NOTICE OF GENERAL BY-LAW ADDITIONS & AMENDMENTS

From the Office of the

TOWN CLERK

Memorial Town Complex

122 Connie Mack Dr.

East Brookfield MA 01515

February 7, 2022

 

 

To the Residents of the Town of East Brookfield:

The following additional general by-laws and/or amendments to existing general by-laws have been approved by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office:

Under Article #22 the Town has amended the General By-Laws to add to Article IV, Section 5, “Town Collector,” a new paragraph 2, to accept the provisions of MGL c.40 §57:

(a) The tax collector or other municipal official responsible for records of all municipal taxes, assessments, betterments and other municipal charges, hereinafter referred to as 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.

(b) 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 or with respect to any activity, event or other matter which is the subject of such license or permit and which activity, event or matter is carried out or exercised or is to be carried out or exercised on or about real estate owned by 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 purposes 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 license 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 municipality as the date of issuance of said certificate.

(c) 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.

(d) 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 A in the business or activity conducted in or on said property.

This section shall not apply to the following licenses and permits: 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, 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 licenses, 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.

 

Under Article #12 the Town has amended Article VII of the General By-Laws, “Contracts by Town Officers,” by deleting Section 4 there from in its entirety and renumbering the remaining section, with the remaining provisions of said Article VII to remain unchanged. (This section of the by-law has become obsolete as it pertains to state mandated contract award requirements. The Town has and will continue to be bound by state procurement laws.) Article VII now reads:

Section 1. No Town officer, salaried employee of the Town, or agent of such officer or employee, shall sell materials or supplies to the Town, nor receive compensation or commission for services rendered, except the official salaries and fees allowed by law, without obtaining the per-mission of the Selectmen, expressed in a vote which shall appear on their records, with the reason therefore.

Section 2. Every board or officer in charge of a department may, with the approval of the Selectmen, sell any property or material not required by such department, if not in excess of one hundred ($100.00) dollars in value.

Section 3. If the value of property to be disposed of by sale exceeds one hundred ($100.00) dollars in the judgment of the officer, board or department having charge or responsibility for said property, the property shall be advertised in a newspaper having general circulation in the Town, and bids requested.

Section 4. On all contracts with the Town for labor, supplies, services, materials, machinery and equipment, the estimated cost of which exceeds twenty-five thousand ($25,000.00) dollars, a bond of an approved surety company, or other security, in an amount equal to the estimated contract price, conditioned upon full and faithful performance of the contract, shall be posted by the contracting party, unless otherwise expressly eliminated by a vote of the Town. Contractual amounts less than $25,000.00 may also be bonded by an approved surety company, if the Selectmen so request.

Section 5. No board, committee or officer shall make any contract in behalf of the Town, the execution of which shall necessarily extend beyond one (1) year from the date thereof, except as otherwise provided by law, unless specific authority to do so has been given by vote of the Town.

 

Under Article #10 the Town voted to amended its General By-Laws to add a new Article XVII, “Revolving Funds,” to establish several revolving funds and to amend the Table of Contents to include the new article. General Laws Chapter 44, Section 53E½ requires revolving funds to be established by by-law. Section 53E½ authorizes municipalities to establish revolving funds for “any fees, charges or other receipts from the departmental programs or activities supported by the revolving fund,” to be accounted for separately from other monies in the town, and authorizes expenditures from such fund without further appropriation, subject to the provisions of Section 53E½. According to the Department of Revenue/Division of Local Services (DOR/DLS), the purpose of a departmental revolving fund is to enable the department to separately account for money received from a specific program or activity and to make expenditures from that separate account for that specific program or activity. Article XVII, “Revolving Funds” reads as follows:

A. There are hereby established in the Town of East Brookfield pursuant to the provisions of MGL c.44, §53E½, the following Revolving Funds, from which the specified department head, board, committee, or officer may incur liabilities against and spend monies from without appropriation in accordance with the limitations set forth in this by-law.

