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 CITY CHARTER 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CITY OF LYNN 
 
 1910 
 
*^»;^ 
 
 •V 
 
 Frank S. Whitten, Printer, 
 
 33 MuNROE Street, 
 
 Lynn, Mass. 
 
REVISED CHARTER 
 
 Be it enacted^ etc.^ as follows : 
 
 Section i . The inhabitants of the City of Lynn shall continue to be 
 a municipal corporation, under the name of the City of Lynn, and as 
 such shall have, exercise and enjoy all the rights, immunities, powers and 
 privileges, and shall be subject to all the duties, liabilities and obligations 
 provided for herein or otherwise pertaining to or incumbent upon said 
 city as a municipal corporation. In addition to the powers above enu- 
 merated it shall have the power to establish, buy, erect, maintain, own, 
 lease and regulate whars^es and docks, and charge wharfage and dockage. 
 
 Sect. 2. The territory of the city shall continue to be divided into 
 seven wards, which shall retain their present boundaries until the same 
 shall be changed under the general law relating thereto, in any year fixed 
 by law for a new division of wards in cities, by vote of the municipal 
 council at or prior to the making of such division ; but the number of 
 wards shall never be less than seven. 
 
 Sect. 3. The government of the city and the general management 
 and control of all its affairs shall be vested in a municipal council, which 
 shall be elected and shall exercise its powers in the manner hereinafter 
 set forth ; except however that the general management and control of 
 the public schools of the city and of the property pertaining thereto, 
 shall be vested in a school committee. 
 
 Sect. 4. The municipal council shall consist of five members, to wit, 
 a mayor, who shall be the commissioner of public safety ; a comrnissioner 
 of finance, a commissioner of streets and highways, a commissioner of 
 water and water works and a commissioner of public property. The 
 school committee shall consist of the mayor and four other members. 
 All the above officers shall be elected at large by and from the registered 
 voters for terms of two years, unless it is otherwise provided in this act. 
 
 Election. 
 Sect. 5. The municipal election shall take place annually on the 
 second Tuesday of December ; and the municipal year shall begin at ten 
 o'clock in the forenoon of the first Monday in January and shall continue 
 
until ten o'clock in the forenoon of the first Monday of the following 
 January. Every special election shall be held on a Tuesday. 
 
 Sect. 6. In the year nineteen hundred and ten and in every second 
 year thereafter there shall be elected at the annual city election of said 
 city the mayor, the commissioner of finance, the commissioner of streets 
 and highvs^ays, and tvs^o members of the school committee, for the term 
 of the tw^o municipal years next follovs^ing said election. There shall 
 also be elected at said annual city election in the year nineteen hundred 
 and ten the commissioner of water and w^ater works, the commissioner of 
 public property and two members of the school committee for the munic- 
 ipal year next following said election. In the year nineteen hundred 
 and eleven and in every second year thereafter there shall be elected at 
 the annual city election the commissioner of vsrater and water works, the 
 commissioner of public property and two members of the school com- 
 mittee, each for the term of the two municipal years next following his 
 election. Except as aforesaid and as otherwise provided in this act, no 
 city officers shall be elected at any city election. The above officers 
 shall be elected by and from the registered voters of the city and may be 
 residents of any part thereof. 
 
 Sect. 7. On the third Tuesday preceding every annual or special 
 city election at which any officer mentioned in section four is to be 
 elected, there shall be held a preliminary election for the purpose of 
 nominating candidates for such offices as under the provisions of this act 
 or of any act in amendment thereof are to be filled at such annual or 
 special city election. The notice calling for the said preliminary election 
 shall be issued at least forty days before the date of the city election. 
 No special election for mayor or a commissioner shall be held until after 
 the expiration of forty days from the calling of the preliminary election, 
 which under the provisions of this act is to be held on the third Tuesday 
 preceding such special election. 
 
 Sect. 8. At every preliminary election the polls shall be opened at 
 six o'clock in the forenoon and shall not be closed before four o'clock in 
 the afternoon, and except as is otherwise provided in this act every such 
 preliminary election shall be called by the sam.e officers and held in the 
 same manner as an annual city election. The polling places shall be 
 designated, provided and furnished, and official ballots, special ballots, 
 ballot boxes, voting lists, specimen ballots, blank forms, apparatus and 
 supplies shall be provided for every such preliminary election, of the 
 same number and kind and in the same manner as at an annual city 
 election, and the same election officers shall officiate as at an annual city 
 election. 
 
Sect. 9. Except as provided in section sixty -three there shall not be 
 printed on the official ballots to be used at any annual or special city 
 election of said city the name of any person as a candidate for mayor, 
 commissioner or member of the school committee, unless such person 
 shall have been nominated for such office at a preliminary election held 
 as provided in this act. There shall not be printed on the official ballots 
 to be used at a preliminary election the name of any person as a candi- 
 date for nomination unless such person shall have filed within the time 
 set forth in section ten of this act the statement of the candidate and also 
 the petition described in section ten. Beginning v^'ith the current year 
 political committees in the City of Lynn shall be elected at the state 
 primaries instead of at the municipal primaries. 
 
 Sect. 10. Any person eligible for any elective office for which pro- 
 vision is made herein, may have his name printed as candidate for such 
 office on the official ballots to be used at a preliminary election, provided 
 that he shall, at least ten days before such preliminary election, file with 
 the city clerk a statement in writing of his candidacy, in substantially the 
 following form. 
 
 Statement of Candidate. 
 
 I, , on oath declare that I reside at No 
 
 street, in the City of Lynn ; that I am a voter in said city registered to 
 vote for a candidate for the office hereinafter named, that I am a candi- 
 date for nomination for the office of for the term of 
 
 years to be voted for at the preliminary election to be held on 
 
 Tuesday, the day of 19 ; and I request that 
 
 my name be printed as a candidate for such office on the official ballots 
 to be used at such preliminary election. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 Essex ss. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to this .... day of 19 . . . before 
 
 me, 
 
 Justice of the Peace. 
 
