reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 6 - Power to Incur Debt for Payment of Land Damages, Altering Grade Crossings, and Highway or Traffic Control Expenditures

Section 6. Cities and towns may, by a majority vote, incur debt for temporary loans for the payment of land damages or any proportion of the general expenses of altering a grade crossing which they are required primarily to pay, or any proportion of the expense of constructing a highway or installing traffic control devices and other devices appurtenant thereto, in anticipation of payment or reimbursement by the commonwealth or county, such payment or reimbursement first having been agreed upon by the commissioner of highways or county commissioners, or the sums allotted for such payments or reimbursements having first been certified as available by the commissioner of highways or county commissioners, and may issue notes therefor for a period not exceeding 2 years from their date; and when any money so paid is repaid to the municipality, it shall be applied to the discharge of the loan. Notes issued under this section shall not be renewed or paid by the issue of new notes, except as provided in section 17.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 6a - Power to Borrow in Anticipation of Reimbursement by Federal Government or Commonwealth

Section 6A. If a city, town or district has been allotted a grant by the federal government, the commonwealth, or any agency or department of either, or by any body politic or public instrumentality of the commonwealth, or similar entity, for any purpose for which the city, town or district may incur debt that may be payable over a term of 5 years or longer, and is required primarily to pay that proportion of the expense for which an advance payment or reimbursement is to be received from such sources, such advance payment or reimbursement first having been agreed upon by the grantor of the funds, in order to provide the necessary funds to meet the expense for which the advance payment or reimbursement is to be made, the treasurer of the city may, with the approval of the official whose approval is required by the city charter in the borrowing of money, the treasurer of the town may, with the approval of the board of selectmen, and the treasurer of the district may, with the approval of the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners, incur debt outside the debt limit and issue notes therefor for a period not exceeding 2 years from their dates, and may refund the same from time to time; provided, however, that no loan shall be so refunded unless the auditor, in the case of a city, or the accountant or chief accounting officer in the case of a town or district which has such an officer, otherwise the treasurer, shall certify in a writing filed in the office of the treasurer, where it shall be open to inspection by the public, that at the time such loan is refunded, the city, town or district remains entitled to receive the advance payment or reimbursement in an amount at least equal to the amount of the refunding loan. The proceeds of the advance payment or reimbursement shall be applied to the discharge of the loan, without further appropriation. In the event the city, town or district shall no longer be entitled to receive advance payment or reimbursement in an amount sufficient to pay all or any portion of a loan issued under this section at the time such loan matures, the loan shall be paid from revenue funds of the city, town or district to the extent it can no longer be refunded under this section. A payment made by a city, town or district as provided in the preceding sentence shall be reported by the auditor or accountant of the city, town or district, or other officer having similar duties, or by the treasurer if there be no such officer, to the assessors, who shall include the amount so reported in the determination of the next annual tax rate, unless the city, town or district has otherwise made provision therefor. The provisions of chapter 74 of the acts of 1945 shall not apply to borrowing under this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 8a - Orders Authorizing Issuance of Bonds; Authentication

Section 8A. In any city which accepts this section upon its submission in accordance with law at its first regular city election following the effective date of this section, an order authorizing the issue of bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness for any purpose specified in any applicable clause of section seven, other than clause (11), or for any purposes specified in section eight, other than clause (1), (2) or (9), shall not become effective before the expiration of a period of twenty days from the day upon which such order would become effective except for this section. If within said period a petition signed by registered voters of the city to the number of twelve thousand or equal in number to at least twelve per cent of the total number of such registered voters, whichever is the lesser, and conforming to the provisions of section thirty-eight of chapter forty-three relative to initiative petitions in cities governed by said chapter, shall be filed with the city clerk, such filing in cities subject to said section thirty-eight to be in the manner therein provided, asking that the question of approving or disapproving such order be submitted to the registered voters of the city, such order shall be further suspended from becoming effective and said city clerk shall forthwith transmit such petition to the city council, which shall immediately reconsider such order. If such order is not rescinded, the city council shall submit the same to a vote of the registered voters of the city, either at the next regular city election, or at a special city election which may, in the discretion of the city council, be called for the purpose in the manner provided by law. If an order submitted as aforesaid be approved by a majority of the registered voters voting on the question, such order shall at once become effective; but if not so approved such order shall have no effect. If a petition relative to any such order is not filed within said period of twenty days, such order shall become effective upon the expiration of said period.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 8b - Cities and Towns; Right to Replace Lost Funds Deposited; Liquidation or Insolvency of Depository Bank