B. Fringe benefits of full-time employees whose salaries or wages are paid from the fund shall also be paid from the fund.

C. No liability shall be incurred in excess of the available balance of the fund.

D. The total amount spent during a fiscal year shall be subject to the limitations established by Town Meeting or any increase therein as may be authorized in accordance with MGL c.44, §53E½.

E. Interest earned on monies credited to a revolving fund established by this by-law shall be credited to the General Fund.

F. Authorized Revolving Funds

Revolving Fund   Dept, Board, Comm. Authorized   Fees, Charges, or Other Receipts   Program or Activity Exp.

                                      to Spend from Fund                               Credited to Fund               Payable from Fund

Animal Inspector    Animal Inspector                           Dog/Kennel Fees                          Wages for Animal Insp.

Treasurer               Treasurer                                       Tax Title Demand Fees                 Wages for Treasurer

Town Collector       Town Collector                               Demand and CML Fees               Wages for Collector

Town Clerk             Town Clerk                                     Fees                                             Wages for Town Clerk

Wire Inspector        Wire Inspector                               75% of Inspectional Fees             Inspectional Fees

G. Expenditures and Reports, except as provided in MGL c.44, §53E½ and this by-law, all applicable state and local laws and regulations that govern the receipt, custody, expenditure and payment of Town funds shall apply to the use of revolving funds established and authorized by this by-law.

 

Under Article #23 the Town voted to amended its General By-Laws, Article XVII, “Revolving Funds,” to add the following line item/department and to establish the following fiscal year spending limit for such funds to $10,000:

 

Under Article #24 the Town amended the General By-Laws to add a new Article XVIII, “Temporary Repairs to Private Ways,” that authorizes temporary repairs of private ways in town with certain requirements. MGL c.40 §6N authorizes such by-laws. Article XVIII reads as follows:

A. Purpose and applicability.

1. Pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40, Section 6N, the Board of Selectmen is hereby authorized to make temporary repairs to private ways which have been open to the public for a period of at least eight (8) years using funds appropriated for said purpose by Town Meeting. If the repair to any private way exceeds the appropriation voted on for all private ways in that fiscal year, and/or if the temporary repairs are not minor in nature, the Board of Selectmen may assess the entire cost as a betterment on those properties which benefit from that repair. Temporary repair does not mean new construction and is further defined below in Section B.

The Board of Selectmen, with recommendations from the Highway Superintendent, will determine, at its discretion, as to which private ways, if any, may be repaired and the extent of such repairs.

2. The repairs shall be those required by public necessity, including but not limited to

a. The necessity of providing adequate passable ways for public safety vehicles from public ways to residences, Town facilities and resources.

b. The Board of Selectmen shall make the determination of public necessity and/or public safety.

c. The Board of Selectmen may, at any time, deem any private road as ineligible for maintenance for a given time, at its discretion, for reasons of safety to its employees or equipment.

d. If, for any reason related to public safety or access of Town vehicles, temporary repairs must be made that are not minor (for example, grading, surfacing and/or resurfacing the way), the Board of Selectmen may at its discretion, assess a betterment for the total project cost and/or such portion thereof as the Board of Selectmen deems advisable on the abutter(s) of the private way where such repair is to be made and any other properties benefitting from such repair.

3. On an annual basis, the Highway Superintendent shall review and submit to the Board of Selectmen a list of all private ways eligible for temporary repairs for the coming fiscal year, according to the definitions enumerated in this by-law. The list should be submitted with the annual budget for the coming fiscal year, and approved by the Board of Selectmen.

B. Types of Repairs.

1. The repairs must be temporary and minor in nature, such as filling of potholes, making smooth a road for Town safety vehicles and/or public safety, and minimal limb cutting to provide said safe access, and may include such other repairs as are necessary to preserve the integrity of surface repairs to the roadway, and shall not be such as to constitute a reconstruction of the roadway. Repairs will be made biannually, in the spring and fall, and at other times, at the discretion of the Highway Superintendent and/or Board of Selectmen.

