safe keeping, by whom the same shall be transferred to his successor in said office. All the bonds of other city officers, required by the City Council, and all deeds, contracts, agree- ments, and other bonds, shall be kept in the custody of the City Treasurer.
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No. 5.
AN ORDINANCE CONCERNING THE ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF TAXES.
SECTION 1. The Board of Assessors shall, annu- ally, as soon as may be practicable, organize by the choice of a Chairman ; and a majority of the Board shall be required for the transaction of business.
SECT. 2. It shall be the duty of the Assessors, during the season they are called upon to perform street duty, to visit the different estates in the sev- eral wards; to take a list of the polls; to estimate the personal property; to appraise the value of the real estate, and to obtain the information necessary for making the statistics required by law. When not engaged in street duty the Chairman shall so apportion the duties required of the Board as will best facilitate the office business.
The Chairman shall also furnish to the Collector of Taxes a sufficient description of all lands which may become liable to sale for non-payment of taxes.
SECT. 3. It shall be the duty of the Assessors to make out and deliver to the Treasurer and Collector, on or before the tenth day of August in each year, tax lists for all taxes assessed on all persons and estates, and the City Treasurer and Collector shall immediately issue the tax bills.
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MUNICIPAL REGISTER.
SECT. 4. All taxes shall be payable on or before the thirty-first day of October of each year; and in- terest at the rate of six per centum per annum in all cases, or at the rate of one per centum a month, if, at the meeting when money is raised or granted, the City Council shall so vote, shall be charged from said thirty first day of October, upon all taxes which shall remain unpaid on the fifteenth day of Novem- ber, until the same shall be paid; and all taxes re- maining unpaid on the first day of February follow- ing, the Treasurer and Collector shall proceed to collect by due process of law.
SECT. 5. As soon as it conveniently may be, after the Treasurer and Collector has sold or caused to be sold, for non-payment of any tax or assessment, any real estate in the City, he shall cause to be made, under his supervision, and kept in his office for pub- lic reference, an alphabetical list of the location of such real estate, as well as the name of the person or persons, if known, against whom such tax or assessment was levied.
SECT. 6. Abatements of taxes shall be made, and recorded by the Board of Assessors, and the record thereof shall contain the names of all persons whose taxes shall have been abated, in whole or in part, with the amount originally assessed, and the amount of abatements; and the reason for abatement shall be stated on the said record against the name of each person whose tax shall have been abated. A
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record of all abatements thus made shall be sent to the Treasurer and Collector of Taxes at the time when abated; and the Assessors shall annually report to the City Clerk all abatements of taxes made by them.
No. 6.
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE CITY CLERK.
SECTION 1. The City Clerk shall perform all the duties which are now required of him by the Laws of the Commonwealth, the City Charter, and the Ordinances of the City, and also all duties which may hereafter be required of him by any Law of the Commonwealth or Ordinance of the City.
SECT. 2. He shall pay over to the City Treasurer, daily, all moneys and fees received by him, accom- panied by a statement of the purposes for which they were received, taking a receipt for the same.
SECT. 3. He shall attend all General Meetings of the citizens, which may be had by virtue of warrants issued by the Mayor and Aldermen, and he shall open such meeting by reading the warrant therefor, and shall continue to preside thereat until a Moder- ator is chosen. He shall keep in a separate book a record of the proceedings of such meetings, and shall insert in the record copies of all reports or other documents upon which said proceedings may have been founded.
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MUNICIPAL REGISTER.
SECT. 4. He shall act as Clerk of the several Joint Standing Committees when so required by them respectively.
SECT. 5. The City Council shall, in their annual appropriation bill, appropriate a definite sum for the salary of the City Clerk, which shall be in full for all services performed by, or required of him as City Clerk.
No. 7.
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE OFFICE AND PRESCRIBING THE DUTIES OF A CITY SOLICITOR.
SECTION 1. The City Solicitor shall have been admitted, and be, an Attorney and Counsellor of the Courts of the Commonwealth, and shall not hold any other office created by the City Council during the period for which he is elected, and shall be re- movable at the pleasure of the City Council by con- current vote of the two branches.
SECT. 2. He shall, if required, by himself, or by some person by him duly authorized, for whose conduct, skill, and faithfulness he shall be account- able, draft all bonds, deeds, obligations, contracts, leases, agreements, conveyances, and other legal instruments, of whatever nature, which may be re- quired of him by any Ordinance or Order of the Board of Aldermen, or of the City Council, or which,
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by any Ordinance or order hereafter passed, may be requisite to be done and made by the City, and any person or persons contracting with the City in its corporate capacity, and which, by law, usage, and agreement, the City is to be at the expense of drawing.
