Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 85, § 6

Any town which accepts this section or has accepted corresponding provisions of earlier laws, may cause the snow and ice to be removed from its permanent sidewalks constructed of brick, stone, cement, concrete or asphalt, and may provide that the assessors may assess upon the estates abutting on said sidewalks, from which snow or ice has thus been removed, the whole or any part of the cost of such removal; and the provisions of chapter eighty relative to the abatement and collection of betterments shall apply to such assessments.