 (or Notary Public.) 
 
 and provided that he shall at the same time file therewith a petition of at 
 least twenty-five voters of the city registered to vote for a candidate for 
 'said office, which petition shall be in substantially the following form : 
 
Petition Accompanying Statement of Candidate. 
 
 Whereas is a candidate for nomination for the office 
 
 of for the term of years, we, the undersigned 
 
 voters of the City of Lynn, duly registered to vote for a candidate for 
 
 said office, do hereby request that the name of said be 
 
 printed on the official ballots to be used at the preliminary election to be 
 held on the Tuesday of 19 . . 
 
 We further state that we believe him to be of good moral character, 
 and qualified to perform the duties of the office. 
 
 Name of voters. Street No. Street, if any. 
 
 No acceptance by a candidate for nomination named in such petition 
 shall be necessary for its validity or for its filing, and the petition need 
 not be sworn to. 
 
 Sect. ii. Women who are qualified to vote for members of the 
 school committee may be candidates for nomination for that office are to 
 be voted for ; and at such preliminary election they may vote for candi- 
 dates for nomination for that office. They shall file the hereinbefore 
 described statement and petition in all cases where the same are herein 
 required to be filed by male candidates for that office. 
 
 Sect. 12. On the first day, not being Sunday, or a legal holiday, 
 following the expiration of the time for filing the above described state- 
 ments and petitions, the city clerk shall cause to be published in one or 
 more daily newspapers of said city, the names and residences of the can- 
 didates for nomination who have duly filed the above mentioned state- 
 ments and petitions, and the offices and terms for which they are 
 candidates, as they are to appear on the official ballots at the preliminary 
 election. Thereupon the city clerk shall prepare and cause to be printed 
 the ballots to be used at such preliminary election ; and the ballots so 
 prepared shall be the official ballots and the only ballots that may be 
 used at such preliminary election. They shall be substantially as out- 
 lined below : 
 
 Official Preliminary Ballot. 
 Municipal Council, 
 
 For mayor. 
 
 For commissioner of finance. 
 
 For commissioner of streets and highways. 
 
 For commissioner of water and water works. 
 
 For commissioner of public property. 
 
 School Committee, 
 
 Sect. 13. The name of every person who has filed a statement and 
 petition as aforesaid, and his residence and the title and term of the 
 office for which he is a candidate, shall be printed on said ballots, and 
 
the names of no other candidates shall be printed thereon. Ballots for 
 use at the said election and for use by women qualified to vote for mem- 
 bers of the school committee shall be prepared and furnished in the 
 manner now provided by law. 
 
 Party Designations Abolished. 
 Sect. 14. No ballots used at any annual or special city election, or 
 at any preliminary election shall have printed thereon any party or 
 political designation or mark ; and there shall not be appended to the 
 name of any candidate any party or political designation or mark, or 
 anything showing how he was nominated, or indicating his views or 
 opinions. On all ballots to be used at annual or special city elections, 
 or at preliminary elections, blank spaces shall be left at the end of each 
 list of candidates for the different offices equal to the number to be elected 
 thereto, in which the voter may insert the name of any person not printed 
 on the ballot for whom he desires to vote for such office, provided that 
 such person is eligible for such office. 
 
 Sect. 15. The qualifications for voting at a preliminary election and 
 at a city election shall be the same. 
 
 Sect. 16. The election officers shall immediately upon the closing of 
 the polls at preliminary elections count the ballots and ascertain the 
 number of votes cast in the polling places where they respectively offici- 
 ate for each person for nomination for the office for which he was a 
 candidate ; and they shall forthwith make returns thereof to the city 
 clerk upon blank forms to be furnished to them as in city elections. 
 
 Sect. 17. On the first day, not being Sunday or a legal holiday, 
 following such preliminary election, the city clerk shall canvass said 
 returns so received from the election officers, shall forthwith determine 
 the results of said canvass, and shall forthwith cause the same to be 
 published in one or more daily newspapers of said city. 
 
 Nominations. 
 Sect. 18. The two persons receiving at a preliminary election the 
 highest and second highest number of votes, respectively, for any office 
 shall be the candidates whose names shall be printed on the official 
 ballots to be used at the annual or special city election for which such 
 preliminary election was held ; except that in case two or more persons 
 receive the same number of votes and more votes than any other person 
 for the same office, then said persons shall be the candidates as aforesaid 
 whose names shall be printed on said official ballots. If two or more 
 persons are to be elected to the same office at such annual or special city 
 election, the several persons to a number equal to twice the number so to 
 
8 
 
 be elected to such office receiving at said preliminary election the highest 
 number of votes, the second highest number of votes, and so on to the 
 number to be nominated, shall be the candidates vs^hose names shall be 
 printed on the official ballots to be used at such annual or special city- 
 election. If, in order to obtain the requisite number of candidates for 
 any office, it becomes necessary to take one of two or more persons 
 having the same number of votes for the same office, then the names of 
 all the aforesaid persons having the same number of votes for such office 
 shall be printed on the official ballot to be used at such annual or special 
 city election, together with the names of all persons, if any, receiving a 
 higher number of votes for such office, even though it makes the number 
 of candidates more than twice the number to be chosen to such office. 
 No names of candidates shall be printed on said official ballots except as 
 provided in this section and in section sixty- three. 
 
 Sect. 19. No acceptance of a nomination made at a preliminary 
 election shall be necessary for the validity of such nomination. 
 
 Elections. 
 
 Sect. 20. At a city election other than the above described prelimi- 
 nary election, the person receiving the highest number of votes for an 
 office shall be deemed and declared elected to such office ; and if two or 
 more persons are to be elected to the same office the several persons 
 receiving, respectively, the highest number of votes, the second highest, 
 and so on to the number to be chosen to such office, shall be deemed and 
 declared to be elected ; but persons receiving the same number of votes 
 shall not be deemed to be elected if thereby a greater number would be 
 elected than are by law to be chosen. 
 
 Sect. 21. The laws of the commonwealth relating to annual city 
 elections, special elections of city officers, special elections in cities, 
 election officers, voting places for elections, election apparatus and 
 blanks, calling and conduct of elections, manner of voting at elections, 
 counting and recounting of votes at elections, corrupt practices and pen- 
 alties shall apply to all elections under this act including preliminary 
 elections, except as is otherwise provided, herein. 
 