Section 8B. The treasurer of any city, if authorized by vote of the city council with the approval of the mayor, and the treasurer of any town if authorized by vote of the town may borrow from time to time such sums as may be necessary to replace funds of such city or town which have been lost or are unavailable as a result of the insolvency, failure or liquidation of a bank or other depository wherein its funds have been deposited. Any such treasurer may issue notes of such city or town payable in or within not more than eight years. Indebtedness incurred by a city or town under the provisions of this section shall be outside its limit of indebtedness as fixed by this chapter.
Any sums received by any such city or town paid out of the assets of said bank by way of dividend or distribution to depositors shall first be applied to the repayment of any notes issued under the authority of this section which remain unpaid at the time such sums are received, and any balance remaining shall be paid into the treasury of such city or town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 8c - Cities and Towns; Acquisition of Land for Conservation or Recreation Purposes in Anticipation of State or Federal Reimbursement of Expense; Temporary Debt Outside Limit Authorized

Section 8C. A city or town which has appropriated money for the acquisition of land, to be expended together with a sum or sums of money allotted by the commissioner of natural resources under section eleven of chapter one hundred and thirty-two A or by the United States or by both, may, if said city or town is required primarily to pay a portion of the expense of acquiring such land which is to be reimbursed by the commonwealth or the United States or both, incur debt outside its debt limit in the amount of such reimbursable expense and may issue notes therefor which shall be payable in or within two years from their dates; provided, that prior to the issuance of such notes such reimbursement has been agreed upon by the commonwealth or the United States or by both; and provided, further, that the proceeds of such reimbursement shall be applied to the payment of the notes without further appropriation, notwithstanding the provisions of section fifty-three. The provisions of chapter seventy-four of the acts of nineteen hundred and forty-five shall not apply to borrowing under this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 9 - Districts; Right to Borrow Money; Purposes; Amount

Section 9. Districts may by a two thirds vote authorize the incurring of debt for purposes prescribed, and payable within the periods specified, by sections seven and eight, so far as they are authorized by law to make expenditures for the purposes mentioned therein, and the amounts of debt so incurred shall be limited to the amounts prescribed for towns by sections eight and ten; provided that debt of any such district incurred for any purpose mentioned in clause (3), (4), (4A), (5), or (6) of section eight under any special act heretofore or hereafter enacted shall not be included in the amount of debt which is subject to the limit prescribed by said section eight for debt for such purposes. The limitation contained in the first paragraph of section seven shall be applicable to loans authorized by districts for purposes provided under section seven.
In the fiscal year of organization of a newly established district, whether established under general or special law, the borrowing capacity for purposes specified in section seven and limited in amount by section ten, and for purposes specified in section eight, shall be based on an amount determined by applying to the equalized valuation of the town in which the district is located the same ratio which the assessors' valuation of the taxable property of the district for that year bears to the assessors' valuation of the taxable property of the town for the same year. In the case of a newly established district which is located in two or more towns, said borrowing capacity shall be based on the total amount determined by applying to the equalized valuation of each of the towns in which any part of the district is located the same ratio which the assessors' valuation of the taxable property of the district in the respective towns for that year bears to the assessors' valuation of the taxable property of said town for the same year.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 10 - Debt Limit

