General Bylaw Review Committee Formed
Westford, 12/31/07
In October 2006, an article was passed at Special Town Meeting to establish a General Bylaw Review Committee.
The duties of the General Bylaw Review Committee, according to the Town of Westford’s General Bylaws, are as follows:
A. The Committee shall review the Town’s General Bylaws on a regular basis to ensure their internal consistency and their conformity in formatting, placement, and chapter numbering.
B. The Committee shall review the Town’s General Bylaws on a regular basis to ensure their consistency with any applicable law and the Town Charter.
C. The Committee may propose to the Selectmen for inclusion in the warrant for the next annual or special town meeting any amendments or additions to the General Bylaws that the Committee determines should be made so as to resolve inconsistencies within the Bylaws or with applicable law or the Town Charter.
D. The Committee shall assist any Town board, officer, administrator, or member of the public, if requested, in drafting amendments or additions to the General Bylaws that will be proposed for inclusion in a Town Meeting warrant.
E. Whenever practicable, the Selectmen shall submit to the Committee all proposed amendments or additions to the General Bylaws prior to their inclusion in the warrant for any town meeting. The Committee shall meet and review all such proposed amendments and additions and shall report to the Selectmen its recommendations as to their form and consistency with existing provisions of the General Bylaws and the Town Charter and as to their placement in the General Bylaws.
F. The Committee chair or some members of the Committee designated by the Committee shall report to the Town Meeting any recommendations the Committee considers appropriate with respect to any article in the Warrant that proposes an amendment or addition to the General Bylaws. The Moderator shall call upon the Committee for such report prior to the discussion or vote on such article.
G. The Committee shall assist the Town Clerk in preparing from time to time the publication of the General Bylaws including all amendments and additions thereto.
We would like to invite Town boards, officers, administrators and members of the public who are interested in proposing amendments or additions to the General Bylaws to attend their regularly scheduled meetings for assistance.
General Bylaw Review Committee meetings will be held twice per month on the second and fourth Monday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. in the Millennium building (space permitting). Our next regularly scheduled meeting is January 14th.
Sincerely,
Bylaw Review Committee
Lynn Cohen, Chair
Kaari Mai Tari, Secretary and ex officio member
David Chandler
Amber Brown
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