[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting
of the Town of Middleton 3-15-1949 by Art. 23. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 3-20-1973 ATM by Art. 30; 6-5-2021 ATM by Art.
28]
That part of the Annual Town Meeting for the
purpose of choosing Town officers shall be held on the third Monday
of May. The hours of voting shall be prescribed by the Select Board,
but the polls shall open not later than 7:00 a.m. and close not earlier
than 6:00 p.m.
[Amended 5-9-2017 ATM
by Art. 12]
That part of the Annual Town Meeting for the
purpose of taking action on appropriations and all other business
of the Town (except elections) such as may legally come before such
meeting shall be held on the Tuesday next preceding the Annual Town
Meeting for the election of officers at 7:00 p.m.
[Amended 5-9-2017 ATM
by Art. 12]
No Special Town Meeting shall be called to assemble
earlier than 7:00 p.m. nor later than 9:00 p.m.
[Amended 6-5-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
All warrants for Town Meetings shall be served
by posting up attested copies thereof in at least three public places
in the Town and at such places as the Select Board may designate,
at least seven days before the time of holding such meeting.
When any Town Meeting shall be adjourned, except from day to day, by reason of the regular business meeting being unfinished, the Town Clerk shall cause notice of the time and place of holding such adjourned meeting to be duly posted up in the same places as prescribed in § 56-4, which notice shall also state briefly the business to come before the adjourned meeting and shall include notice of all pending motions.
A.
The presence of 100 registered voters at a Town Meeting
shall constitute a quorum, except for a motion to adjourn which shall
require no quorum; provided, however, that no vote shall be held to
be invalid by reason of the lack of a required quorum, unless it appears
from the records of the Town Clerk that, before the result of the
vote was declared, the question of the presence or lack of a quorum
was duly raised, and that such record shows that the required quorum
was lacking. This subsection shall not apply to those parts of meetings
devoted exclusively to election of officers.
[Amended 5-14-2002 STM by Art. 1]
B.
Whenever any matter has been referred to a committee
and the report of the committee thereon has been presented, and has
been read before the meeting, the report shall be regarded as accepted
and the committee discharged. The recommendations of such report,
if any, shall be treated as motions under the article or articles
to which they relate.
C.
No action shall be taken at any meeting appropriating
or involving the expenditure of money, the creation of a debt, or
the disposal of property of the Town, until the proposition has been
referred to the Finance Committee and report made thereon. The recommendation
or recommendations of the Finance Committee shall be treated as motions
under the article or articles to which they relate.
D.
Town Meetings shall be governed according to the rules of parliamentary
practice as prescribed in Town Meeting Time, A Handbook of Parliamentary
Law, published by the Massachusetts Moderator's Association, and in
Robert's Rules of Order insofar as they are applicable and consistent
with the laws of the commonwealth and these bylaws.
[Added 5-13-2014 ATM
by Art. 43]
E.
The vote on any question before the Town at an Annual
or Special Town Meeting may be taken by secret (Australian) ballot
upon the affirmative vote of at least 25% of the voters present and
voting.
[Amended 5-8-2007 ATM by Art. 32]
F.
On matters requiring a majority or two-thirds vote,
the vote need not be counted or recorded. However, if the vote declared
by the Moderator is immediately doubted by seven or more voters, or
if a four-fifths or nine-tenths vote is required by statute and the
vote is not unanimous, a counted vote shall be ordered. For a counted
vote, the Moderator shall request all persons in the house to be seated
and may appoint tellers.
[Added 5-9-2006 ATM by Art. 6]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Sections (2) and (3)
of Part II, Government of Town Meetings, of this bylaw, regarding
actions on articles in the warrant, were deleted 11-29-2005 STM by
Art. 14. See now § 2-4-6 of the Charter.
[Added 12-5-2006 STM by Art. 3; amended 6-5-2021
ATM by Art. 28]
Any Special or Annual Town Meeting may be held
in a municipality bordering Middleton, upon a vote of the Select Board;
provided, however, that any meeting for the election by ballot of
federal, state or other officers or the determination of other matters
that are to be determined by ballot at an election shall be held within
the geographic limits of the Town.
[Added 5-11-2010 ATM by Art. 9]
The Moderator may, at the first session of the Annual Town Meeting,
or the first Special Town Meeting following the election of the Moderator,
nominate a voter as Deputy Moderator, subject to election by the Town
Meeting, to serve throughout the Moderator's term of office as temporary
Moderator with all the powers and duties of the Moderator, in the
event of the Moderator's absence, recusal, or disability, or a mid-term
vacancy in the office of Town Moderator, until such vacancy is filled
according to law.