Section 10. Except as otherwise provided by law, a city or town shall not authorize indebtedness to an amount exceeding 5 per cent of the equalized valuation of the city or town. A city or town may authorize indebtedness in excess of 5 per cent but not in excess of 10 per cent, of the aforesaid equalized valuation; provided, however, that the amount of indebtedness so authorized shall be subject to the approval of the members of the municipal finance oversight board, which approval may be given either before or after such authorization.
In determining the debt limit for Boston hereunder the provisions of chapter ninety-three of the acts of eighteen hundred and ninety-one and of section one of chapter one hundred and ninety-one of the acts of nineteen hundred and three shall apply.
The debt limit for a district shall be based on an amount determined by applying to the equalized valuation of the town the same ratio which the assessors' valuation of the taxable property of the district for the preceding fiscal year bears to the assessors' valuation of the taxable property of the town for the preceding fiscal year. In the case of the district which is located in two or more towns, said debt limit shall be based on the total amount determined by applying to the equalized valuation of each of the towns in which any part of the district is located the same ratio which the assessors' valuation of the taxable property of the district in the respective towns for the preceding fiscal year bears to the assessors' valuation of the taxable property of said town for the preceding fiscal year.
All authorized debts, except those expressly authorized by law to be incurred outside the debt limit, shall be reckoned in determining the limit of indebtedness under this section.
[ Fifth paragraph added by 2023, 28, Sec. 25 effective July 1, 2023. See 2023, 28, Sec. 115.]
Notwithstanding this section, indebtedness authorized by a city or town to pay costs of constructing, reconstructing, equipping and furnishing a school facility for the education of school children for which grant funds in support of such project from the Massachusetts School Building Authority are not otherwise available and for which such city or town has voted, in accordance with paragraph (k) of section 21C of chapter 59, to exclude the repayment of such indebtedness from the tax levy limitations set forth in said section 21C of said chapter 59 shall not be reckoned in determining the limit of indebtedness under this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 11 - Debt Retirement; Provision for Earlier Payment

Section 11. Cities, towns and districts may pay or provide for the payment of any debt at an earlier period than is required by this chapter or may appropriate money for the purchase and cancellation of outstanding indebtedness, and shall not refund any debt except as provided in section seventeen; and cities, towns and districts may, for the purpose of reducing the whole debt for the redemption of which sinking funds have been established by cities or towns prior to May twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and thirteen, and by districts prior to March twentieth, nineteen hundred and fifteen, or of reducing the amount to be raised by taxation for such funds, add to any such sinking fund the excess of any appropriation over the amount required for the purpose thereof, or add to such funds any sums derived from taxation or from other sources not required by law to be expended otherwise.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 15 - Liability for Legal Debts Contracted Under Special Acts

Section 15. Cities, towns and districts authorized by special acts to incur debt shall not be exempt from liability to pay debts contracted for the purposes for which they may lawfully expend money under such acts, notwithstanding that the amount of the annual payment and the period of the loan may not have been specified by the vote authorizing the debt to be incurred, and the officers authorized to issue bonds or notes therefor may issue and same, subject to the provisions and limitations of such acts, provided that in all other respects the requirements of law shall have been complied with; and the provisions of this section shall apply to any bonds or notes of a city, town or district issued under the authority of any special act heretofore or hereafter enacted.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 16a - Facsimile Signature

Section 16A. Any officer authorized to sign bonds or notes of a city, town or district may execute such bonds or notes or cause them to be executed by a facsimile signature in lieu of his manual signature, provided that at least one signature required or permitted to be placed thereon shall be manually subscribed. In the case of registered bonds issued in exchange for or in replacement of prior bonds, no manually subscribed signature of an authorized officer shall be required if the signature of an authorized signer of a bank, trust company, or other banking or financial institution acting as trustee, authenticating agent, transfer agent or similar agent is manually subscribed. The facsimile signature of an authorized officer on a bond or note shall have the same legal effect as his manual signature.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 16b - Facsimile Seal; Validity

