tion, 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

*Sect. 10, amended by Chap. 550, Acts of 1912, now provides that if an appointee is accused of a crime, misdemeanor or act of dishonesty, he has a right to a hearing, where full opportunity shall be given to explain or refute the charge.

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 for terms of four years beginning with the first day of May of the year in which they are appointed and shall continue thereafter to hold office during the pleasure of the mayor.

SECT. 14. The mayor may remove any head of a department or member of a board (other than the election commissioners, who shall remain subject to the provisions of existing laws) by filing a written statement with the city clerk setting forth in detail the specific reasons for such removal, a copy of which shall be delivered or mailed to the person thus removed, who may make a reply in writing, which, if he desires, may be filed with the city clerk; but such reply shall not affect the action taken unless the mayor so determines. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the school committee or to any official by law appointed by the governor.

SECT. 15. The positions of assistants and secretary authorized by section twenty of chapter four hundred and forty-nine of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-five except those in the election department are hereby abolished, and except as aforesaid the said section is hereby repealed.

The civil service laws shall not apply to the appointment of the mayor's secretaries, nor of the stenographers, clerks, telephone operators and messengers connected with his office, and the mayor may remove such appointees without a hearing and without making a statement of the cause for their removal.

SECT. 16. No official of said city, except in case of extreme emergency involving the health or safety of the people or their property, shall expend intentionally in any fiscal year any sum in excess of the appropriations duly made in accordance with law, nor involve the city in any contract for the future payment of money in excess of such appropriation, except as provided in section six of this act. Any official who shall violate the provisions of this section shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or both.

THE FINANCE COMMISSION.

SECT. 17. Within sixty days after the passage of this act the governor with the advice and consent of the council shall appoint a finance commission to consist of five persons, inhabitants of and qualified voters in the city of Boston, who shall have been such for at least three years prior to the date of their appointment, one for the term of five years, one for four years, one for three years, one for two years, and one for one year, and thereafter as the terms of office expire in each year one member for a term of five years. Vacancies in the commission shall be

filled for the unexpired term by the governor with the advice and consent of the council. The members of said commission may be removed by the governor with the advice and consent of the council for such cause as he shall deem sufficient. The chairman shall be designated by the governor. His annual salary shall be five thousand dollars, which shall be paid in monthly installments by the city of Boston. The other members shall serve without pay.

SECT. 18. It shall be the duty of the finance commission from time to time to investigate any and all matters relating to appropriations, loans, expenditures, accounts, and methods of administration affecting the city of Boston or the county of Suffolk, or any department thereof, that may appear to the commission to require investigation, and to report thereon from time to time to the mayor, the city council, the governor, or the general court. The commission shall make an annual report in January of each year to the general court.

SECT. 19. Whenever any pay roll, bill, or other claim against the city is presented to the mayor, city auditor, or the city treasurer, he shall, if the same seems to him to be of doubtful validity, excessive in amount, or otherwise contrary to the city's interest, refer it to the finance commission, which shall immediately investigate the facts and report thereon; and pending said report payment shall be withheld.

SECT. 20.* The said commission is authorized to employ such experts, counsel, and other assistants, and to incur such other expenses as it may deem necessary, and the same shall be paid by said city upon requisition by the commission, not exceeding in the aggregate in any year the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, or such additional sums as may be appropriated for the purpose by the city council, and approved by the mayor. A sum sufficient to cover the salary of the chairman of the commission and the further sum of at least twenty-five thousand dollars to meet the expenses as aforesaid shall be appropriated each year by said city. The commission shall have the same right to incur expenses in anticipation of its appropriation as if it were a regular department of said city.

SECT. 21. For the purpose of enabling the said commission to perform the duties and carry out the objects herein contemplated, and to enable the mayor, the city council, the governor or the general court to receive the reports and findings of said commission as a basis for such laws, ordinances, or administrative orders as may be deemed meet, the commission shall have all the powers and duties enumerated in chapter five hundred and sixty-two of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and eight and therein conferred upon the commission designated in said act; but counsel for any witness at any public hearing may ask him any pertinent question and may offer pertinent evidence through other witnesses subject to cross-examination by the commission and its counsel.

* Sect. 20, amended by Chap. 81, Acts of 1921, now allows for Finance Commission's annual expenses $35,000 instead of $25,000.

THE CITY CLERK.

SECT. 22. The present city clerk shall hold office for the term for which he has been elected, and thereafter until his successor is chosen and qualified. In the year nineteen hundred and eleven, and every third year thereafter, a city clerk shall be elected by a majority of the members of the city council, to hold office until the first Monday in February in the third year following his election, and thereafter until his successor has been duly chosen and qualified, unless sooner removed by due process of law. The city clerk shall act as clerk of the city council established by this act.

THE CITY AUDITOR.

SECT. 23. All accounts rendered to or kept in the departments of the city of Boston or county of Suffolk shall be subject to the inspection and revision of the city auditor, and shall be rendered and kept in such form as he shall prescribe. The auditor may require any person presenting for settlement an account or claim against the city or county to make oath before him in such form as he may prescribe as to the accuracy of such account or claim. The wilful making of a false oath shall be perjury and punishable as such. The auditor may disallow and refuse to pay, in whole or in part, any claim on the ground that it is fraudulent or unlawful and in that case he shall file a written statement of his reasons for the refusal.

SECT. 24. Whenever, in response to an advertisement by any officer or board of the city or county, a bid for a contract to do work or furnish materials is sent or delivered to said officer or board, a duplicate of the same shall be furnished by the bidder to the auditor, to be kept by him and not opened until after the original bids are opened. After the original bids are opened, the auditor shall open and examine the bids submitted to him, and shall compare the same with the original bids. In case any of the bids submitted to the auditor differ from the corresponding original bids, those submitted to the auditor shall be treated as the original bids. The contract shall not be awarded until after both sets of bids are opened. SECT. 25. The auditor shall furnish monthly to each head of department a statement of the unexpended balance of the appropriation for that department, and he shall furnish to the mayor and city council a statement of the unexpended balances of all the departments. He shall furnish quarterly to the city council an itemized statement showing the amount of money expended by the mayor and the city council for contingent expenses.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

SECT. 26.* All loans issued by the city after the passage of this act shall be made payable in annual instalments in the manner authorized by section thirteen of chapter twenty-seven of the Revised Laws as

*Sect. 26 amended by Chap. 437, Acts of 1910, which exempts all loans issued for rapid transit construction from the prohibition as to sinking funds.