§ 4. Executive branch.

4.1 Mayor; Qualifications; Term of Office; Compensation.

(a)

Mayor. Qualifications. There shall be a mayor, elected by and from the voters, who shall be the chief executive officer of the city. Any voter shall be eligible to hold the office of mayor.

(b)

Term of Office. The term of office of the mayor shall be for four years beginning at 7:00 o'clock in the evening on the first secular day in January following his election and until his successor is chosen and qualified. No person shall be elected to the office of mayor more than two consecutive full terms.

(c)

Compensation. The city council shall, by ordinance, establish an annual salary for the mayor. No ordinance changing such salary shall be effective however, unless it is adopted during the first thirty-six months of the term for which the mayor is elected and it provides that the salary is to be effective at the commencement of the next term of office of the mayor.

4.2 Executive Powers. Enforcement of Laws.

The executive powers of the city shall be vested in the mayor and may be exercised by him either personally or through the several city agencies under his general supervision and control. The mayor shall cause the laws, ordinances and orders for the government of the city to be enforced, and he shall cause a record of all his official acts to be kept.

4.3 Appointments by the Mayor.

The mayor shall appoint at all city officers, department heads, directors and members of multiple member bodies for whom no other method of appointment or selection is provided by the charter, excepting only officers serving under the school committee, officers appointed by the Commonwealth, and persons serving under the City Council. Except appointments to multiple member bodies all such appointments made by the mayor, unless otherwise provided shall be subject to review and confirmation by the city council as provided in Section 3.7.

4.4 Certificate of Appointment.

Whenever a vacancy, either temporary or permanent occurs in a city office and the needs of the city require that such office be filled, the mayor may designate the head of another city agency, or a city officer or city employee to perform the duties of the office on a temporary basis until such position can be filled as provided by the charter, by law, or by ordinance. The mayor shall sign and file with the city clerk a certificate substantially in the following form:

 I name (name of appointee) to perform the duties of the office of (office in which vacancy exists). I certify that (name of appointee) is a person especially fitted by education, training or experience to perform the duties of the office and to assume the responsibilities which will devolve upon him/her, and that I make this appointment solely in the interests of the City of Lawrence.

(signed)

Mayor

4.5 Removal of Officials.

The mayor may remove any person appointed under Section 4.3 subject to the provisions of Section 3.7(b) of this Charter.

4.6 General Supervision of City Agencies.

The mayor shall exercise a general supervision and direction over all city agencies. Each city agency shall furnish to him, forthwith upon his request, any information relative to such agency as the needs of his office and the interest of the city may require.

4.7 Communications to City Council.

The mayor, yearly, by a personal appearance for the purpose of a state of the city address to be given at the first city council meeting in February of each year, shall keep the city council informed as to the condition and needs of the city, and from time to time as in his judgment the needs of the city require, recommend to the city council for action by it such measures as may be necessary or desirable.

4.8 Special Meetings of the City Council.

The mayor may call a special meeting of the city council at any time, for any purpose, by causing a notice of the meeting to be delivered in hand or to the place of business or residence of each member of the city council, by a member of the police department. Such notice shall, except in the case of an emergency of which the mayor shall be the sole judge, be delivered at least forty-eight hours in advance of the time set and shall specify the purpose for which the meeting is to be held.

4.9 Approval of the Mayor; Power of Veto.

Every measure relative to the affairs of the city adopted by the city council except (a) measures relating to the internal affairs of the city council, (b) memorial resolutions, and (c) emergency measures shall be presented to the mayor for his approval. If the mayor approves of it, he shall signify his approval by signing it; if he does not approve of it, he shall signify his disapproval by returning it with his objections, in writing, to the city council. The city council shall enter the objections of the mayor upon its records and shall, forthwith, reconsider said measure. If, on such reconsideration, six members shall agree to pass such measure notwithstanding the disapproval of the mayor, it shall be considered approved. If any measure is not returned by the mayor within ten days following the date it is presented to him, it shall be considered approved. A filing with the clerk of the council shall be considered a return by the mayor to the city council. All votes taken on measures returned by the mayor shall be by roll call.

4.10 Temporary Absence of the Mayor.

(a)

Acting Mayor. Whenever by reason of illness or absence from the city, the mayor shall be unable to perform the duties of his office for a period of three successive working days or more, the president of the city council shall become the acting mayor. The mayor shall notify the city council president in writing of an absence of the mayor from the city for a period of 3 or more successive working days.

(b)

Powers of Acting Mayor. The acting mayor shall have all of the powers of the mayor except that he shall not make any permanent appointment nor removal to or from any office unless the disability of the mayor shall have continued for sixty days or more, nor shall he approve or disapprove of any measure passed by the city council unless the time within which the mayor must act would expire before the return of the mayor. During any period in which the council president is serving as acting mayor he shall not be eligible to vote on any measure as a member of the city council.

4.11 Vacancy in the Office of Mayor.

(a)

Special Election. If a vacancy in the office of the mayor occurs in the first forty-two months of the term for which the mayor is elected, the city council shall forthwith order a special election to be held not more than 90 days following the date the vacancy is created, to fill the vacancy for the balance of the unexpired term.

(b)

Council Election. If a vacancy in the office of mayor occurs after the first forty-two months of the term for which the mayor is elected the clerk of the council shall forthwith call a special meeting of the city council, and, the city council shall then elect by majority vote, one of its members to serve as mayor. If the city council shall fail to elect one of its members within fourteen days following the date of the meeting called by the clerk of the council the president of the city council shall become the mayor. Upon the election and qualification of any member of the city council as acting mayor his office of councillor shall be deemed to be vacant.

(c)

Power, Term of Office. The mayor elected under either section 4.11(a) or (b) shall have all of the powers of the mayor. A mayor elected under section 4.11(a) shall serve for the balance of the term which remained unexpired at the time of his election. A mayor elected under section 4.11(b) shall serve until the date of the next regular city election and the person elected at the election to the office of mayor shall forthwith be sworn and shall, in addition to the term for which he was elected, serve for the balance of the then unexpired term of the mayor.

(Ord. dated 1/1/03 §§ 5—10; Ord. dated 11/27/01 §§ 5—10)