Title 45, Title 45 and Cities

The town clerk is clerk of the town council. Whenever any town clerk does not appear at the time and place appointed for the meeting of the town council, the town council may appoint a clerk pro tempore, who, after being duly engaged, shall do and perform all the duties enjoined …

In case of vacancy in the office of any officer whom a town or town council is authorized to elect, the town council may elect a suitable person to fill the vacancy.

Whenever it satisfactorily appears to the town council that the town clerk is disqualified, from any cause whatsoever, to exercise and perform the several duties of his or her office, it may and shall appoint a town clerk pro tempore, who is qualified as provided in this chapter,…

In case of the incapacity of any surveyor of highways, or of any tyrannical and unwarrantable exercise by the surveyor of the powers of his or her office, the town council may, after giving the surveyor notice that the council deems reasonable, either suspend or altogether remove…

In addition to the other officers that the town council of any town is authorized to elect, the town council of any town may elect one or more town auditors, prescribe their duties by ordinance, and fix their compensation.

(a) Town and city councils may, from time to time, make and ordain all ordinances and regulations for their respective towns and cities, not repugnant to law, which they deem necessary for the safety of their inhabitants from fire, firearms, and fireworks; to prevent persons stan…

(a) Every city or town, may, by ordinance require each person, corporation, partnership or other business operating a vending machine service for profit, prior to transacting or conducting business from any site within a city or town, to obtain without charge a registration certi…

The General Assembly declares that the words “community service” which appear throughout this chapter shall now be substituted with and referred to as “community restitution”.

Cities and towns may, by ordinance, define as in violation of illegal dumping ordinances those people whose vehicles, either owned or leased, are used to carry materials to a place at which they are illegally dumped. Owners of title of leased vehicles and owners of vehicles that …

Town and city councils may impose penalties for the violation of ordinances and regulations, not exceeding in amount five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisonment not exceeding thirty (30) days in some jail or house of correction, and/or require restitution in cases involving prope…

(a) The city of Warwick may impose penalties for each violation of chapter 8 of the compiled ordinances of the city of Warwick not exceeding the sum of six hundred dollars ($600), or by imprisonment of not more than six (6) months in jail or in a house of correction, unless the p…

(a) The cities and towns may promulgate all ordinances and regulations to implement a wastewater pretreatment program. Those ordinances and regulations may include the authority to: (1) Impose penalties of up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per day per violation for eac…

The several towns and cities in this state are authorized and empowered to make and ordain any ordinances, not repugnant to the constitution and laws of this state or of the United States, that they deem necessary to prevent and punish indecent intoxication in those towns and cit…

Town councils are authorized to fix the names of the various localities within their respective towns.

No railroad corporation shall affix a name to a new station or change the present name of any existing station, until after the new name has been approved by the town council of the town in which the station is located. Every railway company violating the provisions of this secti…

No ordinance or regulation, made by a town council, shall impose or at any time be construed to continue to impose, any penalty for the commission or omission of any act punishable as a crime, misdemeanor, or offense, by the statute law of the state.

All ordinances, bylaws and regulations shall be printed and published in any manner that the town or city council directs; provided, that the city or town clerk delivers at least one copy of all ordinances including all amendments to those ordinances to the state law library and …

Town and city councils may appoint all necessary officers for the execution of their ordinances, bylaws, and regulations, may define their duties, and fix their compensation, where provisions are not made by law, and may remove any of these officers at pleasure, but no expense of…

(a) The Woonsocket city council is authorized to enact an ordinance to terminate the water supply service of any person assessed by the city of Woonsocket for water service for nonpayment of sewer user fees, charges, and assessments. The ordinance provides for the notification of…

Every town clerk shall, within thirty (30) days of the time of being sworn into office, give bond to the town treasurer of the town, with sufficient surety, in the sum that the town council prescribes, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the clerk’s office.

Town clerks may, by and with the approbation of the town council, appoint a deputy, whenever the appointment is necessary. The appointed deputy has all the powers and can perform all the duties which are incumbent on the town clerk, being so qualified by taking the oath of office…

In addition to the deputy town clerk provided for in § 45-7-2, the town clerk may appoint additional deputy town clerks empowered only to accept the registration of voters.