 General Meetings of Voters. 
 
 Sect. 22. General meetings of the registered voters of the city shall 
 be called by the municipal council upon petition of at least five hundred 
 of the said voters, which petition shall state the purpose or purposes of 
 the meeting. Such meeting shall be held not later than three weeks after 
 
the filing of the petition ; and notice thereof shall be given by the munic- 
 ipal council on the front page of at least one daily newspaper of the city, 
 not less than three times within two weeks after the filing of said petition. 
 A presiding officer shall be chosen for said meeting from those present ; 
 and the city clerk shall act as the clerk thereof and shall keep complete 
 records of the proceedings. If so requested in said petition, or demanded 
 at said meeting, any city officer or officers shall attend such meeting, and 
 if called upon so to do shall place before the meeting any facts, docu- 
 ments, or other information relative to the subject-matter of said petition. 
 
 The city clerk or a justice of the peace shall administer an oath to any 
 person or persons called upon to testify before said meeting, as aforesaid, 
 including any city officer or officers, whose presence has been requested 
 or demanded, and any person so placed under oath who shall wilfully 
 give false testimony before said meeting upon any point material to the 
 matter of inquiry shall be guilty of perjury, and shall be subject to the 
 provisions of chapter two hundred and ten of the Revised Laws and any 
 amendment thereof. But no person shall be required to give testimony 
 tending to incriminate himself. 
 
 The provisions of sections eight and nine of chapter one hundred and 
 seventy-five of the Revised Laws, and any amendments thereof, shall be 
 applicable to the conduct and procedure at said hearing. If for any 
 reason any officer or officers are unable to attend said meeting, or if it be 
 impossible to produce at said meeting the facts, documents, or other 
 information requested as aforesaid, the meeting' may be adjourned until 
 such time as said officer or officers can attend, or said facts, documents 
 or other information can be furnished. A copy of the records of said 
 meeting and of any adjournment thereof shall be transmitted by the city 
 clerk to the municipal council at its next meeting. 
 
 Abolishment of Present Government. 
 Sect. 23. At ten o'clock in the forenoon of the first Monday of 
 January, in the year nineteen hundred and eleven, the city council, board 
 of mayor and aldermen, board of aldermen and common council, board 
 of public works and public water board shall be abolished ; the terms of 
 office which the present mayor, aldermen, common councilmen, mem- 
 bers of the board of public works, school committee and public water 
 board are now serving shall terminate ; and, except as is otherwise pro- 
 vided in this act, all the present powers and duties, under any general or 
 special acts, of the mayor, board of mayor and aldermen, board of 
 aldermen, city council, common council, board of public works and 
 public water board shall devolve upon and be exercised and performed 
 by the municipal council. At the aforesaid time the board of assessors 
 
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 shall become an appointive board, and shall be subject to all the provi- 
 sions of this act relative to appointive boards. The municipal council 
 shall be the judge of the election of its own members. 
 
 Sect. 24. The municipal council elected as aforesaid shall meet at 
 ten o'clock in the forenoon on the first Monday of January in each year; 
 and the members of said municipal council, vs^hose terms of office then 
 begin shall severally make oath before the city clerk, or a justice of the 
 peace, to perform faithfully the duties of their respective offices. The 
 municipal council shall thereupon be organized by the choice of a presi- 
 dent, who shall be called the president of the municipal council and shall 
 hold his office during its pleasure. The president of the municipal 
 council shall be some member thereof other than the mayor. The 
 organization of the municipal council shall take place as aforesaid, not- 
 withstanding the absence, death, refusal to serve, or non-election of the 
 mayor, or one or more of the four other members : provided^ that at 
 least three of the persons entitled to be members of the municipal council 
 are present and make oath as aforesaid. Any person entitled to make 
 the aforesaid oath, who was not present at the time fixed therefor, may 
 make oath at any time thereafter. 
 
 Meetings of Municipal Council. 
 Sect. 25. The municipal council shall fix suitable times for its 
 regular meetings. The mayor, the president of the municipal council, 
 or any two members thereof, may, at any time, call a special meeting, 
 by causing a written notice, stating the time of holding such meeting 
 and signed by the person or persons calling the same, to be delivered in 
 hand to each member, or left at his usual dwelling place, at least six 
 hours before the time of such meeting. Meetings of the municipal 
 council may also be held at any time when all the members are present 
 and consent thereto. 
 
 Sect. 26. A majority of the members of the municipal council shall 
 constitute a quorum ; its meetings shall be public, and the mayor, if 
 present, shall preside and shall have the right to vote. In the absence 
 of the mayor, the president of the municipal council shall preside, and in 
 the absence of both, a chairman pro tempore shall be chosen. The city 
 clerk shall be, ex officio, clerk of the municipal council, and shall keep 
 records of its proceedings ; but in case' of his temporary absence, or in 
 case of a vacancy in the office, the municipal council may elect by ballot 
 a temporary clerk who shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of his 
 duties and may act as clerk of the municipal council until a city clerk is 
 chosen and qualified. All final votes of the municipal council involving 
 the expenditure of fifty dollars or over shall be by yeas and nays and 
 
1 1 
 
 shall be entered on the records. It shall vote by yeas and nays when 
 that is practicable, and on the request of one member any vote shall be 
 by yeas and nays and shall be entered upon the records. The affirmative 
 vote of at least three members shall be necessary for the passage of any 
 order, ordinance, resolution or vote. 
 
 Powers of the Municipal Council. 
 Sect. 37^ The municipal council shall have the power to do, except 
 as is otherwise provided in this act, without the approval of the mayor, 
 all things which the city council, board of aldermen, common council 
 and public water board or board of public works can now do with such 
 approval. The municipal council shall determine the policies to be pur- 
 sued and the work to be undertaken in each department, but each com- 
 missioner shall have full power to carry out the policies or have the work 
 performed in his department, as directed by the municipal council. Any 
 notes, bonds or scrip which said city is authorized to issue shall be 
 signed by its treasurer and countersigned by a majority of the municipal 
 council. 
 
