HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3220 FILED ON: 2/18/2021
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Daniel R. Carey
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act amending the charter of the city of Easthampton.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: DATE ADDED:
Daniel R. Carey 2nd Hampshire 2/18/2021
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 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3220 FILED ON: 2/18/2021
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No.
[Pin Slip]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)
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An Act amending the charter of the city of Easthampton.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 1-3 of article 1 of the charter of the city of Easthampton, which is
2 on file in the office of the archivist of the commonwealth, pursuant to section 12 of chapter 43B
3 of the General Laws, is hereby amended by striking out the words “executive/administrative”,
4 each time they appear, and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the word:- executive.
5 SECTION 2. Section 1-4 of said article 1 of said charter is hereby amended by striking
6 out the words “and power or function by a” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- ,
7 and power or function by, a.
8 SECTION 3. Section 1-7 of said article 1 of said charter is hereby amended by striking
9 out the definition of “City bulletin board” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
10 City Bulletin Board – The words “City Bulletin Board” shall mean the bulletin board(s)
11 on which the city clerk posts official notices of meetings and upon which other official municipal
12 notices are posted.
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13 SECTION 4. Said section 1-7 of said article 1 of said charter is hereby further amended
14 by striking out the definition of “City Officer” and inserting in place thereof the following 4
15 definitions:-
16 City Officer – The words “city officer”, when used without further qualification or
17 description, shall mean any person or persons in charge of any department or division of the city.
18 City Website – The words “city website” shall mean the official website maintained by
19 the city of Easthampton.
20 Electronic Publication - The words “electronic publication” shall mean publication by
21 electronic means, including but not limited to posting on the City Website.
22 Electronic Communication – The words “electronic communication” shall mean direct
23 transmission of messages over communications networks, such as e-mail.
24 SECTION 5. Said section 1-7 of said article 1 of said charter is hereby further amended
25 by striking out the definition of “Full Council or Full Multiple Member Body” and inserting in
26 place thereof the following definition:-
27 Full Council or Full Multiple Member Body - The words "full council” or “full multiple
28 member body” shall mean the entire authorized complement of the city council, school
29 committee or other multiple member body notwithstanding any vacancy which might exist.
30 SECTION 6. Said section 1-7 of said article 1 of said charter is hereby further amended
31 by striking out the definition of “general laws” and inserting in place thereof the following
32 definition:-
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33 general laws - The words “general laws" (all lower case letters) shall mean laws of the
34 Commonwealth of Massachusetts which apply alike to all cities and towns, to all cities, or to a
35 class of two or more cities and or cities and towns of which Easthampton is a member.
36 SECTION 7. Said section 1-7 of said article 1 of said charter is hereby further amended
37 by striking out the definition of “Local Newspaper” and inserting in place thereof the following
38 definition:-
39 Local Newspaper - The words "local newspaper" shall mean a newspaper of general
40 circulation within the city, with either a weekly or daily circulation.
41 SECTION 8. Said section 1-7 of said article 1 of said charter is hereby further amended
42 by striking out the definition of “Majority Vote” and inserting in place thereof the following
43 definition:-
44 Majority Vote - The words “majority vote" when used in connection with a meeting of a
45 multiple member body shall mean a majority of those present and voting, unless another
46 provision is made by ordinance, by-law, or the Multi Member Body’s own rules. When used in
47 connection to the city council, “majority vote” shall always refer to a majority of the full council
48 membership.
49 SECTION 9. Said section 1-7 of said article 1 of said charter is hereby further amended
50 by striking out the definition of “Open Meeting Law” and inserting in place thereof the following
51 definition:-
52 Open Meeting Law - The words “Open Meeting Law” shall mean sections 18 to 25of
53 chapter 30A of the General Laws and any amendments thereto.
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54 SECTION 10. Said section 1-7 of said article 1 of said charter is hereby further amended
55 by striking out the definition of “Voters” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
56 Voters - The word "voters" shall mean registered voters of the city.
57 SECTION 11. The third sentence of subsection (a) of section 2-1 of article 2 of said
58 charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “district”, each time it appears, and inserting
59 in place thereof, in each instance, the following word:- precinct.
