AMENDED CITY CHARTER OF 1909.

[With footnotes as to Amendments in 1910, 1914 and 1918.]

THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.

SECTION 1. The terms of office of the mayor and the members of both branches of the present city council of the city of Boston and of the street commissioner whose term would expire on the first Monday of January, nineteen hundred and ten, are hereby extended to ten o'clock A.M. on the first Monday of February, nineteen hundred and ten, and at that time the said city council and both branches thereof and the positions of city messenger, clerk of the common council, clerk of committees, assistant clerk of committees, and their subordinates shall be abolished. The officials whose terms of office are hereby extended shall, for the extended term, receive a compensation equal to one-twelfth of the annual salaries now paid to them respectively. The mayor and city council elected in accordance with the provisions of this act, and their successors, shall thereafter have all the powers and privileges conferred, and be subject to all the duties and obligations imposed by law upon the city council or the board of aldermen, acting as such or as county commissioners or in any capacity, except as herein otherwise provided. Wherever in this act the phrase "mayor and city council" appears, it shall be understood as meaning the mayor and city council acting on and after the first Monday of February, nineteen hundred and ten, under the provisions of this and the three following sections. The city council may, subject to the approval of the mayor, from time to time establish such offices, other than that of city clerk, as it may deem necessary for the conduct of its affairs and at such salaries as it may determine, and abolish such offices or alter such salaries; and without such approval may fill the offices thus established and remove the incumbents at pleasure.

SECT. 2. The mayor from time to time may make to the city council in the form of an ordinance or loan order filed with the city clerk such recommendations other than for school purposes as he may deem to be for the welfare of the city. The city council shall consider each ordinance or loan order presented by the mayor and shall either adopt or reject the same within sixty days after the date when it is filed as aforesaid. If the said ordinance or loan order is not rejected within said sixty days it shall be in force as if adopted by the city council unless previously withdrawn by the mayor. Nothing herein shall prevent the mayor from again

NOTE. The Amended City Charter is contained in Chap. 486, Acts of 1909, consisting of sixty-three sections. We have omitted §§ 35 to 44, inclusive, as these concern the alternative amendments which became inoperative on the adoption of Plan 2 by the voters at the State election, November 2, 1909.

presenting an ordinance or loan order which has been rejected or withdrawn. The city council may originate an ordinance or loan order and may reduce or reject any item in any loan and, subject to the approval of the mayor, may amend an ordinance. All sales of land other than school lands, all appropriations for the purchase of land other than for school purposes, and all loans voted by the city council shall require a vote of two thirds of all the members of the city council; and shall be passed only after two separate readings and by two separate votes, the second of said readings and votes to be had not less than fourteen days after the first. No amendment increasing the amount of land to be sold or the amount to be paid for the purchase of land, or the amount of loans, or altering the disposition of purchase money or of the proceeds of loans shall be made at the time of the second reading and vote.

SECT. 3. All appropriations, other than for school purposes, to be met from taxes, revenue, or any source other than loans shall originate with the mayor, who within thirty days after the beginning of the fiscal year shall submit to the city council the annual budget of the current expenses of the city and county, and may submit thereafter supplementary budgets until such time as the tax rate for the year shall have been fixed. The city council may reduce or reject any item, but without the approval of the mayor shall not increase any item in, nor the total of a budget, nor add any item thereto, nor shall it originate a budget. It shall be the duty of the city and county officials, when requested by the mayor, to submit forthwith in such detail as he may require estimates for the next fiscal year of the expenditures of the department or office under their charge, which estimates shall be transmitted to the city council. The city auditor may, with the approval in each instance of the mayor, at any time make transfers from the appropriation for current expenses of one division of a department to the appropriation for current expenses of any other division of the same department, and from the reserve fund to any appropriation for the current expenses of a department; and may also, with the approval of the mayor, at any time between December first and February first, make transfers from any appropriation to any other appropriation: provided, however, that no money raised by loan shall be transferred to any appropriation from income or taxes. He may also with such approval apply any of the income and taxes not disposed of in closing the accounts for the financial year in such manner as he may determine.

SECT. 4. Every appropriation, ordinance, order, resolution and vote of the city council, except votes relating to its own internal affairs, shall be presented to the mayor, who shall make or cause to be made a written record of the time and place of presentation, and it shall be in force if he approves the same within fifteen days after it shall have been presented to him, or if the same is not returned by him with his objections thereto in writing within said period of fifteen days. If within said period said appropriation, ordinance, order, resolution, or vote is returned by the

mayor to the city council by filing the same with the city clerk with his objections thereto the same shall be void. If the same involves the expenditure of money, the mayor may approve some of the items in whole or in part and disapprove other of the items in whole or in part; and such items or parts of items as he approves shall be in force, and such items or parts of items as he disapproves shall be void.

SECT. 5. Except as otherwise provided in this act, the organization, powers, and duties of the executive departments of the city shall remain as constituted at the time when this section takes effect; but the mayor and city council at any time may by ordinance reorganize, consolidate, or abolish departments in whole or in part; transfer the duties, powers, and appropriations of one department to another in whole or in part; and establish new departments; and may increase, reduce, establish or abolish salaries of heads of departments, or members of boards. Nothing in this act shall authorize the abolition or the taking away of any of the powers or duties as established by law of the assessing department, building department, board of appeal, children's institutions department, election department, fire department, Franklin Foundation, hospital department, library department, overseers of the poor,. schoolhouse department, school committee, or any department in charge of an official or officials appointed by the governor, nor the abolition of the health department.