 Sect. 28. The municipal council shall have full supervision of the 
 erection, alteration and repair of all public buildings, including school 
 buildings, except repairs and alterations of school buildings, for 
 which provision is made in the annual appropriation, and except as is 
 otherwise provided in chapter one hundred and seventy-eight of the acts 
 of the year nineteen hundred and nine. No department of the city and 
 no corporation or person, shall at any time, open, dig up or otherwise 
 obstruct any way or sidewalk, without the consent of the municipal 
 council in writing previously obtained, except in case of an emergency. 
 
 Sect. 29. The public librar)-' of the city shall be under the exclusive 
 management and control of the municipal council, which shall have the 
 power to name the trustees and to remove them for cause. The munic- 
 ipal council may increase or diminish the number of trustees and make 
 such rules and regulations concerning the public library as it may deem 
 expedient. 
 
 Publicity for Contracts. 
 
 Sect. 30. Neither the municipal council nor the school committee 
 shall make or pass any order, resolution, or vote appropriating money in 
 excess of five hundred dollars, or making or authorizing the making of 
 any contract involving a liability on the part of the city in excess of five 
 hundred dollars, unless the same is proposed in writing and notice is 
 given by the city clerk in at least one daily newspaper of the city, not 
 less than one week before its passage, except an order, resolution or vote 
 
12 
 
 for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, 
 which contains a statement of its urgency and is passed by a four-fifths 
 vote ; and such notice shall be given as aforesaid upon the request of 
 said municipal council or of the school committee. 
 
 Sect. 31. When the municipal council shall pass any measure or an 
 amendment or repeal of any measure, such measure, amendment or 
 repeal so passed shall, except as is otherwise provided in this act, take 
 effect at the expiration of ten days from its passage : provided^ however,^ 
 that if there be a time therein specified when it shall take effect, and 
 such time be more than ten days after its passage, such measure, amend- 
 ment or repeal shall, except as is otherwise provided in this act, take 
 effect at the time so specified therein. 
 
 Sect. 32. No measure passed by the municipal council or by the 
 voters, as" provided in this act, shall require the approval of any court 
 or of the attorney-general, or shall be required to be published in order 
 to become effective, unless otherwise provided in this act. 
 
 Sect. 33. Upon vote of the municipal council the mayor shall sign, 
 seal, execute and deliver in behalf of the city deeds and leases of land 
 sold or leased by the city, and other deeds, agreements, contracts, leases, 
 indentures, assurances, and instruments on behalf of the city, except as 
 is otherwise provided herein. No part of the common shall be let or 
 sold. 
 
 Sect. 34. The mayor shall have no power of veto, and no measure 
 which the municipal council shall make or pass shall be presented to him 
 for, or shall require, his approval in order to be effective. 
 
 Sect. 35. Each of the five commissioners provided for in section 
 four of this act shall annually submit to the municipal council in the 
 month of January detailed estimates of the amounts deemed necessary 
 for his respective department for the financial year, which shall begin on 
 the first day of January. No sum appropriated for a specific purpose 
 shall be expended for any other purpose, and no expenditure shall be 
 made or liability incurred by or in behalf of the city until the municipal 
 council has duly voted an appropriation sufficient to meet such expendi- 
 ture or liability, together with all prior unpaid liabilities which are pay- 
 able therefrom, except that after the expiration of the financial year and 
 before the fifteenth day of March, upon vote of the municipal council, 
 liabilities payable out of the regular appropriation may be incurred to an 
 amount not exceeding one-fifth of the total appropriation made for 
 similar purposes in the preceding year. At any time the unexpended 
 
13 
 
 balance of any sum appropriated for a special purpose and not further 
 required for such purpose may be transferred to another account by vote 
 of the municipal council, but no money raised by loan shall be trans- 
 ferred to any appropriation from income or taxes. Nothing herein con- 
 tained shall be taken to prohibit the payment at any time of executions 
 against the city. This section shall not apply to appropriations and ex- 
 penditures of the school committee, which shall continue to be governed 
 by chapter one hundred and seventy-eight of the acts of the year nine- 
 teen hundred and nine. 
 
 Sect. 36. No officer of said city, except in case of extreme emer- 
 gency involving the health or safety of the people or their property, 
 shall expend intentionally, in any fiscal year, any sum in excess of the 
 appropriation therefor duly made in accordance with law, and any 
 officer who shall violate this provision shall be punished by a fine not 
 exceeding one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than 
 one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 
 
 Sect. 37. 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 
 amended by section one of chapter three hundred and forty-one of the 
 acts of the year nineteen hundred and eight. All bonds shall be offered 
 for sale in such a manner that the effect of the premiums, if any, shall 
 be to reduce the total amount of bonds issued. 
 
 Monthly Statements to be Published. 
 Sect. 38. The commissioner of finance shall each month have 
 printed in pamphlet form a detailed itemized statement of all cash 
 receipts and expenditures of the city during the preceding month and of 
 all bills and accounts owed by the city at the end of the preceding 
 month, in such a manner as to show the gross monthly revenue and 
 expense of each department, and shall furnish copies thereof to the 
 public library, to the daily newspapers published in said city, and to 
 persons who shall apply therefor at the office of the city clerk. At the 
 end of the municipal year he shall cause a complete examination of all 
 books and accounts of the city to be made by competent accountants, 
 and shall publish the result of such examination in the manner above pro- 
 vided for the publication of monthly statements. The provisions of this 
 section shall apply to the school department of the city, and the school 
 committee shall furnish the commissioner of finance with such informa- 
 tion, facts, figures and data as may be necessary to carry out the pro- 
 visions of this section so far as it applies to the school department. 
 