Section 16B. The engraved or printed facsimile of a city, town or district seal on a bond, note or certificate of indebtedness of such municipality shall have the same legal effect as though such seal were impressed thereon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 18 - Discount of Notes

Section 18. Notes issued under section four, five, five A, five B, six, six A or seventeen may be sold at such discount as the treasurer or other officer authorized to sell the same may, with the approval of the officer or officers whose counter-signature is required on said notes, deem proper, the discount to be treated as interest paid in advance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 19 - Issuance of Notes Payable on Demand Forbidden; Procedure for Repaying Debts; Time for Making Final Payment

Section 19. Cities, towns and districts shall not issue any notes payable on demand, but shall provide for the payment of all debts, except temporary loans incurred under sections 4, 6, 6A, 8C, and 17 or under section 3 of chapter 74 of the acts of 1945, by annual payments that will extinguish the same at maturity, and so that the first of these annual payments on account of any serial loan shall be made not later than the end of the next complete fiscal year commencing after the date of the bonds or notes issued for the serial loan, and shall be arranged so that for each issue the amounts payable in the several years for principal and interest combined shall be as nearly equal as practicable in the opinion of the officers authorized to issue the bonds or notes or, in the alternative, in accordance with a schedule providing a more rapid amortization of principal; and these annual amounts, together with the interest on all debts, shall, without further vote, be assessed until the debt is extinguished.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the final payment on account of any bonds issued by a city, town or district may be made not later than the end of the fiscal year in which such bonds would otherwise have been payable under this chapter, or any other statutory authority under which the issuance of any such bonds was otherwise authorized.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 20a - Advances Made in Anticipation of Proceeds

Section 20A. Cities, towns and districts that have duly authorized the issuance of serial bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness may make expenditures for the purposes for which such serial bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness were authorized from any available revenue funds in advance and in anticipation of such issuance. Cities, towns and districts that have been allotted a grant by the commonwealth or the federal government may make expenditures for the purposes of such grant from any available revenue funds in advance and in anticipation of receipt of reimbursements from such grant, to such maximum amount and subject to such limitations as may be provided in the rules, regulations and guidelines promulgated by the director. For purposes of this section, available revenue funds shall not include revenue cash the use of which is restricted to purposes other than current maintenance expenses. Such advances shall be made by the treasurer with the approval of the officer or officers authorized to issue the bonds or notes. Prior to making any such advance, the treasurer shall determine that the issuance of such serial bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness has been duly authorized in accordance with law. Such cities, towns or districts shall reimburse the account or accounts from which the advance was made from the proceeds of bonds, notes, including notes in anticipation of the serial loan, or certificates of indebtedness issued during the fiscal year in which the advance was made. Advances made under authority of this section shall be subject to rules, regulations or guidelines promulgated by the director.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 21 - Call and Redemption Prior to Maturity

Section 21. An officer of a city, town or district authorized to issue bonds or notes may provide that the bonds or notes of any issue may be called and redeemed, in whole or in part, prior to their maturity dates, at such price and under such terms and conditions as said officer may determine. No such bonds or notes shall be called and redeemed before their maturity dates unless funds, sufficient to pay the principal thereof, any redemption premium thereon and all interest accrued to the date fixed for redemption have been appropriated by the city, town or district and are then available; or, unless the city council of the city, the board of selectmen of the town or the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners of the district, shall have provided for issuance of refunding bonds or notes as provided in section twenty-one A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 21c - Lease Purchase Financing Agreements

Section 21C. A city, town or district may by a two-thirds vote of its legislative body, if recommended by its chief executive officer, authorize any department of the city, town or district to enter into a lease purchase financing agreement to acquire equipment or improve a capital asset that may be financed by the issuance of debt under this chapter or otherwise authorized by law, for a term up to the useful life of the property to be procured as determined by its chief executive officer. Any lease purchase financing agreement under this section shall be considered a binding obligation of the city, town or district as if it were a debt authorization under this chapter, provided an appropriation available for the purpose has been made in the first fiscal year in which the lease becomes effective. Any city, town or district that follows the procedure in this section with respect to entering into a lease purchase financing agreement for the procurement of any personal property for the governmental entity, may refinance the purchase with the issuance of refunding bonds under section 21A to pay the balance of the lease obligation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 22 - Rate of Interest