SECT. 6. No contract for lighting the public streets, parks, or alleys, or for the collection, removal, or disposal of refuse, extending over a period of more than one year from the date thereof, shall be valid without the approval of the mayor and the city council after a public hearing held by the city council, of which at least seven days' notice shall have been given in the City Record.

SECT. 7. The city council at any time may request from the mayor specific information on any municipal matter within its jurisdiction, and may request his presence to answer written questions relating thereto at a meeting to be held not earlier than one week from the date of the receipt of said questions, in which case the mayor shall personally, or through a head of a department or a member of a board, attend such meeting and publicly answer all such questions. The person so attending shall not be obliged to answer questions relating to any other matter. The mayor at any time may attend and address the city council in person or through the head of a department, or a member of a board, upon such subject as he may desire.

SECT. 8. Neither the city council, nor any member or committee, officer, or employee thereof shall, except as otherwise provided in this act, directly or indirectly on behalf of the city or of the county of Suffolk take part in the employment of labor, the making of contracts, the purchase of materials, supplies or real estate; nor in the construction, alteration, or repair of any public works, buildings, or other property; nor in the care, custody, and management of the same; nor in the

conduct of the executive or administrative business of the city or county; nor in the appointment or removal of any municipal or county employee; nor in the expenditure of public money except such as may be necessary for the contingent and incidental expenses of the city council. The provisions of this section shall not affect the powers or duties of the city council as the successor of the present board of aldermen relative to state or military aid and soldiers' relief.

It shall be unlawful for the mayor or for a member of the city council or for any officer or employee of the city or of the county of Suffolk or for a member of the finance commission directly or indirectly to make a contract with the city or with the county of Suffolk, or to receive any commission, discount, bonus, gift, contribution or reward from or any share in the profits of any person or corporation making or performing such contract, unless such mayor, member of the city council, officer, or employee or member of the finance commission immediately upon learning of the existence of such contract or that such contract is proposed, shall notify in writing the mayor, city council, and finance commission of such contract and of the nature of his interest in such contract and shall abstain from doing any official act on behalf of the city in reference thereto. In case of such interest on the part of an officer whose duty it is to make such contract on behalf of the city, the contract may be made by any other officer of the city duly authorized thereto by the mayor, or if the mayor has such interest by the city clerk: provided, however, that when a contractor with the city or county is a corporation or voluntary association, the ownership of less than five per cent of the stock or shares actually issued shall not be considered as being an interest in the contract within the meaning of this act, and such ownership shall not affect the validity of the contract, unless the owner of such stock or shares is also an officer or agent of the corporation or association, or solicits or takes part in the making of the contract.

A violation of any provision of this section shall render the contract in respect to which such violation occurs voidable at the option of the city or county. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. Chapter five hundred and twenty-two of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and eight is hereby repealed.

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

SECT. 9. All heads of departments and members of municipal boards, including the board of street commissioners, as their present terms of office expire (but excluding the school committee and those officials by law appointed by the governor), shall be appointed by the mayor without confirmation by the city council. They shall be recognized experts in such work as may devolve upon the incumbents of said offices, or persons specially fitted by education, training or experience to perform

the same, and (except the election commissioners, who shall remain subject to the provisions of existing laws) shall be appointed without regard to party affiliation or to residence at the time of appointment except as hereinafter provided.

SECT. 10. In making such appointments the mayor shall sign a certificate in the following form:

CERTIFICATE OF APPOINTMENT.

I appoint (Name of Appointee) to the position of (Name of Office) and I certify that in my opinion he is a recognized expert in the work which will devolve upon him, and that I make the appointment solely in the interest of the city. Mayor.

Or in the following form, as the case may be:

CERTIFICATE OF APPOINTMENT.

I appoint (Name of Appointee) to the position of (Name of Office) and I certify that in my opinion he is a person specially fitted by education, training, or experience to perform the duties of said office, and that I make the appointment solely in the interest of the city. Mayor.

The certificate shall be filed with the city clerk, who shall thereupon forward a certified copy to the civil service commission. The commission shall immediately make a careful inquiry into the qualifications of the nominee under such rules as they may, with the consent of the governor and council, establish, and, if they conclude that he is a competent person with the requisite qualifications, they shall file with the city clerk a certificate signed by at least a majority of the commission that they have made a careful inquiry into the qualifications of the appointee, and that in their opinion he is a recognized expert, or that he is qualified by education, training or experience for said office, as the case may be, and that they approve the appointment. Upon the filing of this certificate the appointment shall become operative, subject however to all provisions of law or ordinance in regard to acceptance of office, oath of office, and the filing of bonds. If the commission does not within thirty days after the receipt of such notice file said certificate with the city clerk the appointment shall be void.

SECT. 11. The civil service commission is authorized to incur in carrying out the foregoing provisions such reasonable expense as may be approved by the governor and council; the same to be paid by the commonwealth, which upon demand shall be reimbursed by the city of Boston.

SECT. 12. A vacancy in any office to which the provisions of section nine of this act apply, shall be filled by the mayor under the provisions of said section and pending a permanent appointment he shall designate some other head of a department or member of a board to discharge the duties of the office temporarily.

SECT. 13. Members of boards shall be appointed for the terms established by law or by ordinance. Heads of departments shall be appointed