SECT. 3. He shall, when required, commence and prosecute all actions and suits to be commenced by the City before any tribunal in this Commonwealth, whether in law or equity; and also appear in, defend, and advocate the rights and interests of the City wherein any estate, right, privilege, Ordinances, or Acts of the City Government, or any breach of any Ordinance may be brought in question. He shall also appear before the Legislature of the Common- wealth, or any committee thereof, whether of either or both branches of the same, and there, in behalf of the City, represent, answer for, defend, and advocate the welfare and interests of said City, whenever the same may be directly or incidentally affected, whether to prosecute or defend the same. He shall, in all matters, do all and every professional act, incident to the office, which may be required of him by the City Government, or by any joint or special com- mittee thereof, or by any Ordinance or Order; and he shall, when required, furnish the Mayor, the Board of Aldermen, the Common Council, or any joint or special committee of either branch thereof, and to any Officer of the City Government who may require it in the official discharge of his duties, with
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his legal opinion on any subject touching the duties of their respective offices.
SECT. 4. In full for all the services of said Solici- tor, he shall receive such salary or compensation as the City Council may fix and determine.
In all cases, however, when his attendance may be required out of the City, his reasonable travelling expenses shall be allowed him.
No. 8.
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE CITY PHYSICIAN.
SECTION 1. It shall be the duty of the City Phy- sician to attend, under the general direction of the Overseers of the Poor, upon all sick paupers and patients under the care of the city authorities, and to render all the services by law incumbent upon phy- sicians appointed by Boards of Health.
SECT. 2. In case of any alarm of any infectious or contagious disease, he shall give to either branch of the City Council, or any committee thereof, all such pro- fessional advice and counsel as they may request of him,-shall vaccinate all scholars of the public schools that may be sent to him by the School Committee for that purpose; and perform all the professional ser- vices that may be required in the police stations, and generally shall perform such other professional ser-
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vices as may be required of him by the Mayor and Aldermen, or the City Council.
SECT. 3. Said Physician shall receive such salary as the City Council may fix and determine; which salary shall be in full compensation for all the servi- ces required of him, including all medicine furnished or prescribed.
No. 9.
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE OFFICE OF CITY ENGINEER.
SECTION 1. The Mayor and Aldermen shall an- nually appoint a City Engineer. He shall be removable at the pleasure of the Mayor and Alder- men, and a vacancy may be filled at any time for the unexpired term. He shall receive such compen- sation for his services as the City Council may from time to time determine.
SECT. 2. The City Engineer, under the direc- tion of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, shall have charge of all the plans of the Water Works, streets, drains, sewers, lands, etc., belonging to the city. He shall classify and put them in safe and conven- ient form, for reference or use. He shall make all plans, surveys, measurements, and levels, pertaining to the Water Works, streets, drains, sewers, lands, etc., and perform such other duties properly belonging
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to his office as may be required of him by the Mayor, the Board of Aldermen, or any Joint Standing or Special Committee of the City Council.
No. 10.
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A BOARD OF HEALTH.
SECTION 1. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen shall constitute the Board of Health of the City for all purposes, and may appoint a committee or agents to act for them respectively in cases of emergency, or when such board cannot be conveniently assem- bled; such agents or committee so appointed to have and exercise all the authority which the Board of Health has, but to report their action and be respon- sible to the Board of Health, as required by law.
SECT. 2. The execution of the Laws and Ordi- nances relating to the subject of internal health shall be under the superintendence of the Chief of Police; and it shall be his duty to enforce all Laws, Ordi- mances, Regulations, and Orders relating to causes of sickness, nuisances, and sources of filth, except as is otherwise provided in this Ordinance, subject to the direction, authority, and control of the Board of Health.
SECT. 3. The owner, agent, or occupant having the care of any tenement used as a dwelling-house shall furnish the same with a sufficient drain, under
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ground, to carry off waste water; and also with a suitable privy or water-closet sufficient for the ac- commodation of all who may use it.
SECT. 4. All vaults or privies shall be so con- structed that the inside of the same shall be at least two feet distant from the line of every adjoining lot or street, and the same shall be kept tight; nor shall the contents of any vault be allowed to accu- mulate to within twelve inches of the even surface of the ground, or otherwise become offensive.
SECT. 5. If any owner, agent, or occupant of any land in which any vault or drain may be situated shall neglect or refuse to cleanse the same, after being notified by the Chief of Police that the same had become offensive, he shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding ten dollars for every week he shall neglect or refuse to cleanse the same.
SECT. 6. No vault or privy shall be emptied except by parties especially authorized by the Board of Health, nor in any other mode or time than by them authorized; and always at the expense of the owner, agent, or occupant having charge of the tenement or premises in which such vault or privy is situated.
SECT. 7. All waste water shall be conveyed through sufficient drains, under ground, to a com- mon sewer, or to such reservoir, sunk under ground,
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as shall be approved by the Committee on Sewers, and no person shall suffer any waste or stagnant water to remain in any cellar or upon any lot or vacant ground by such person owned or occupied.