Section 22. All bonds, notes and other securities issued by cities or towns shall bear such rate or rates of interest as may be fixed by the city or town treasurer, with the approval of the mayor or selectmen, notwithstanding any general or special provision of law enacted prior to April twenty-second, nineteen hundred and twenty.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 22a - Insurance, Letters or Lines of Credit for Bonds or Notes; Trust Agreements

Section 22A. Bonds or notes issued by a city may be secured in whole or in part by insurance or by letters or lines of credit or other credit facilities upon a two-thirds vote of the city council with the approval of the mayor. Any such insurance, letter or line of credit or credit facility may provide for reimbursement to be made over such period of time, not to exceed two years beyond the maturity date of the bonds or notes so secured, as the treasurer, with the approval of the mayor, shall deem proper and may provide for reimbursement to be made, and any such notes or bonds may be issued, at such rate or rates of interest as the treasurer, with the approval of the mayor, shall deem proper, including rates variable from time to time as determined by such index, banker's loan rate or other method as may be specified in such agreement or such bond or note. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, bonds or notes secured as described in this section may, in the discretion of the treasurer, with the approval of the mayor, be subject to prepayment at the option of the holder thereof at such times and prices and under such circumstances as the treasurer and the mayor shall specify. For the purpose of securing bonds and notes a city, acting by its treasurer, upon a two-thirds vote of all the city council, with the approval of the mayor, may enter into a trust agreement between the city and a corporate trustee which shall be a bank or trust company doing business in the commonwealth. Any such trust agreement, and any remarketing or other agreements necessary or incidental to the issuance of such bonds or notes, shall be in such form as may be deemed proper by the treasurer of such city, with the approval of its mayor, and shall be executed by its treasurer and countersigned by its mayor. It shall be lawful for any bank or trust company doing business in the commonwealth to act as a depository or trustee under any such trust agreement and to furnish such indemnification and pledge such securities as may be required by any such city. Any trustee under a trust agreement established pursuant to this section may bring suit upon the bonds or notes and may, either at law or equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceedings for legal or equitable relief, enforce all rights under the laws of the commonwealth or granted hereunder or under such trust agreement, and may enforce and compel the performance of all duties required under such trust agreement to be performed by the city or by any officer thereof. In a city with a plan D or plan E form of government, the powers granted in this section to the mayor shall be exercised by the city manager. The provisions of this section shall not apply to towns. All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this section may be treated by the city as a cost of issuance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 22b - Bonds and Notes; Official Statements; Advertising; Collateral Tax Consequences to Social Security Recipients

Section 22B. Any official statement prepared in connection with the sale of any bonds or notes of a city, town or district and all advertising of such bonds and notes, the interest on which is excludable from gross income for federal income tax purposes under the provisions of section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 USC 103), shall include a reference to the collateral tax consequences which may result under section 86 of said Code (26 USC 86) to the holders of such bonds or notes who are recipients of social security benefits.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 22c - Security for Bonds or Notes; Insurance, Letters or Lines of Credit, Trust Agreements

