Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 41, § 96 (2026)

Police officers; appointment; tenure; discharge

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 96. In any town in which such appointments are not subject to chapter thirty-one, they shall be made annually or for a term of years not exceeding three years, as the selectmen shall determine, and the selectmen may remove such officers for cause at any time during such appointment after a hearing.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 8 cases, 1925–2018 · leading case: Massachusetts Coalition of Police, Local 165 v. Town of Northborough, 620 N.E.2d 765 (Mass. 1993).

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Massachusetts Coalition of Police, Local 165 v. Town of Northborough, 620 N.E.2d 765 (Mass. 1993). · cites it 3× “931, 932 (1990), holding that the decision of the board of selectmen of Ayer not to reappoint a police officer appointed under G. L. c. 41, § 96, was nondelegable. The union in the present case does not argue that the Selectmen of Ayer case was wrongly decided.”

Bd. of Selectmen of Ayer v. Sullivan, 558 N.E.2d 1 (Mass. App. Ct. 1990). · cites it 4× “In February, 1986, the board of selectmen (board) of the town of Ayer (town) appointed John Sullivan as a police officer pursuant to the provisions of G. L. c. 41, § 96, as appearing in St. 1977, c.”

City of Lynn v. Labor Relations Comm'n, 681 N.E.2d 1234 (Mass. App. Ct. 1997). “931 (1990) (selectmen’s decision not to renew the contract of an officer serving pursuant to G. L. c. 41, § 96, for a one-year period, subject to annual renewal, was not subject to arbitration, despite the fact that the decision not to renew was made in the context of a…”

Sheriff of Middlesex Cnty. v. Int'l Bhd. of Corr. Officers, Local R1-193, 821 N.E.2d 512 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005). “931, 932 (1990) (holding nondelegable the right of the town’s selectmen to appoint police officers under G. L. c. 41, § 96); Boston v. Boston Police Patrolmen’s Assn.”

Jones v. Town of Wayland, 358 N.E.2d 822 (Mass. App. Ct. 1976). “14 We are told in the defendants’ brief that the board acted under the provisions of G. L. c. 41, § 96. 15 The judge was not required to believe the uncorroborated testimony of one of the selectmen, given four years after the event, that “after Mr.”

Chief of Police of Westford v. Town of Westford, 313 N.E.2d 443 (Mass. 1974). “G. L. c. 41, § 96. *532 The regulation embodied in the collective bargaining agreement at issue here is sufficiently general.”

Adams v. Selectmen of Northbridge, 149 N.E. 152 (Mass. 1925). · cites it 3× “These statutes, however, do not repeal the general authority conferred upon selectmen by G. L. c. 41, § 96, to appoint police officers.”

Smith v. Town of West Bridgewater (D. Mass. 2018). · cites it 5× “May 2015 Reappointment The appointment and removal of SPOs is governed by Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 41, § 96 , which provides: In any town in which such appointments are not subject to chapter thirty-one, they shall be made annually or for a term of years not exceeding three years, as…”

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