H 
 
 Criminal Offence to Participate in Contracts. 
 Sect. 39. It shall be unlawful for a member of the municipal 
 council or school committee or for any officer or employee of the city 
 directly or indirectly to make a contract with the city, 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 a contract, unless such member, officer, or employee immediately 
 upon learning of the existence of such contract or that such contract is 
 proposed shall notify in writing the municipal council or school commit- 
 tee of such contract and shall abstain from doing any official act on 
 behalf of the city in reference thereto. In case such interest exists on the 
 part of an officer whose duty it is to make such a contract on behalf of 
 the city, the contract may be made by another officer of the city, duly 
 authorized thereto by the mayor, or if the mayor has such interest, by 
 the commissioner of finance ; except, however, that when a contractor 
 with the city 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. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be 
 punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by imprison- 
 ment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 
 
 Administrative Officers. 
 Sect. 40. There shall be the following administrative officers, who 
 shall perform the duties prescribed by law for them, respectively, and 
 such further duties, not inconsistent with the nature of their respective 
 offices and with general law, as the municipal council may prescribe, 
 except as is otherwise provided herein ; a city clerk, a city treasurer, a 
 collector of taxes, a city auditor, a purchasing agent, a board of over- 
 seers of the poor consisting of six persons, a city engineer, a city physi- 
 cian, a board of health consisting of three persons of whom the city 
 physician shall be one, a city solicitor, a board of park commissioners 
 consisting of five persons, a board of sinking fund commissioners con- 
 sisting of three persons, a board of assessors consisting of three persons, 
 seven assistant assessors and a board of trustees of the public library 
 consisting of seven persons. The mayor shall be ex officio, chairman 
 and a member of the board of the overseers of the poor. 
 
15 
 
 Departments. 
 
 Sect. 41. The administration of all affairs of the city shall be 
 divided into five departments, to wit: — Department of public safety, 
 department of finance, department of streets and highways, department 
 of water and water works, and department of public property ; and said 
 departments are defined as follows : — 
 
 The department of public safety shall include the following sub- 
 departments and all boards and offices connected therewith, to wit : 
 police, fire, electrical, health, poor, legal, claims, weights and measures 
 and license commission. 
 
 The department of finance shall include the following sub-depart- 
 ments and all boards and oflices connected therewith, to wit : treas- 
 ury, auditing, purchasing, assessing, sinking funds, tax collection, 
 registration of voters and city clerk. 
 
 The department of streets and highways shall include the following 
 sub-departments and all boards and oflJices connected therewith, to wit : 
 highways and other ways, street lighting, street watering, sewers and 
 drains and engineering. The commissioner of streets and highways, 
 except as is herein otherwise provided, shall have exclusively the powers 
 of, and be subject to the liabilities and penalties imposed by law on, sur- 
 veyors of highways. 
 
 The department of water and water works shall include all boards 
 and offices connected with the water supply of the city. 
 
 The department of public property shall include the following sub- 
 departments and all boards and offices connected therewith, to wit : 
 buildings, parks, public grounds and cemeteries. 
 
 Every official or board having to do with the affairs of the city, with 
 the exception of such as pertain to the school committee, shall be 
 included in one of the above five departments, and if the assignment to a 
 department is not made hereunder, the municipal council shall by ordi- 
 nance assign such office, offices, board or boards to the department best 
 adapted to include the same. 
 
 Sect. 42. The municipal council, subject to the provisions of section 
 forty-four, shall have the power to appoint, suspend or remove the fol- 
 lowing offices, to wit : the city clerk, city treasurer, collector of taxes, 
 city auditor, city solicitor, purchasing agent, assessors, sinking fund com- 
 missioners, and trustees of the public library. 
 
 Sect. 43. The commissioner of public safety, commissioner of 
 finance, commissioner of streets and highways, commissioner of water 
 and water works, and commissioner of public property shall be the 
 administrative heads of their respective departments, and, except as is 
 otherwise provided herein, shall have the power to appoint, suspend or 
 
i6 
 
 remove any officer, officers, board or boards in their respective depart- 
 ments, subject to the provisions of section forty-four and the law^s of the 
 commonw^ealth. 
 
 Sect. 44. Appointments to any office, offices, board or boards 
 established by this act or by city ordinance, except foremen and day 
 laborers and such offices as pertain to the school committee, shall be 
 subject to the following provisions, to vv^it : — Two weeks preceding the 
 appointment to such an office, offices, board or boards a statement of the 
 position or positions to be filled shall be published in at least one daily 
 newspaper of the city under the signature or signatures of the commis- 
 sioner or commissioners empowered to appoint, and he or they shall 
 therein request any candidate or candidates for said position or positions 
 to submit his or their candidacy in writing to the commissioner or com- 
 missioners aforesaid. Not less than two nor more than four days prior 
 to said appointment the said commissioner or commissioners shall cause 
 to be published on the front page of at least one daily newspaper of the 
 city a list of the names of all candidates who have made written appli- 
 cation as aforesaid ; but nothing herein contained shall prevent a com- 
 missioner from appointing to office a person who has not submitted his 
 candidacy in writing as aforesaid. All removals from appointive offices 
 shall be accompanied by a statement of the reason or reasons therefor 
 under the signature of the commissioner removing the officer or officers, 
 and a copy of said statement shall be filed in the office of the city clerk. 
 This section shall not apply to officers or employees now classified under 
 civil service laws. 
 
 Sect. 45. All officers whether heretofore elected or appointed, or 
 appointed hereunder, shall, except as is otherwise provided herein, con- 
 tinue in office until their successors are appointed and qualified. Except 
 as is otherwise provided herein the term of office of any officer, officers, 
 board or boards, for which provision is herein made shall not be fixed, 
 but shall continue indefinitely, subject to the provisions of this act regard- 
 ing appointments, suspensions and removals. 
 
 Record of Employees. 
 Sect. 46. The commissioner in charge of each department shall 
 cause to be kept in his department a record, subject to public inspection, 
 of all persons appointed and employed therein and of all persons sus- 
 pended or removed, and, in case of suspension or removal, of the 
 grounds therefor. 
 