Section 22C. Bonds or notes issued by a town or district may be secured in whole or in part by insurance or by letters or lines of credit or other credit facilities upon a two-thirds vote of the board of selectmen of the town or a two-thirds vote of the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the board or commissioners of the district. Any such insurance, letter or line of credit or credit facility may provide for reimbursement to be made over such period of time, not to exceed two years beyond the maturity date of the bonds or notes so secured, as the officers authorized to issue the bonds or notes shall deem proper and may provide for interest on such reimbursement to be paid at such rate or rates of interest as the officers authorized to issue the bonds or notes shall deem proper, including rates variable from time to time as determined by such index, banker's loan rate or other method as may be specified therein. For the purpose of securing its bonds or notes, a town or district, acting by its treasurer, upon a two-thirds vote of the board of selectmen of the town, or a two-thirds vote of the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the board or commissioners of the district may enter into a trust agreement between the town or district and a corporate trustee which shall be a bank or trust company doing business in the commonwealth. Any such trust agreement, and any other agreements necessary or incidental to the issuance of such bonds or notes, shall be in such form as may be deemed proper by the officers authorized to issue the bonds or notes, and shall be executed by such officers. It shall be lawful for any bank or trust company doing business in the commonwealth to act as a depository or trustee under any such trust agreement and to furnish such indemnification and pledge such securities as may be required by the town or district. Any trustee under a trust agreement established pursuant to this section may bring suit upon the bonds or notes and may, either at law or equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceedings for legal or equitable relief, enforce all rights under the laws of the commonwealth or granted hereunder or under such trust agreement, and may enforce and compel the performance of all duties required under such trust agreement to be performed by the town or district or by any officer thereof. All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this section may be treated by the town or district as a cost of preparing, issuing and marketing its bonds or notes.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 23 - Forms for Notes

Section 23. The director shall furnish to the treasurer of every city, town and district, forms for the issue of notes for money borrowed by the city, town or district. Every such note shall contain blanks for insertion of the amount thereof, the date of issue, which shall be construed as the date from which interest is payable, the interest which it bears, the date when it will become due, and such other matters as the director may deem necessary; and a record of every such note shall be kept by said treasurer in such form as the director may designate. The director may place upon notes submitted to him for certification such denominations as will show the purpose for which they are issued and as may be required by law to appear thereon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 24 - Authentication; Certification

Section 24. When a city, town or district votes to borrow money otherwise than by the issue of bonds, the treasurer thereof may make notes for the amount of the proposed loan, and may use one or more, in serial order, of the forms provided for in section twenty-three, with the blank spaces properly filled in. Notes issued hereunder shall be signed and countersigned as provided in section sixteen or other applicable provisions of law in the presence of the clerk of the city, town or district, who shall certify to the fact on the face thereof. The treasurer of the city, town or district, after making a record of the transaction in accordance with section twenty-three, shall forward, with the fee required by section twenty-six, every such note to the director, with a copy of said record and a copy of the order or vote authorizing the loan, certified by the clerk of the city, town or district, and a certification by said clerk that the person whose signature appears upon the note as treasurer was the duly authorized treasurer of the city, town or district when such signature was made, and that the persons whose countersignatures appear upon the note were duly qualified as such when such countersignatures were made; and the treasurer of such city, town or district shall furnish such other information as the director may require to enable the director properly to certify the note. If upon examination the note appears to the director to have been duly issued in accordance with law and the vote of the city, town, or district authorizing it, or in accordance with an act of the general court, and to have been signed by the duly qualified officials of such city, town or district, he shall so certify and shall thereupon return the note by registered mail to the treasurer of such city, town or district or shall deliver it in hand to such treasurer or to his duly authorized agent; but, under such regulations as he may prescribe, if so authorized by the signers of the note, the director may deliver a certified note to the payee thereof or deliver it to a bank or trust company to be credited to the account of such city, town or district. He may certify to the issue of a note on any date not earlier than five days prior to the date of issue appearing on the note, if the other conditions of this chapter have been complied with. He shall not certify a note payable on demand, nor shall he certify any note unless the laws relating to municipal indebtedness have been complied with, or if it appears that the proceeds of the note are not to be used for the purpose specified in the vote authorizing the loan for which the note is issued. The director may use a facsimile signature machine or stamp for the purpose of certifying notes under this section and such facsimile shall have the same legal effect as the director's manual signature.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 24a - Bearer Instruments

