[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Sterling 3-18-1889 by Art. 17, approved 4-9-1889; amended 2-3-1930, approved 3-26-1930; amended 2-12-1951 by Art. 18; 2-4-1957 by Art. 4, approved 4-25-1957; 2-14-1959 by Art. 44, approved 10-6-1959; 10-10-1972 by Art. 16, approved with exception 1-31-1973; 11-12-1973 STM by Art. 7, approved 12-6-1973; 6-27-1977 STM by Art. 6, approved 9-26-1977; adopted 4-25-1988 by Art. 41, approved with deletion 6-14-1988; amended 5-13-1991 by Art. 35, approved 10-1-1991; adopted 8-4-1997 by Art. 16, approved 10-20-1997; adopted 10-24-2005 STM by Art. 9, approved 12-12-2005; 5-17-2010 ATM by Art. 35, approved 10-19-2010; readopted 5-14-2012 ATM by Art. 19, approved 10-11-2012. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Annual Town Meeting for the transaction of Town business shall precede the annual Town election at a time to be held between April 1 and May 31 of any given year.
Notice of Annual and Special Town Meetings shall be given by posting attested copies of the warrant therefor at the Town Hall and Conant Public Library at least seven days before Annual Town Meetings and 14 days before Special Town Meetings. The Select Board may also provide for postings of the warrant in other public places in the Town as well as on the Town's website.
The Moderator shall appoint the Board of Registrars or an adequate number of tellers in the absence of the Registrars, who by use of the voting list shall permit only registered voters to actively participate in any Town Meeting.
The Moderator shall preside over all Town Meetings, regulate the proceedings thereof, decide all questions of order and make public declaration of all votes.
Articles of the warrant shall be acted upon in the order in which they appear unless otherwise determined by a vote of the meeting.
All motions having to do with the expenditure of money shall be presented to the Moderator in writing. Other motions shall be in writing if so directed by the Moderator.
When a question is before the Meeting the following motions shall be received and shall have precedence in the following order, and the first three motions shall be decided without debate:
A. 
To adjourn;
B. 
To lay on the table;
C. 
To move the previous question;
D. 
To postpone to a time certain;
E. 
To amend; and
F. 
To postpone indefinitely.
When a question is put, the Moderator shall declare the vote as it appears to him. If the moderator is unable to decide the vote by the sound of the volume of voices, or if his decision is immediately questioned by seven or more voters rising in their places for that purpose, the Moderator shall determine the vote either by ordering a show of hands or by a standing vote, and he shall appoint tellers to make and return the count, or the Meeting itself may specifically order by proper motion in due order that the vote on any motion shall be taken by a “YES” or “NO” written ballot which shall be prepared by the Town Clerk in printed or mimeographed form in two divisible sections, one section with the word "YES" and the other section with the word "NO." The section showing the desired vote shall be detached by the voter and handed to the teller or put in a box provided for, and the unused section shall be retained by the voter.
Passage of an article on the warrant of other than the Annual Town Meeting which requests the raising and/or transfer and/or appropriation of any sum of money shall require the affirmative vote of 2/3 or better of those present and voting.
No final vote shall be reconsidered unless the person moving the same shall have made a declaration of his intention to do so within one hour after its adoption; and no article in any warrant shall be considered more than once at the same Meeting or adjournment thereof unless authorized by a vote of 2/3 of the voters present. In any event no final vote taken at a Meeting shall be reconsidered at any adjourned meeting unless notice is given before any adjournment. No vote shall ever be reconsidered on a motion to adjourn, to lay on the table, or for the previous question.
No motion, the effect of which would be to dissolve the Meeting, shall be in order until every article in the warrant therefor has been considered and acted upon. This shall not preclude the postponement of consideration of any article to an adjournment of the Meeting to a stated time and place.
On matters requiring a two-thirds vote by statute, a count need not be taken unless the vote so declared by the Moderator is questioned by seven or more voters as provided in MGL c. 39, § 15.
[Amended 11-12-2014 STM by Art. 4, approved 1-13-2015]
All Town boards, commissions, committees, etc., are prohibited from holding public meetings on the day of any state or municipal primary, election or caucus, and any Special or Annual Sterling Town Meeting later than one hour prior to the start of said Town Meeting except for meetings made necessary for consideration of matters before the Town Meeting and which are held at the time and place of said Town Meeting.