Chapter 53: Unincorporated Places

I. All places, not incorporated as towns, which shall be required to pay any public tax are invested with the powers of towns relating to the choice of moderator, clerk, supervisors of the check list, and selectmen; and all provisions of law applicable to towns and town officers are extended to such places and their officers so far as they relate to meetings for the choice of such officers and to their election, and so far as they relate to the election of county, state and national officers.

II. No unorganized town or unincorporated place, including any such town or place which was previously organized and the organization of which has since been abandoned, shall hereafter become incorporated so as to become vested with the powers of towns, except for the purposes of election of local officers or state, national or county officers, unless such incorporation shall be granted by the general court.

The commissioners of any county in which there may be any unincorporated place may, upon petition of 5 or more reputable persons resident in such place, appoint such persons as they may deem proper as police officers, for the purposes and with the powers herein set forth. Such police officers shall hold their offices during the pleasure of the county commissioners by whom they have been appointed, not exceeding a term of 3 years.

A copy of the record of the appointment of such police officers shall be filed with the clerk of the superior court for the county in which the place where they may act as such officers is situated; and the filing of such record with their oath of office shall constitute the persons named therein police officers within and for the unincorporated place specified in such record.

Every such officer when on duty, except as a detective, shall wear some badge in plain view with the word "Police" inscribed thereon.

The powers and duties of such officers shall be the same as those of police officers of towns.

The compensation of such police officers shall be provided by the persons petitioning for their appointment. Their duties shall cease upon notice to that effect, filed by the county commissioners in like manner as the record of appointment, and upon due notice thereof to such officers.

Any instrument, paper or act which is required by law to be recorded in the office of the clerk of a town, the identity of which town is determinable by the location of a person's residence or place of business, the location where personal property is kept, or any similar standard of location, may, if such location is in an unincorporated or unorganized place having no clerk, be recorded in the office of the register of deeds for the county in which such unincorporated or unorganized place is situated; and any such recording shall be valid and lawful to the same extent as if it had been recorded in the office of the proper town clerk.