60 SECTION 12. Said third sentence of said subsection (a) of said section 2-1 of said article
61 2 of said charter is hereby further amended by striking out the word “districts” and inserting in
62 place thereof the following word:- precincts.
63 SECTION 13. Subsection (c) of said section 2-1 of said article 2 of said charter is hereby
64 amended by striking out the word “district”, each time it appears, and inserting in place thereof,
65 in each instance, the following word:- precinct.
66 SECTION 14. Section 2-3 of said article 2 of said charter is hereby amended by striking
67 out the second sentence and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sentences:- An exception
68 may be authorized by majority vote of the council for any member whose expertise may provide
69 a benefit to the city, provided this employment is not permanent and approved by the state ethics
70 commission. The member may receive a stipend not to exceed the current salary of the council.
71 The member must recuse himself from any all business or votes regarding the department he is
72 employed by during the term of his employment. Except as provided herein, no former member
73 of the city council shall hold any compensated appointed city office or city employment until six
74 months following the date on which such former member’s service on the city council has
75 terminated.
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76 SECTION 15. Section 2-4 of said article 2 of said charter is hereby amended by striking
77 out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
78 (b) Expenses - Subject to appropriation, the council members shall be entitled to
79 reimbursement of their reasonable actual and necessary expenses in the performance of their
80 duties if approved by the council president and if budgeted funds are available.
81 SECTION 16. Clause (ii) of subsection (c) of section 2-6 of said article 2 of said charter
82 is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place there of the following
83 sentence:- Special meetings of the city council shall be held at the call of the council president,
84 or, on the call of any three or more members, by written notice delivered in hand or to the place
85 of residence of each member, or by electronic communication to the official city e-mail address
86 of each member, and which contains a listing of the items to be acted upon.
87 SECTION 17. Clause (v) of said subsection (c) of said section 2-6 of said article 2 of said
88 charter is hereby amended by striking out the word “All” and inserting in place thereof the
89 following words:- Except as otherwise provided for in this Charter, all.
90 SECTION 18. Section 2-7 of said article 2 of said charter is hereby amended by striking
91 out subsection (d) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
92 (d) Notice - The city council shall give not less than five days’ notice to any city officers,
93 members of city agencies, or city employees it may require to appear before it under the
94 provisions of this section. The notice shall include specific questions or topics on which the city
95 council seeks information and describe with reasonable particularity the matters on which
96 examination is requested.
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 97 No person called to appear before the city council under this section shall be required to
98 respond to any question not relevant or related to those questions or topics presented in advance
99 and in writing. Notice shall be by electronic communication, and delivery in hand, or by
100 registered or certified mail to the last known place of residence of any such person.
101 SECTION 19. The first sentence of subsection (a) of section 2-8 of said article 2 of said
102 charter is hereby amended by striking out the figure “3” and inserting in place thereof the
103 following words:- three (3).
104 SECTION 20. The first sentence of subsection (b) of said section 2-8 of said article 2 of
105 said charter is hereby amended by striking out the figure “3” and inserting in place thereof the
106 following words:- three (3).
107 SECTION 21. Section 2-9 of said article 2 of said charter is hereby amended by striking
108 out subsections (b) and (c) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 subsection:-
109 (b) Measures, In General – The city council may pass any measure through all of its
110 stages at any one meeting, except proposed ordinances, appropriation orders, and loan
111 authorizations. Should any city councilor seek to have a measure passed through all of its stages
112 at one meeting, such city councilor shall notify the clerk of the council in writing prior to the
113 publication of the agenda for the meeting where the vote on the measure would occur, that the
114 councilor seeks to have the measure passed through all of its stages at one meeting. Upon receipt
115 of such notice the clerk of the council shall add “REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE
116 CONSIDERATION” before that item on the city council’s agenda, so as to notify the public that
117 the measure may pass through all if its stages at that meeting. If any member of the city council
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118 objects to the passage of a measure through all if its stages at any one meeting, the measure shall
119 be sent to the appropriate council committee in accordance with Section 2-6 c (v).
