Town of Belchertown, MA Chapter 72 Meetings

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting of the Town of Belchertown 5-13-1985 by Art. 17 as Ch. III, Art. 1 of the 1985 Compendium of Bylaws. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 72-1 Annual Town Meeting.

[Amended 5-13-1986 ATM by Art. 29; 5-13-1989 ATM by Art. 7]

The Annual Town Meeting for appropriations shall be held on the second Monday in May of each year. The Annual Town Meeting for the election of officers shall be held on the third Monday in May of each year.

§ 72-2 Posting of warrants.

[Amended 5-11-1998 ATM by Art. 13; 5-13-2002 ATM by Art. 15; 5-13-2019 ATM by Art. 24]

Notice of every Town Meeting and Election shall be given by posting an attested copy of the warrant calling the same on the Town's website and the second floor bulletin board in Lawrence Memorial Hall not less than seven days before the day appointed for an Annual Town Meeting, Election or Primary, not less than 14 days before the day appointed for a Special Town Meeting, and the return of the officer, stating the manner of notice, shall be endorsed on the warrant.

§ 72-3 Quorum; method of voting.

[Amended 5-13-1986 ATM by Art. 28]

A. At all town meetings, except such parts of meetings as are devoted exclusively to the election of town officers, 75 legal voters shall be necessary to constitute a quorum.

B. If the Moderator, or the meeting by vote, so orders, the vote on any question before the meeting shall be taken by the use of the checklist.

C. The Moderator may take all votes requiring a two-thirds majority in the same manner in which he/she or she conducts the taking of a vote when a majority vote is required.

[Added 5-12-1997 ATM by Art. 16]

§ 72-4 Articles to be acted on in order.

All the articles in the warrant shall be acted upon in the order of their arrangement, unless the meeting by vote otherwise determines.

§ 72-5 Reports to be in writing.

All reports, motions and resolutions submitted for the consideration of the meeting involving the expenditure of money shall be in writing. Any report, resolution or motion shall be reduced to writing if the Moderator so directs.

§ 72-6 Limitations on speakers.

No person shall address the meeting unless recognized by the Moderator, nor speak more than once on the same subject to the exclusion of any other who may desire to speak.

§ 72-7 Amendments.

In case of motions to amend or to fill in blanks, the one expressing the largest sum or the longest time shall be put first, and an affirmative vote thereon shall be a negative vote on any smaller sum or shorter time.

§ 72-8 Discharge of committees.

When a report of a committee is placed in the hands of the Moderator, it shall be deemed to be properly before the meeting for action thereon, and a vote to accept the same shall discharge the committee. For the adoption of the recommendations of the committee, however, a specific vote shall be required. No appropriation shall be made under the report of any committee of the town until the matter has been considered and reported upon by the Finance Committee.

§ 72-9 All articles to be acted on.

No motion, the effect of which would be to dissolve the meeting, shall be in order until every article in the warrant has been duly considered and acted upon, but this shall not preclude the postponement of the consideration of any article to an adjournment of the meeting at a stated time.

§ 72-10 Rules of order.

The Moderator shall conduct all town meetings, not specifically provided by law or these bylaws, in accordance with the rules of practice contained in Robert's Rules of Order, as most recently amended.

§ 72-11 Meetings outside geographic limits of town.

[Added 5-12-1998 ATM by Art. 33]

Town Meetings may be held outside the geographic limits of the town; 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.

§ 72-12 Reconsideration of articles.

[Added 5-10-1999 ATM by Art. 23]

A. After any article in the warrant has been acted upon and disposed of or passed over and so disposed of, such article shall not be reconsidered at the same session of an Annual or Special Town Meeting except by a vote of 2/3 of the registered voters present and voting on a motion to reconsider.

B. A motion to reconsider may be made by either the prevailing or losing side but may not be entertained by the Moderator unless made not later than the same session of the meeting at which all action is completed on the article under which the vote to be reconsidered has taken place.

C. No vote may be reconsidered twice unless such vote has been materially amended during its first reconsideration.