2. Temporary repairs may not include paving or resurfacing with asphalt, the grading of a road for runoff, installation or maintenance of drainage infrastructure, road installation or any construction that would alter the width and length of the private way.

3. Temporary repairs do not include the cutting or felling of whole trees, or trimming of limbs not deemed to be obstructing or hindering public safety or safe passage of Town safety vehicles. Such decisions may be at the discretion of the Highway Superintendent and/or the Board of Selectmen.

4. Temporary repairs may be undertaken on a way subject to this by-law, or to a continuous portion of such way, which portion begins and ends at an intersection or conjunction with another way.

5. All repairs, as well as the exceptions noted thereof, are subject to the discretion of the Highway Superintendent and/or the Board of Selectmen.

www.eastbrookfieldma.us townclerk@eastbrookfieldma.us

C. Petition

A minimum of fifty-five percent (55%) of the owners of property abutting the portion of the way proposed to be repaired must petition for the repair, with each ownership entity counting as one. The Board of Selectmen is authorized to waive this requirement.

D. Betterment charges.

1. The owners of land abutting such way who derive benefit from said repairs may be assessed betterment charges by the Board of Selectmen if the cost of said repairs exceed the funds appropriated in any given fiscal year for all private way repair. Betterment charges, in an amount of 100% of the aggregate cost to plan, prepare and repair the private way shall be assessed on a per lot basis or on the proportion of lot frontage on the way or portion of the way to be repaired to the frontage of said repaired way or other proportional method as may be required by the Board of Selectmen.

2. The Town may be considered an abutter if property under the care, custody and control of the Town abuts said way to be repaired.

3. Repairs or maintenance under this section shall not be performed on private ways that do not remain open to public use for at least ten (10) years from the date of repair.

E. Status of way.

1. This by-law does not confer any obligation or duty on the Town or its agents to either initially place or to thereafter maintain and repair said private ways so that they are reasonably safe and convenient for travel by being free from defects or want of repair.

2. The making of such temporary repairs to private ways, no matter how often or to what extent, does not constitute an acceptance by the Town of such private ways as public ways, nor does it constitute a way being “maintained and used as a public way” under the Massachusetts Subdivision Control Law.

3. Any private way repaired under the provisions of this by-law need not be brought up to full Town standards and may continue to remain a private way. Repaired private ways may be brought to Town Meeting for acceptance as a public way by completing the steps outlined in the Town’s Street Acceptance procedure, if any, adopted by the Board of Selectmen, which may be amended from time to time or otherwise as allowed by law.

F. Liability.

The Town, in making repairs under this section shall not be liable for any damages to persons or property caused by negligent repair or maintenance of the private way.

G. Indemnity Agreement.

No repair of a private way shall be undertaken until the Board of Selectmen has in its possession agreements executed by at least 55% of abutting owners on the portion of the way to be repaired holding the Town harmless from any additional damage arising from any negligent repair, and which includes the following provisions:

a. that the Town assumes no liability to such owners by making the repairs;

b. jointly and severally, to indemnify and hold harmless the Town with respect to such statutory liability and any and all other liability for claims of injury, death or property damage to such owners or third parties caused by alleged defects in the way, including attorneys’ fees and other costs of defense;

c. that should the Town decide not to continue to provide temporary repairs to such way, the owners will themselves keep such way in good repair so as to minimize the liability of the Town for having undertaken such repairs;

d. that such repair shall not constitute “maintenance” of such way, so as to give the way the status of a way “maintained and used as a public way” under the Massachusetts Subdivision Control Law; and

e. that if assessed for repairs, the owners will not appeal the amount of the assessment and agree that the assessment may be apportioned over the number of years of the expected lifetime of the repair to be determined by the Board of Selectmen.

 

ATTEST:

Susan V. Jacobs

Town Clerk