120 On the first occasion that the question of adopting any measure presented by standing or
121 special council committee is put to the city council, except an emergency measure as defined in
122 Section 2-9 (a), if a member objects to the taking of a vote, such objection is seconded by
123 another member, the vote on such measure shall be postponed until the next regular or special
124 meeting of the city council. If when the matter is next taken up for a vote, four or more members
125 object to the taking of the vote, the matter shall be further postponed for not less than five
126 additional days. This procedure shall not be used more than once for any measure
127 notwithstanding any amendments made to the original measure.
128 (c) Publication - Every proposed ordinance, appropriation order or loan authorization,
129 except emergency ordinances as provided in Section 2-9 (a) shall, at least 10 days before its final
130 passage, be published in summary in a local newspaper, unless required by the General Laws to
131 be published in full, and shall also be published in full by electronic publication. Upon final
132 passage, the ordinance, appropriation order or loan authorization shall be posted in full on the
133 city bulletin board, the city website and published as may be required by law.
134 SECTION 22. Said article 2 of said charter is hereby further amended by striking out
135 section 2-10 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
136 Section 2-10. COUNCIL REVIEW OF CERTAIN APPOINTMENTS
137 The mayor shall submit to the city council the name of each person the mayor desires to
138 appoint to any city office, as a department head or as a member of a multiple-member body, but
139 not including any position which is subject to the civil service law pursuant to chapter 31 of the
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140 General Laws. The city council shall refer each such name as is submitted to it to a standing or
141 special committee of the city council which shall investigate each such candidate for
142 appointment and may make a report, with recommendations, to the full city council not less than
143 seven (7) nor more than forty five (45) days following such referral. The committee may require
144 any person whose name has been referred to it to appear before the committee, or before the city
145 council, to give such information relevant to such appointment as the committee, or the city
146 council, may require.
147 Appointments made by the mayor shall become effective on the forty-fifth day following
148 the date on which notice of the proposed appointment was first presented at a regularly
149 scheduled meeting of the city council, unless the city council shall within the said 45 days vote to
150 reject such appointment, or unless the city council has sooner voted to affirm the appointment.
151 For the appointment of a department head appointed by the mayor, the council must act upon
152 said appointment at the next regularly scheduled meeting following the meeting at which the
153 appointment was first presented to the full council or that appointment shall become effective.
154 Rejection by the city council shall require a two-thirds vote of the full council, except that an
155 appointment to a multiple member body may be rejected by a majority vote of the full council.
156 The question on rejection of any appointment made by the mayor shall not be subject to the
157 procedure of charter objection provided in Section 2-9 (b) of this charter.
158 SECTION 23. Subsection (b) of section 2-11 of said article 2 of said charter is hereby
159 amended by striking out the heading and inserting in place thereof the following heading:-
160 Precinct Councilor.
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161 SECTION 24. Said subsection (b) of said section 2-11 of said article 2 of said charter is
162 hereby further amended by striking out the word “district”, each time it appears, and inserting in
163 place thereof, in each instance, the following word:- precinct.
164 SECTION 25. Said section 2-11 of said article 2 of said charter is hereby further
165 amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
166 (c) Filling of Vacancies By City Council - Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office
167 of councilor-at-large or in that of precinct councilor and there is no available candidate to fill
168 such vacancy in the manner provided in Section 2-11 (a) or (b), the vacancy shall be filled by the
169 remaining members of the city council. The council president shall call a special meeting of the
170 council solely for the purpose of choosing an applicant within thirty (30) days of such vacancy.
171 Persons elected to fill a vacancy by the city council shall forthwith be sworn and shall serve until
172 the next regular election at which time the position shall be filled by the voters. The person
173 elected by the voters shall forthwith be sworn and shall thereafter serve for the remainder of the
174 original unexpired term, or if the term has expired to the term, for which the person is elected.
175 Persons elected by the city council to fill a vacant position shall not be entitled to have the words
176 "candidate for re-election" printed against their names on the election ballot.
177 SECTION 26. The second sentence of subsection (c) of section 3-1 of article 3 of said
178 charter is hereby amended by striking out the words “next biennial city election” and inserting in
179 place thereof the following words:- year following the election in which the mayor is elected.
180 SECTION 27. The first sentence of section 3-3 of said article 3 of said charter