 Provision for Changes. 
 Sect. 47. The municipal council may from time to time, subject to 
 the provisions of this act and in accordance with general laws, establish 
 
^7 
 
 additional offices and boards, assign them to the proper departments, 
 and determine the number and duties of the incumbents thereof ; and for 
 such purposes it may delegate to such offices and boards any part of the 
 administrative powers given by this charter to the commissioners herein- 
 before mentioned. The municipal council may also from time to time 
 consolidate appointive offices and boards, separate and distribute the 
 pow^ers and duties of such as have already been established, increase or 
 diminish the number of persons vs^ho shall perform the duties of any 
 appointive office or board, or abolish any appointive office or board 
 subject to the provisions of this act and in accordance with general laws. 
 Sect. 48. All administrative offices shall be sworn to the faithful 
 discharge of their respective duties, and certificates of their oaths shall 
 be made and kept in the office of the city clerk. All administrative 
 boards and offices shall keep a record of their official transactions, and 
 such records shall be open to public inspection. 
 
 Bonds. 
 
 Sect. 49. The municipal council shall require the city treasurer, the 
 collector of taxes, the city auditor and the purchasing agent to give 
 bonds, with such surety or sureties as it shall deem proper, for the faith- 
 ful discharge of their respective duties, and may require any other 
 municipal officer intrusted with the receipt, care or disbursement of 
 money to give such bond. No city money shall be deposited in any 
 bank or trust company of which any member of the board of sinking 
 fund commissioners or the treasurer of said city is an officer, director or 
 agent. 
 
 Sect. 50. Every administrative board, through its chairman or a 
 member designated by the board, and every officer in charge of a 
 department, may appear before the municipal council, and at the 
 request of said municipal council shall appear before it, and give infor- 
 mation in relation to anything connected with the discharge of the duties 
 of such board or office ; and the officer who appears shall have the right 
 to speak upon all matters under consideration relating to his department. 
 
 Purchasing Department. 
 Sect. 51. The purchasing department shall consist of a purchasing 
 agent and such assistants as the municipal council may from time to 
 time deem necessary. The purchasing agent shall purchase all supplies 
 for the city, except in case of an emergency ; but all purchases or con- 
 tracts for purchase exceeding twenty-five dollars in amount shall be 
 based upon competition, and no purchases or contracts for purchase 
 shall be made involving the expenditure of more than twenty-five dollars 
 for any one class of supplies in any month, except by competiton. The 
 
i8 
 
 purchasing agent shall purchase all supplies for the school department in 
 accordance with instructions given to him by the school committee. A 
 record shall be kept by this department of the prices paid for all sup- 
 plies, which, shall be open to the inspection of any citizen. The salaries 
 in this department shall be fixed by the municipal council. 
 
 Salaries. 
 
 Sect. 52. The salary of the mayor shall be thirty-five hundred 
 dollars per annum, and the salary of each of the remaining four mem- 
 bers of the municipal council shall be three thousand dollars per annum. 
 These salaries shall be payable in equal monthly installments. 
 
 Sect. 53. No member of the municipal council shall during the term 
 for which he was chosen hold any other ofiice the salary of which is 
 payable by the city. 
 
 Sect. 54. The municipal council shall establish by ordinance the 
 salary or compensation of every appointive officer; but after the first 
 municipal year succeeding the acceptance of this act no ordinance 
 changing any such salary or compensation shall take effect until the 
 municipal year succeeding that in which the ordinance is passed. 
 
 Schools. 
 
 Sect. 55. The management and control of the public schools of the 
 city shall be vested in the school committee, consisting of the mayor ex 
 oflScio and four other members elected in accordance with the provisions 
 of this act. Three of its members shall constitute a quorum. The 
 mayor, when present, shall preside, and its meetings shall be public. 
 All final votes of the school committee involving the expenditure of fifty 
 dollars or over shall be by yeas and nays and shall be entered on the 
 records. The committee shall vote by yeas and nays, when that is 
 practicable, and on request of one member any vote shall be by yeas and 
 nays, and shall be entered upon the records. The aflHrmative vote of at 
 least three members shall be necessary for the passage of any order, 
 resolution or vote. 
 
 Sect. 56. The school committee shall meet for organization on the 
 Tuesday next after the first Monday in January in each year. The 
 committee shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its 
 members and shall determine the rules for its proceedings, unless it is 
 otherwise provided herein. The members of the school committee shall 
 be sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties. 
 
 Sect. 57. The school committee may elect a superintendent of 
 schools and may appoint such other subordinate officers and assistants, 
 including janitors of school buildings, as it may deem necessary for the 
 
19 
 
 proper discharge of its duties and the conduct of its business ; it shall 
 define their terms of sen'ice and their duties and shall fix their compen- 
 sation, and may suspend or remove them at pleasure. No member of 
 the school committee, except the mayor, shall, during the term for which 
 he is elected, hold any other office or position the salary or compensation 
 for which is payable out of the city treasury. 
 
 Sect. 58. The school committee, in addition to the powers and 
 duties pertaining by law to school committees, shall have power to pro- 
 vide, when they are necessary, temporary accommodations for school 
 purposes, and shall have the control of all school buildings and of the 
 grounds connected therewith, and the power to make all repairs, the 
 expenditures for which are made from the regular appropriation for the 
 shcool department, except as is otherwise provided herein. 
 
 Sect. 59. No site for a school building shall be acquired by said 
 city unless the approval of the site by the school committee is first 
 obtained. No plans for the construction of or alterations in a school 
 building shall be accepted, and no work shall be begun on the construc- 
 tion or alteration of a school building, unless the approval of the school 
 committee therefor is first obtained. Nothing herein contained shall 
 require such approval for the making of ordinary repairs. 
 
 Vacancies. 
 Sect. 60. If there be a vacancy, by failure to elect or otherwise, in 
 the municipal council, the council shall, by- its remaining members, call 
 a special city election to fill the vacancy or vacancies for the unexpired 
 term or terms ; except that if such vacancy or vacancies occur less than 
 four months prior to the annual city election, the municipal council 
 shall, by its remaining members, fill such vacancy or vacancies for the 
 unexpired term or terms respectively. A person elected to fill any such 
 vacancy shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take oath 
 before the^city clerk or a justice of the peace faithfully to perform the 
 same. 
 