Section 24A. City, town and district notes may be made payable to ''bearer'', and when so issued section twenty-four may be construed by the director as being properly complied with in so far as it relates to the proper filling in of any space provided for the name of the purchaser or registered holder of the loan, and the director may certify such notes; provided that before certification there shall be filed with the director by the city, town or district treasurer, as the case may be, the name of the purchaser of such loan.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 27a - Effect of Provisions on Power to Issue Notes

Section 27A. The provisions of sections twenty-three to twenty-seven, inclusive, shall be deemed to provide an additional and alternative means of carrying out the purposes thereof and shall not effect the power of cities, towns and districts to issue notes under and subject to other provisions of law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 28 - Report to Director of Accounts Required

Section 28. Whenever a city, town or district votes to authorize the incurrence of indebtedness, the city, town or district clerk, as the case may be, shall, within forty-eight hours after the vote becomes effective, furnish to the director a copy thereof; and whenever a loan is issued by a city, the city treasurer shall notify the director of the amount and purpose of the loan, and shall state whether it be in the form of bonds or notes; and whenever a loan is issued by a town or district in the form of bonds, the treasurer thereof shall notify the director of the amount and purpose thereof. City, town and district treasurers shall also furnish the director, upon request, with any other information in respect to the authorization and issue of loans, which he may require to enable him to keep a complete and accurate record of indebtedness authorized or incurred by cities, towns and districts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 28a - Applicability of Finance Law to School Districts

Section 28A. The provisions of sections sixteen to twenty-eight, inclusive, shall, so far as apt, apply to regional school districts established under the provisions of section fifteen of chapter seventy-one, but the provisions of section sixteen relating to the countersigning of bonds and notes, the provisions of section 21C relating to lease purchase financing agreements and the provisions of section twenty-four relating to the countersigning and approval of notes and the certificates of the clerk relating thereto shall not apply to such districts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 28b - Applicability of Finance Law to Planning Districts

Section 28B. The provisions of sections sixteen to twenty-eight, inclusive, shall, so far as apt, apply to planning districts established under the provisions of chapter forty B, but the provisions of section sixteen relating to the countersigning of notes by a majority of the commission and the provisions of section twenty-four relating to the countersigning and approval of notes by a majority of the commission shall not apply to such districts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 30 - Determination of Amount of Appropriation for Departments

Section 30. A city, except Boston, wherein the appropriation for any department is determined by law at a certain rate or percentage of the taxable valuation or the valuation of the taxable property therein, or however otherwise the same may be described, shall, in addition to the amount so determined, appropriate and use for such department such proportion of the proceeds of the tax upon incomes, returned by the commonwealth to the city under section eighteen of chapter fifty-eight, as the appropriation so determined by law bears to the total local tax levy of that city for the current fiscal year; but in each fiscal year such departments shall be credited with their proportion of the income tax received during the preceding fiscal year.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 31a - Report of Estimated Expenses; Period Covered; Contents

Section 31A. Every officer of any city except Boston having charge of, or jurisdiction over, any office, department or undertaking, requesting an appropriation shall, between November first and December first of each year, furnish the mayor and the city auditor, or officer having similar duties, on forms provided by the city auditor or officer having similar duties, and approved by the bureau of accounts in the department of corporations and taxation, detailed estimates of the full amounts deemed necessary for the next fiscal year for the ordinary maintenance of the office, department or undertaking under his charge or jurisdiction, and for expenditures other than the ordinary maintenance, with the amounts, if any, expended for similar purposes during the preceding fiscal year and during the first four months of the then current fiscal year, and an estimate of the amounts required to be expended for such purposes during the last eight months of the then current fiscal year, giving explanatory statements of any differences between the amount of any estimate for the next fiscal year and the amount expended or estimated to be required as aforesaid.
The information hereby required to be furnished shall set forth the number of permanent or temporary employees, or both, requested in each classification or rating in the next fiscal year and the number of permanent or temporary employees, or both, employed on October thirty-first of the then fiscal year, or the nearest week-end thereto, except laborers and persons performing the duties of laborers, with the annual, monthly, weekly or hourly compensation of such employees, and shall state whether such compensation is fixed by ordinance or otherwise and whether or not such employees are subject to chapter thirty-one.
The foregoing shall not prevent any city, upon recommendation of the mayor, from so setting forth the number of permanent or temporary laborers and persons performing the duties of laborers, or both such permanent and temporary laborers and persons, with the annual, monthly, weekly or hourly compensation of such employees.
The city auditor, or officer having similar duties, shall forthwith at the close of each calendar year furnish the mayor with a written report of the money received from estimated receipts applicable to the payment of expenditures of the first six months of the then current fiscal year, with an estimate of such receipts for the last six months of such year and for the next fiscal year.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 31c - Construction Contracts; Certificate as to Availability of Funds; Effect of Certificate Upon Defense of Insufficiency of Appropriations

