It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows

SECTION 1. Sections 3, 4, 9 and 10 of the act, passed at the January session A.D. 1942, entitled "An Act to Incorporate the Glendale Fire District," approved March 17, 1942, are hereby amended to read as follows:

SEC. 3. The annual meeting of the Glendale Fire District shall be held each September on the first Saturday after Labor Day in each year. All persons possessing the qualifications set forth in section 2 of this act shall be entitled to vote at said meetings.

The clerk of said district ("District Clerk" or "Clerk") or the chairperson of the board of fire wardens of the district ("The Chairperson") shall at least seven (7) days before each annual or special meeting of the eligible voters, give notice of the same by posting conspicuously in public places within the limits of said district not less than three (3) printed notices setting forth the time and place of such meeting. Whenever the subject of ordering a tax is to be acted upon, the same shall be mentioned in such notice, unless it be an annual meeting.

A quorum of any annual meeting or special meeting shall be twenty-five (25) eligible voters. When a quorum is present at any meeting, the vote of the majority of the eligible voters present and voting will decide any question brought before such meeting, unless the vote of a greater number is required by law or pursuant to this charter.

All meetings whether annual or special, shall be held at some suitable place, accessible to the public, within the limits of the fire district, unless unusual circumstances require that the meeting be held outside the district.

SEC. 4. Said taxable inhabitants at each annual meeting, and at any other meetings, when vacancies occur, may elect officers to serve according to the by-laws, or until the next annual meeting and until others be chosen in their stead; which officers shall consist of a moderator, clerk, treasurer, and 5 assessors, whose duties and powers within said district shall be such as like officers of towns in this state have in their respective towns. They may also elect 5 fire wardens and any other needed officers. There shall be a collector of taxes who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the operating committee composed of the fire wardens, and whose duties and powers within said district shall be such as like collectors of taxes in this state have in their respective towns.

To be eligible to hold an office in the fire district, a person shall be an eligible voter. In order to avoid any conflict of interest, the chief, officers of the fire and rescue crews, and any firefighter or rescue personnel shall not be eligible to hold any office in the district while serving in any such position. The members of the auditing committee shall hold no other office in the fire district.

SEC. 9. The fire wardens appointed by said district shall constitute the operating committee of said district and shall supervise the functions and operations thereof, including selection of the fire chief, the purchasing of apparatus and supplies, and shall perform such duties and have such powers within said district, not inconsistent with law. They shall have control of all fire and rescue apparatus belonging to the district. This control may be delegated to the chief, or his designee, for the purpose of providing fire and rescue service. Only the board of fire wardens or the chief, or his/her designee, may determine when the fire and rescue apparatus shall leave the station for fire, rescue emergencies and practice drills, within or outside the district.

The fire chief (The Chief) shall be appointed by the board of fire wardens and shall serve at the pleasure of said board until he/she is replaced or resigns. A deputy chief may act in place of the chief in the absence of the chief or the inability of the chief to act. If there is more than one deputy chief, their respective order of command shall be specified at the time of their appointment. The performance of the chief shall be reviewed annually and his appointment be reaffirmed by the board of fire wardens, meeting, to the extent permitted by law, in executive session. If a vacancy occurs in the position of chief, for whatever reason, persons interested in becoming chief, will so notify the board of fire wardens, in writing, at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting of said board. Any applications must be in accord with conditions stipulated by the board in a formal posting.

Firefighter and rescue personnel will be appointed by the chief and will be subject to his direction and control. All appointees must meet any established legal requirements for firefighter and rescue personnel and any further requirements of the fire district.

The fire wardens may order in time of fire such buildings to be pulled down or blown up as they shall judge necessary to stop the progress of the fire; and if it shall happen that the pulling down or blowing up of any such buildings, by direction as aforesaid, shall be the occasion of stopping the progress of such fire, or if the fire stops before it comes to the same, the owner shall be reasonably paid therefore by a tax upon said district, the amount of which tax shall be adjudged by the superior court of Providence and Bristol counties, which court is hereby authorized and empowered on application to them, made in behalf of such owners, with or without a jury trial as such owners may request, to adjudge as to the amount necessary, and cause the same to be certified to the district, and such tax shall be assessed and collected as other taxes are herein required to be assessed and collected in said district. But no building in which any fire shall first break out or begin shall be paid for under this provision.

SEC. 10. Said taxable inhabitants may hold special meetings which, as well as the annual meetings, shall be notified in such manner as they shall prescribe, and it shall be the duty of the clerk to call a special meeting upon written application signed by ten percent (10%) or more of such inhabitants; and whenever the subject of ordering a tax is to be acted on, the same shall be mentioned in the notice, unless it be an annual meeting.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage, and all acts, parts of acts, and by-laws inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.