 Sect. 61. Upon the death, resignation or absence of the mayor, or 
 upon his inability to perform the duties of his office, the president of the 
 
 nnabV from pm^ r^n<;e to r»Ar^orm cp^rj rliitipc, ffipv 9^ nil be nerfonri'^d 
 hv <;nrTi mnnnhf^r of the mnnir'ml ronnrH a<; it trjqv. from time to time. 
 p^f^rf. until fhf' mnvor or nre<:idpnt of the mnnicinal ronncil is nble to 
 attend to c^id HntiV<:. or until the vacancv is filled, n<; hereinbefore nro- 
 virlerl. The ner^on unon Tvhom snrh diitie<; devolve <;hall be cp^^ed 
 *' Actino" Mavor," and. except ns is otherwise nrovided in this act. shall 
 possess the powers of mayor, but only in matters not admttting of delay. 
 
20 
 
 Sect. 62. If there is a vacancy in the school committee, by failure 
 to elect or otherwise, the mayor shall call a joint convention of the 
 municipal council and the school committee, at which the mayor, if 
 present, shall preside, and the vacancy shall, by vote of a majority of all 
 the members of the two bodies, be filled by the election of a member to 
 serve for the remainder of the municipal year. At the next annual 
 municipal election thereafter a member shall be elected by the qualified 
 voters of the city, to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term of the 
 member whose office is vacant. 
 
 Recall. 
 
 Sect. 63. The holder of any elective office may be removed at any 
 time by the voters qualified to vote at city elections, and the procedure 
 to effect his removal shall be as follows : — 
 
 A petition signed by a number of such voters equal to at least twenty- 
 five per cent, of the aggregate number of votes cast for candidates for 
 mayor at the last preceding annual election at which a mayor was 
 elected, demanding an election of a successor to the person sought to be 
 removed, shall be filed in the office of the city clerk. Such petition 
 shall contain a general statement of the grounds upon which the removal 
 is sought. It need not be on one paper, but may consist of several 
 distinct papers, each containing the said demand and substantially upon 
 the same grounds, and all papers containing the said demand and 
 statement which, in any one day, shall be filed at the office of the city 
 clerk, shall be deemed parts of the same petition. Every signer shall 
 add to his signature his place of residence, giving the street and street 
 number, if any. One signer of every such paper shall make oath upon 
 his information and belief, before a notary public, or a justice of the 
 peace, that the statements therein made are true, and that each signa- 
 ture to such paper is a genuine signature of the person whose name it 
 purports to be. Within ten days after the date of the filing of such 
 petition, the city clerk, with the assistance of the registrars of voters, 
 shall examine the petition to ascertain whether or not it is signed by the 
 requisite number of voters, as above prescribed, and shall attach to said 
 petition his certificate, showing the result of his examination. If, from 
 the city clerk's certificate the petition appears not to be signed by the 
 requisite number of voters, it may be supplemented, within ten days 
 after the date of such certificate, by other papers, signed and sworn to 
 as aforesaid, and all other papers containing a like demand and state- 
 ment, and signed and sworn to as aforesaid, shall be deemed supple- 
 mental to the original petition. The city clerk shall vvithin ten days 
 after the expiration of the time allowed for filing the supplementary 
 petition make a like examination of such petition, if any is filed, and 
 
shall attach thereto a new certificate, and, if it appears from such dew 
 certificate that the petition is still insufficient as to the number of signefs 
 as aforesaid it shall be returned to the person or persons filing the same^ 
 without prejudice, however, to the filing of a new petition to the same 
 effect. If the petition, as originally filed or as supplemented, shall be 
 certified by the city clerk to be sufficient^ he shall present the same to the 
 municipal council without delays and the municipal council shall call the 
 election so demanded, and shall fix a date for holding the same^ whidh 
 shall be not less than sixty nor more than seventy days after the date 
 when the petition Was presented by the city clerk to the municipal 
 council. The municipal council shall make or cause to be made all 
 arrangements for holding such election, and the same shall be held dnd 
 conducted, returns thereof made and the results thereof declared in all 
 respects as in the case of other city elections. The successor of any 
 person removed shall hold office during the unexpired term of his 
 predecessor. 
 
 Any person sought to be removed may be a candidate at such election ^ 
 and unless he requests otherwise in writing the city clerk shall place his 
 name on the official ballots without nomination. The person receiving 
 the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. If some person 
 other than the incumbent receives the highest number of votes, the 
 incumbent shall thereupon be deemed to be removed from office. In 
 case a person, other than the incumbent, receiving the highest number of 
 votes shall fail to make oath before the city clerk or a justice of the 
 peace, within thirty days after his election, faithfully to perform the 
 duties of the office, the office shall be deemed vacant. If the incumbent 
 receives the highest number of votes, he shall continue in office until the 
 end of the term which he was serving at the time of such election, 
 unless sooner removed therefrom by new and like proceedings. The 
 name of no candidate other than the person sought to be removed shall 
 be printed on the official ballots to be used at such election, unless such 
 candidates be nominated as hereinbefore provided at a preliminary 
 election. 
 
 Initiative. 
 
 Sect. 64. If a petition, signed by a number of the voters of said 
 city, qualified to vote at city elections, equal to at least twenty-five per 
 cent, of the aggregate number of votes cast for the candidates for mayor 
 at the last preceding annual city election at which a mayor was elected^ 
 and requesting the municipal council to pass any measure therein set 
 forth or referred to, shall be filed in the office of the city clerk, the 
 municipal council, provided said measure be one v/hich it has a legal 
 right to pass, shall, 
 
22 
 
 (a) Pass said measure without alteration, within twenty days after 
 the attachment of the city clerk's certificate of sufficiency to such petition, 
 or 
 
 (6) Forthwith, after the expiration of twenty days after the attach- 
 ment of the said certificate of sufficiency of the petition, call a special 
 election, unless an annual city election is held within ninety days after 
 the attachment of the certificate of sufficiency ; and at such special 
 election, or annual city election, if one is so to be held, submit said 
 measure without alteration to the voters of the city qualified as aforesaid. 
 The date of said election shall be fixed as provided by section sixty- 
 three. 
 