Section 31C. No contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling, repair or demolition of any public building or public work by any city or town costing more than two thousand dollars shall be deemed to have been made until the auditor or accountant or other officer of the city or town having similar duties has certified thereon that an appropriation in the amount of such contract is available therefor and that an officer or agent of the city, town or awarding authority has been authorized to execute said contract and approve all requisitions and change orders. No order to the contractor for a change in or addition to the work to be performed under a contract subject to this section, whether in the form of a drawing, plan, detail or any other written instruction, unless it is an order which the contractor is willing to perform without any increase in the contract price, shall be deemed to have been given until the auditor or accountant, or other officer of the city or town having similar duties, has certified thereon that an appropriation in the amount of such order is available therefor; but such certificate shall not be construed as an admission by the city or town of its liability to pay for such work. The certificate of the auditor or accountant or other officer of the city or town having similar duties, that an appropriation in the amount of such contract or order is available shall bar any defense by the city or town on the grounds of insufficient appropriation; and any law barring payment in excess of appropriations shall not apply to amounts covered by any certificate under this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 31d - Snow and Ice Removal; Emergency Expenditures; Reporting Requirements

Section 31D. Any city or town may incur liability and make expenditures in any fiscal year in excess of available appropriations for snow and ice removal, provided that such expenditures are approved by the chief administrative officer; provided, however, that the appropriation for such purposes in said fiscal year equaled or exceeded the appropriation for said purposes in the prior fiscal year. Expenditures made under authority of this section shall be certified to the board of assessors and included in the next annual tax rate.
Every city or town shall annually, not later than September fifteenth, report to the division of local services of the department of revenue the total amounts appropriated and expended, including any funding or reimbursements received from the commonwealth, for snow and ice removal in the fiscal year ending on the preceding June thirtieth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 33 - Power of Council to Add to Appropriation; Conditions; Limitations

Section 33. In case of the failure of the mayor to transmit to the city council a written recommendation for an appropriation for any purpose not included in the annual budget, which is deemed necessary by the council, after having been so requested by vote thereof, said council, after the expiration of seven days from such vote, upon its own initiative may make such appropriation by a vote of at least two thirds of its members, and shall in all cases clearly specify the amount to be expended for each particular purpose, but no appropriation may be voted hereunder so as to fix specific salaries of employees under the direction of boards elected by the people, other than the city council.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 33a - Salary Provisions in Budget; Requirements and Limitations

Section 33A. The annual budget shall include sums sufficient to pay the salaries of officers and employees fixed by law or by ordinance. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of any city charter, no ordinance providing for an increase in the salaries or wages of municipal officers or employees shall be enacted except by a two thirds vote of the city council, nor unless it is to be operative for more than three months during the calendar year in which it is passed. No new position shall be created or increase in rate made by ordinance, vote or appointment during the financial year subsequent to the submission of the annual budget unless provision therefor has been made by means of a supplemental appropriation. No ordinance, vote or appointment creating a new position in any year in which a municipal election is held shall be valid and effective unless said ordinance, vote or appointment is operative for more than three months during said municipal election year.