CITY ORDINANCES, LIST OF OFFICERS, &c. &c.

·us 13437.4.10 (1849) Mass, Dor, 29, 5.50

1849

1849. June 26 life of Henry theasiand, ill £ & Jarin

ORDERED, That the Joint Standing Committee on Printing be directed to collect and arrange such of the City Ordinances as are enduring and still in force, and to prepare a suitable Index thereto; and that the same be published with the City Charter and the Rules and Orders of the City Council.

Passed, and sent up for concurrence.

NATH'L CLEAVES, CLERK.

IN BOARD OF ALDERMEN,

April 9, 1849.

Passed, in concurrence.

J. CLOUTMAN, CITY CLERK.

CITY CHARTER.

4400

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. The inhabitants of the Town of Salem Title. shall continue to be a body politic and corporate, under the name of the City of Salem, and as such, shall have, exercise and enjoy all the rights, immunities, powers and privileges, and shall be subject to all the duties and obli- General powers. gations, now incumbent upon and appertaining to said town as a municipal corporation.

SEC. 2. The administration of all the fiscal, prudential and municipal affairs of said city, with the government thereof, shall be vested in one principal officer, to be styled the Mayor, one council of six, to be denominated the City Officers. Board of Aldermen, and one council of twenty-four, to be denominated the Common Council; which Boards, in their joint capacity, shall be denominated the City Council, and shall be sworn to the faithful performance of the duties of their respective offices. A majority of each Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Quorum of each
Board,

SEC. 3. From and after the first Monday in March next, for the purpose of holding all elections, said city shall be wards, (see addivided into six wards, to contain, as nearly as conven- ditional act.) iently may be, an equal number of inhabitants. And it shall be the duty of the City Council, once in ten years, and not oftener, to revise, and if it be needful, to alter said Computation of wards in such manner as to preserve, as nearly as may be, an equal number of voters in each ward.

numbers.

SEC. 4. On the Tuesday next preceding the second Election of ward Monday in March annually, there shall be chosen by bal-officers. lot, in each of said wards, a Warden and Clerk, who shall hold their offices for one year, and until others shall have been chosen in their places. And it shall be the duty of such Warden to preside at all Ward meetings, with the Duty of Warden powers of moderators of town meetings. And if, at any meeting, the Warden shall not be present, the Clerk of such ward shall call the meeting to order, and preside until a Warden pro tempore shall be chosen by ballot. And if at

and Clerk.

dens.

CITY CHARTER.

any meeting the Clerk shall not be present, a Clerk pro tempore shall be chosen by ballot. The Clerk shall record all the proceedings and certify the votes given, and deliver over to his successor in office all such records and journals, together with all other documents and papers held by him Assistant War-in said capacity. The inhabitants of each ward shall choose by ballot two persons to assist the Warden in receiving, sorting and counting the votes. And the Warden, Clerk and Assistants so chosen, shall respectively be under Oath administer oath, faithfully and impartially to discharge their several duties relative to all elections, which oath may be adminAll warrants is- istered by any Justice of the Peace of said city. And all sued by Mayor warrants for the meetings of the citizens for municipal purposes, to be had either in wards or in general meetings, shall be issued by the Mayor and Aldermen, and shall be in such form, and shall be served, executed and returned at such time, and in such manner, as the City Council. may, by any by-law, direct and appoint.

ed.

and Aldermen.

*See additional act.

SEC. 5. The Mayor and Aldermen shall be elected from the citizens at large, by the inhabitants of the city voting in their respective wards, and four* Common Council men shall be elected from each ward, being residents in the wards where elected; all said officers shall be elected by ballot, and shall hold their offices one year from the second Term of office. Monday* in March, and until others shall be elected in their places.

Common Coun

cil..

cil men elect to be notified.

SEC. 6. On the Tuesday next preceding the second Choice of Mayor, Monday in March annually, immediately after a Warden Aldermen and and Clerk shall have been elected and sworn, the qualified voters in each ward shall give in their votes for a Mayor, six Aldermen, and four Common Council men: all the votes given for the said several officers respectively, shall Mode of election. be sorted, counted, declared and registered in open ward meeting, by causing the names of persons voted for, and the number of votes given for each, to be written in the Common Coun- ward record, in words at length. The Ward Clerk, within twenty-four hours after such election, shall deliver to the persons elected Common Council men, certificates of their election, and shall forthwith deliver to the City Clerk a certified copy of the record of such election. Provided, however, that if the choice of Common Council men cannot conveniently be effected on that day, the meeting may be adjourned to another day, not more than two days thereafter, to complete such election. The Board of Aldermen Examination of shall, as soon as conveniently may be, examine the copies of the records of the several wards certified as aforesaid, and shall cause the person who shall have been elected Mayor by a majority of the votes given in all the wards,

Adjournment of meeting.

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to be notified in writing of his election; but if it shall ap- Mayor notifed.
pear that no person shall have been so elected, or if the
person elected shall refuse to accept the office, the said
Board shall issue their warrants for another election, and continued elec-
the same proceedings shall be had in all respects as are
herein before directed for the choice of Mayor, and repeat-
ed from time to time until a Mayor shall be chosen; and in
case of a vacancy in the office of Mayor by death, resig-
nation, or otherwise, it shall be filled for the remainder of
the term, by a new election, in the manner herein before
provided for the choice of said officer. And if it shall ap- Vacancies
pear that the whole number of Aldermen shall not have Board of Alder-
been elected, the same proceedings shall be had as are
herein before directed in regard to the choice of Mayor.-
And each Alderman elected shall be notified in writing of Aldermen elect
his election, by the Mayor and Aldermen for the time be-
ing. The oath prescribed by this act, shall be adminis- Oath administer-
tered to the Mayor by the City Clerk, or any Justice of the ed.
Peace in said city. The Aldermen and Common Council
men elect shall, on the second Monday in March, at ten Meeting.
o'clock in the forenoon, meet in convention, when the oaths
required by this act shall be administered to the members
of the two Boards present, by the Mayor or any Justice of
the Peace, and thereupon the two Boards shall separate,
and the Board of Common Council shall be organized by Organization of
the choice of a President and Clerk. The Board of Alder- the Common
men may, in the absence of the Mayor, choose a President President of the
pro tempore, who shall preside at joint meetings of the City Council pro
two Boards. Each Board shall keep a record of its pro-
ceedings, and judge the elections of its own members, and Authority of
in case of failure of election, or of vacancy by death, res-
ignation or otherwise, may order new elections.

Council.

tempore.

each Board.

SEC. 7. The Mayor, thus chosen and qualified, shall Powers and du-
be the chief executive officer of said city. It shall be his ties of Mayor.
duty to be vigilant and active in causing the laws and
regulations of the city to be executed and enforced, to
exercise a general supervision over the conduct of all sub-
ordinate officers, and to cause their violation or neglect of
duty to be punished. He may call special meetings of the
Board of Aldermen and Common Council, or either of them,
when, in his opinion, the interest of the city requires it, by
causing a summons or notification to be left at the usual
dwelling place of each member of the Board or Boards to
be convened. He shall, from time to time, communicate
to both of them such information, and recommend such.
measures, as the business and interest of the city may, in
his opinion, require. He shall preside in the Board of
Aldermen, and in joint meetings of the two Boards, but

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