 If, however, a petition like the above described petition, and signed 
 by a number of qualified voters equal to at least ten per cent, but less 
 than twenty-five per cent, of the aggregate number of votes cast as 
 aforesaid, is filed as aforesaid the municipal council shall 
 
 (c) Pass the measure therein set forth or referred to, without altera- 
 tion, within twenty days after such attachment of the certificate of 
 sufficiency, or 
 
 (d) Submit the same to the qualified voters of the city at the next 
 annual city election. 
 
 The votes upon the said measure at an annual city election or at a 
 special election shall be taken by ballot in answer to the question, 
 ** Shall the measure (stating the nature of the same) be passed? " which 
 shall be printed on the ballots after the list of candidates, if there be 
 any. If a majority of the qualified voters voting on the proposed meas- 
 ure shall vote in favor thereof, it shall thereupon become a valid and 
 binding measure of the city, and no such measure passed as aforesaid, by 
 the municipal council, upon petition as aforesaid, or which shall be 
 adopted as aforesaid at any such annual city election or special election, 
 shall be repealed or amended except by the qualified voters of the city 
 at an annual city election or special election. Any number of measures 
 requested by petition, as aforesaid, may be voted upon at the same 
 election, in accordance with the provisions of this section. The munic- 
 ipal council may submit a proposition for the repeal of any such measure, 
 or for amendment thereof, to be voted upon at any succeeding annual 
 city election ; and should such proposition as submitted receive a majority 
 of the votes cast thereon at such election, the measure shall thereby be 
 repealed or amended accordingly. The vote upon such repeal or 
 amendment at the annual city election shall be taken by ballot in answer 
 to the question, '' Shall the measure (stating the nature of the same) be 
 repealed or amended ? " which shall be printed on the ballots after the 
 list of candidates, if there be any. Whenever any such measure or 
 
proposition is required by this act to be submitted at any election as 
 aforesaid, the city clerk shall cause the same to be published once in 
 each of the daily newspapers published in said city ; such publication to 
 be not more than twenty nor less than five days before the submission of 
 the measure or proposition to be voted on. Petitions under the provi- 
 sions of this section may consist of one or more distinct papers. In each 
 of such papers the measure, the passage of which is requested, shall be 
 set forth or referred to, and all such papers filed in any one day in the 
 office of the city clerk shall be deemed to be parts of the same petition. 
 Such petitions shall be signed, sworn to as to signatures, examined, re- 
 examined, presented to the municipal council, shall have the city clerk 
 certificate of sufficiency or insufficiency attached thereto, and may be 
 supplemented, in the same manner as petitions filed under sixty-three. 
 Any measure, passed under the provisions of this section by the munici- 
 pal council, or by the voters, may prescribe such penalty for its viola- 
 tion as the municipal council, after this act takes effect, shall have a 
 right to affix to a like measure for a breach thereof. 
 
 Referendum. 
 Sect. 65. If, during the ten days next following the passage of any 
 measure by the municipal council, a petition, signed by a number of 
 voters of said city, registered to vote at city elections, equal to at least 
 twenty-five per cent, of the aggregate number of votes cast for candidates 
 for mayor at the last preceding annual city election at which a mayor 
 was elected, and protesting against the passage of such measure shall be 
 filed in the office of the city clerk, such measure shall be suspended from 
 going into operation, and it shall be the duty of the municipal council to 
 reconsider the same, and if it is not entirely repealed the municipal 
 council shall submit it, as is provided in sub-division (^) of section sixty- 
 four to the registered voters of the city, and the said measure shall not 
 go into effect or become operative unless a majority of the voters, quali- 
 fied as aforesaid, voting on the same shall vote in favor thereof. The 
 vote upon such a measure at an annual city election or special election 
 shall be taken by ballot in answer to the question, '' Shall the measure 
 (stating the nature of the same) take effect?" which shall be printed on 
 the ballot after the list of candidates, if there be any. Petitions under 
 the provisions of this section may consist of one or more distinct papers. 
 In each of such papers the measure, the passage of which is protested, 
 shall be set forth or referred to, and all such papers filed in any one day 
 shall be deemed to be parts of the same petition. Such petitions shall 
 be signed, sworn to as to signatures, examined, re-examined, presented 
 to the municipal council, shall have the city clerk's certificate of suffi- 
 
ciency or insufficiency attached thereto, and may be supplemented in tl 
 same manner as petitions filed under section sixty-three. 
 
 Sect. 66. It shall not be necessary for the validity of any petition 
 statement provided for or required by the provisions of this act that ai 
 signer thereof add to his signature any residence other than the name 
 the street, and street number, if there be any, at which he resides at tl 
 time of signing. 
 
 Sect. 67. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are herel 
 repealed ; provided^ however^ that this repeal shall not affect any 
 done, or any right accruing or accrued or established, or any suit or prj 
 ceeding begun in any civil case before the time when such appeal takj 
 effect, and that no offences committed and no penalties or forfeiturl 
 inGurred under the acts or parts of acts hereby repealed shall be affectJ 
 by such repeal ; and provided also^ that all persons who, at the tii 
 when said repeal takes effect shall hold any office under said acts shj 
 continue to hold the same, except as is otherwise provided herein, aij 
 provided also^ that all by-laws and ordinances of the City of Lynn 
 force at the time when said repeal takes effect, and not inconsistent wij 
 the provisions of this act, shall continue in force until the same 
 repealed or amended, and all officers elected under such by-laws aj 
 ordinances shall continue in office, except as is otherwise provided herei 
 
 Acceptance by Voters. 
 Sect. 68. If Part I, of this act be accepted, it shall take effect up| 
 its acceptance for the annual city election to be held on the second Tu^ 
 day of December in the year nineteen hundred and ten, for the preliJ 
 inary election for nominations, to be held, under the provisions of tl 
 Part, on the third Tuesday preceding the aforesaid annual city electi( 
 for the statements of candidates and petitions accompanying stateme^ 
 of candidates to be filed by persons whose names are to be printed 
 the official ballots to be used at such preliminary election, and for 
 things which appertain and relate to said annual city election, preli] 
 inary election, statements of candidates and petitions accompany! 
 statements of candidates ; and, it shall take effect for all other purpo| 
 at ten o^clock in the forenoon on the first Monday of January, in 
 year nineteen hundred and eleven. 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY