The legislative powers of the Town shall continue
to be exercised by a Town Meeting open to all voters.
The Moderator, elected as provided in Section 3-3, shall preside at all sessions of the Town Meeting. Annually, at the
first session of the Spring Town Meeting, the Moderator
shall appoint a Deputy Moderator to serve as Acting Moderator in the
event of the temporary absence or disability of the Moderator. The
appointment of a Deputy Moderator shall be subject to ratification
by the Town Meeting. If a permanent vacancy in the position of Moderator should occur, the Deputy Moderator
shall serve as Moderator until the next scheduled Town Election at which time a Moderator shall be elected to serve a full
term.
The Moderator, at Town Meetings, shall regulate
the proceedings, decide all questions of order, make public declaration
of all votes and exercise such additional powers and duties as may
be authorized by general law, by this Charter, by by-law
or by other vote of the Town Meeting.
(a)
In General — Subject to the provisions of this Charter and such by-laws or other Town Meeting votes regarding
committees as may be provided, the Moderator shall appoint, for fixed
terms, the members of such committees of the Town Meeting,
special or standing, as may be provided to a Town Meeting
Committee by the by-law or vote establishing it. Each such committee,
when acting within the scope of its authority, shall have a right
to examine the pertinent records of any Town department and to consult with, at reasonable times, any Town officer, employee, or agent.
(b)
Warrant Advisory Committee – Members of the Warrant Advisory
Committee shall be appointed by the Town Moderator. The
number of members, the term of office, and any other conditions of
appointment or service as may be deemed necessary or desirable, shall
be as established by by-law. The subject matter of all proposals to
be submitted to a Town Meeting by warrant articles shall
be referred to the Warrant Advisory Committee upon receipt by the
Board of Selectmen. The Warrant Advisory Committee shall report its
recommendations on every article contained in a Town Meeting
Warrant, in writing. The recommendations shall be published both electronically and in print. Before preparing its recommendations,
the Warrant Advisory Committee shall hold one or more public hearings
to permit public discussion of the subject matter of all articles
contained in the Warrant.[1]
The Town Meeting shall meet in regular session
at least twice in each calendar year. The first such meeting, shall
be deemed the Annual Town Meeting and shall be held during
March, April, May, or June, on a date fixed by by-law. It shall be
primarily concerned with the determination of matters involving the
expenditure of Town funds including, but not limited
to, the adoption of an annual operating budget for all Town
departments, for the purpose of electing officers, and for
the determination of all other matters to be decided by ballot of
the voters. The second such meeting, the powers of which
shall also be deemed to be those of an Annual Town Meeting,
except that it shall not include the election of officers or the determination
of other matters to be decided by ballots of voters,
shall be held during the last four calendar months, on a date fixed
by by-law.
Special Meetings: The Town Meeting shall also convene
in special session; (a) by call of the Board of Selectmen, or (b)
by petition of at least two hundred registered voters of the town.
Every Town Meeting shall be called by a warrant
issued by the Board of Selectmen, which shall state the time and place
at which the meeting is to convene and, by separate articles, the
subject matter to be acted upon. The publication of the warrant for
every Town Meeting shall be in accordance with a Town by-law governing such matters.
(a)
Initiation – The Board of Selectmen shall receive at any time
all petitions addressed to it which request the submission of any
matter to the Town Meeting and which are filed by: (1)
any elected Town officer, (2) any multiple member
body acting by a majority of its members, (3) any ten voters, or (4) the Town Manager.
(b)
Referral – Twenty-four hours following receipt of any proposed
warrant article the Board of Selectmen shall cause a copy of the proposal
to be delivered to the chairperson of the Warrant Advisory Committee,
a copy to be posted on the Town bulletin board and such
other distribution of each such proposal as may be required by by-law.
(c)
Inclusion on Warrant – The Board of Selectmen shall include
on the warrant for a regular Town Meeting the subject
matter of all petitions which have been received by it thirty or more days prior to the date fixed by by-law for the Town Meeting to convene. Whenever a Special Town Meeting
is to be called, the Board of Selectmen shall give notice at least
forty-five days prior to the calling of a Special Town Meeting by publication in a local newspaper and electronically of such intention, except as otherwise
provided by statute. The Board of Selectmen shall include in the warrant
for such Special Town Meeting the subject matter of all
petitions, which are received at its office on or before 1:00 PM on
the thirtieth day prior to the date of the Special Town Meeting.
Every Town officer, the chairperson of each multiple member body, the head of each department and the
head of each division within the said departments shall attend all
sessions of the Town Meeting for the purpose of providing Town Meeting with information pertinent to matters appearing
in the warrant.
In the event any Town officer, chairperson of a multiple member body, department head or division head is
to be absent due to illness or other reasonable cause, such person
shall designate a deputy to attend to represent the office, multiple member body, department or division. If any person
designated to attend the Town Meeting under this section
is not a voter, such person shall, notwithstanding, have
a right to address the meeting for the purpose of compliance with
this section. At least once annually the Town Manager
shall provide written notice regarding the provisions of this section
to the members of all Town multi-member bodies.
The Town Clerk shall serve as Clerk of the Town Meeting, give notice of all adjourned sessions thereof,
record its proceedings, and perform such additional duties in connection
therewith as may be provided by general law, by this Charter, by by-law, or by other Town Meeting vote. Such records
shall be made available in the office of the Town Clerk
for examination by the public within ten days after their
adoption.
The Town Meeting may, by by-law, establish and
from time to time amend, revise or repeal rules to govern the conduct
of all Town Meetings.