Every town clerk appointing a deputy as provided in § 45-7-2 is responsible for the good conduct of the deputy and may take bond with surety for any penalty that the clerk may require, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of the office for the time during which th…

The fees of town clerks, and of other officers who perform the same duties, are as follows: (a) For receiving and filing a certificate of attachment of real estate ......................................... $ .35 (b) For receiving and filing an account under the lien law .........…

The town clerk or city clerk of any city or town may, with approval of the town council or city council, photograph, microphotograph, and/or microfilm all or any part of the records kept by the town clerk or city clerk or recorder of deeds in a manner and on film or paper that co…

Every town treasurer, before he or she proceeds to discharge the duties of the treasurer’s office, shall give bond to the town for which the treasurer is appointed, in the sum and with the surety that is satisfactory to the town council, conditioned for the faithful discharge of …

Town treasurers shall, at the annual town meeting, make a statement of their accounts in writing, showing the several sums received and paid by them during the previous year, and showing, in account details, the purpose for which the payments were made.

The treasurer’s accounts shall be settled annually by the town council, or in any other way that the towns may severally direct. When settled, the treasurer shall retain all of his or her vouchers or receipts for the payments charged in the account, to be kept on file with the ot…

Every person paying taxes on real or personal estate in the town is entitled to certified copies of a statement of accounts, and of any vouchers, from the town treasurer, upon payment to the treasurer of the fees for copying and certifying allowed to town clerks for these service…

Every town treasurer who neglects to make the annual statement as required in § 45-8-2 shall forfeit and pay to the town the sum of one hundred dollars ($100) for every instance of neglect.

Town treasurers may, by and with the approval of the town council, appoint a deputy whenever the appointment is necessary, and the deputy so appointed has all the powers and can perform all the duties which are incumbent on the town treasurer, being qualified by taking the oath o…

Every town treasurer appointing a deputy as provided in § 45-8-6 is liable for any misconduct, neglect, or default of the deputy, and shall take bond with surety satisfactory to the town council in any amount of penalty that the treasurer may require for the benefit of the town, …

It shall be the policy of the state to provide a mechanism for the state to work with cities, towns, and fire districts undergoing financial distress that threatens the fiscal well-being, public safety, and welfare of such cities, towns, and fire districts or other cities, towns,…

(a) Notwithstanding any general or special law or city or town ordinance to the contrary, this section shall apply upon abolition of a receiver established under this chapter, where petition was filed under Chapter 9 of Title 11 of the United States Code, upon a determination, in…

(a) Notwithstanding any general or special law, or city or town ordinance, or rule or regulation to the contrary, this section shall apply upon the abolition of the fiscal overseer, budget commission, or receiver where the receiver has not filed a petition for Chapter 9, Title 11…

(a) No official of a city, town, or fire district that is subject to the jurisdiction of a fiscal overseer, budget commission, or receiver, except in the case of an emergency involving the health and safety of the people or the people’s property declared by the city or town counc…

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, unless otherwise specified, the provisions of this chapter shall supersede any conflicting provisions of the city’s, town’s, or fire district’s charter, local ordinance, rule or regulation.

No city, town, or fire district shall be placed into, or made subject to, either voluntarily or involuntarily, a state judicial receivership proceeding, and nothing in this act shall in any way pre-empt or restrict the powers and remedies available to a state-appointed receiver u…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to pledge the credit and assets of the state to pay the obligations or indebtedness, including bonded indebtedness, of any municipality or fire district.

Insofar as the provisions of this chapter are inconsistent with the provisions of any charter, other laws, or ordinances, general, special, or local, or of any rule or regulation of the state or any municipality or fire district, the provisions of this chapter are controlling.

This chapter being necessary for the welfare of the state and its inhabitants shall be liberally construed in order to effectuate its purposes.

The provisions of this chapter are severable, and if any of its provisions are held unconstitutional or invalid for any other reason by any court of competent jurisdiction, the decision of the court shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions. In carrying out the p…

The receiver shall be entitled to exercise all powers under the general laws, this chapter, the state constitution, any special act, any charter provision or ordinance that any elected official or any body of the city, town, or fire district may exercise, acting separately or joi…

(a) No elected official of a city, town, or fire district that is subject to the jurisdiction of a fiscal overseer, budget commission, or receiver, except in the case of an emergency involving the health and safety of the people or the people’s property declared by the city or to…

As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: (1) “Budget commission” means the budget and review commission established under §§ 45-9-5 and 45-9-6. (2) “Charter” means the home rule charter or the …

In the event a receiver is appointed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, powers of the fire district governing body or powers of the city or town council exercisable by resolution or ordinance shall be exercised by order of the receiver.