SECT. 8. Whenever, upon due examination, it shall appear to the Chief of Police that the number of persons occupying any tenement or building in the City is so great as to be the cause of nuisance or sickness, or the source of filth; or that any tene- ment or building is not furnished with vaults con- structed according to the provisions of this Ordi- nance, or with sufficient privies or drains, under ground, for waste water, he may thereupon issue his notice, in writing, to such persons, or any of them, requiring them to remove from and quit such tenement or building within such time as he shall deem reasonable. And if the person or persons so notified, or any of them, shall neglect or refuse to remove from and quit such tenement or building within the time mentioned in such notice, the Chief of Police is hereby authorized and empowered there- upon forcibly to remove them; and such person or persons so neglecting or refusing shall be liable to a fine for each and every day such neglect or refusal shall continue, as hereinafter provided.
SECT. 9. The Board of Health are hereby autho- rized to contract with suitable persons for the col- lecting and carrying away of the house offal of the City, and to sell or dispose of the same, and to make
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such rules and regulations in relation thereto as they may deem necessary; and no person shall collect or remove house offal unless authorized by the Board of Health.
SECT. 10. All house offal shall be placed in suitable vessels, and no ashes or other refuse mat- ter shall be mingled therewith; and the same shall be kept in some convenient place, to be taken away by the city scavengers, or persons duly authorized for that purpose.
SECT. 11. Ashes kept for removal by the City shall not be mixed with other substances, but shall be kept separate and apart, in a convenient place, in suitable iron or other metallic vessels, and in such a manner as to prevent the spread of fire.
SECT. 12. No person shall remove, or carry in, or through, any of the streets, squares, courts, lanes, avenues, places, or alleys within the City, any house dirt, or house offal, or any offensive or refuse animal or vegetable substance, unless such person so removing or carrying the same, and the mode in which the same may be removed or car- ried, shall have been expressly licensed by the Board of Health or the permit of the Superintendent of Health.
SECT. 13. All dirt, rubbish, or filth of any kind in any house, warehouse, store, cellar, yard,
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unaccepted street, or other place which the Board of Health shall deem injurious to the health or safety of the City, shall be removed by the owner or occupant of such house, warehouse, store, cel- lar, yard, unaccepted street, or other place where the same shall be found, within twenty-four hours, or such other time as the Board of Health shall deem reasonable, after notice, in writing, to that effect, served personally upon such owner or oc- cupant, or other authorized agent, by any person competent to serve any civil process, or left at the owner, occupant, or agent's last and usual place of abode, if the same be known and be within the State, or such removal shall be made under the direction of the Board of Health, and the expense thereof borne by such owner or occupant; and in addition they, or either of them, shall be liable to the penalties hereinafter provided.
SECT. 14. No person shall throw or put into any public place, or pond, or body of water, any dead animal, dirt, or rubbish whatsoever.
Nor shall any person throw into or upon any docks, flats, or tide water within the jurisdiction of the City, any dead animal, filth, or offensive matter.
SECT. 15. No person shall collect or remove from any dwelling-house or other place in the City, any grease, or refuse fatty matter, unless such person so collecting or removing the same,
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and the mode in which the same may be done, shall have been licensed by the Mayor and Alder- men; all such licenses may at any time be modi- fied or revoked, and every person, before receiving such license, shall pay to the City Clerk for the use of the City a fee of two dollars.
SECT. 16. No person shall keep any goat or swine within the limits of the City without a license from the Mayor and Aldermen, and only in such place and manner as shall be determined; and all such licenses shall date from the first day of May, annually, and may at any time be modi- fied or revoked. And every person, before receiv- ing such license, shall pay to the City Clerk for the use of the City a fee of one dollar for each goat or swine licensed.
SECT. 17. The Field Drivers shall take into cus- tody any goat or swine running at large in the City; said goat or swine to be disposed of in accordance with the City Ordinances, and the laws of the Com- monwealth. Said Field Drivers shall cause the name of the owner of such goat or swine to be recorded in a book to be kept at the Police Station by the Chief of Police, whose duty it shall be, as often as once in three months, to furnish the Mayor with a copy of such record, with the particulars pertaining to each case.
SECT. 18. No person, unless specially authorized
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by the Board of Health, shall drive any cart or other vehicle containing night-soil or other offen- sive matter, or used for conveying the same, in any street between the hours of four o'clock, A. M., and ten o'clock, P. M., during the months of April, May, June, July, August, and September; nor be- tween the hours of five o'clock, A. M., and nine o'clock, P. M., during the months of October, Novem- ber, December, January, February, and March.
SECT. 19. No person shall bring into the City for sale, any diseased, putrid, stale, or unwholesome meat, vegetables, fish, or provisions.
SECT. 20. No person shall boil, burn, or decom- pose in the City, any bones or other refuse parts of any neat cattle or other animal.
SECT. 21. No person shall erect or maintain any building or structure, within the limits of the City, used for a slaughter-house, or for the manu- facture or refining of kerosene oil or soap, the try- ing out of lard, the business of a tallow chandler, or the tanning, dressing, or coloring of leather or skins, or any other noxious or offensive trade, or exercise or carry on any such trade, business, or employment, without the license of the Board of Health, defining the place for the same, and any such license may at any time be revoked.
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