[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of
the Town of Westwood as Arts. 2 and 3 of the General Bylaws. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
The Annual Town Meeting for the election of
officers and for the balloting on all matters which are to be determined
by official ballot shall be held on the day provided in the Town Charter.
The polls shall open at 7:00 a.m. and shall remain open until 8:00
p.m.
[Amended 5-6-2013 ATM by Art. 18; 5-5-2014 ATM by Art. 28]
All business, except the election of officers and determination
of such matters as by law are required or permitted to be upon the
ballot, shall be considered at an adjournment thereof, as provided
in the Town Charter. There shall also be a second business session
Annual Town Meeting held on the second Monday in November unless said
day shall fall on a state holiday in which case the meeting shall
be held on the next business day, which meeting shall be an "Annual
Town Meeting" for purposes of the General Laws; provided, however,
that the Board of Selectmen may, at its discretion, cancel said Fall
Annual Town Meeting, no later than September 15 in any year, so long
as no more than 10 petitioned articles have been submitted for inclusion
on the warrant of said Fall Annual Town Meeting, as set forth in the
Charter, Section 2-6-1. Business sessions shall be called for 7:30
p.m.
[Amended 5-6-2013 ATM by Art. 18]
Every Town Meeting shall be called by a warrant, directed by
the Board of Selectmen to a constable or other duly appointed person,
which shall be served by posting attested copies thereof online and
in four public places equally distributed among the four precincts,
and at least seven days before the time stated in the warrant for
holding an Annual Town Meeting or at least 14 days before the time
stated in the warrant for holding a Special Town Meeting.
[Amended 1977 ATM by Art. 43; 5-6-2013 ATM by Art.
18]
The Finance and Warrant Commission shall distribute at least
30 days prior to the business session a summary of each article contained
in the warrant of the Annual Town Meeting to the listed residence
of each voter of the Town. A copy of the complete warrant shall be
included in the Finance and Warrant Commission report for the Annual
Town Meeting and shall also be distributed to the listed residence
of each voter of the Town prior to such annual Meeting. Prior to each
Special Town Meeting, the Finance and Warrant Commission shall distribute
a summary of each article contained in the warrant for said meeting
to the listed residence of each voter of the Town. The summaries and
reports required hereunder shall be posted on the Town's website
and copies made available at the Town Clerk's office; provided,
however, that while it is the intent of this bylaw that every effort
shall be made to distribute and post the summaries and reports as
set forth herein, failure to do so shall not invalidate the action
of the Town Meeting to which they relate.
The constable or person who serves a warrant
for a Town Meeting shall, immediately after making service thereof,
deliver to the Town Clerk the original warrant, with his return endorsed
thereon stating fully the manner in which he served the same.
No business shall come before the meeting without
an article for that purpose being inserted in the warrant, which shall
set forth the subject matter to be considered and acted upon at such
meeting. The name of the principal sponsor shall appear with all articles,
to be printed following said article in the warrant, and, in the case
of a petition article, shall include the address of the first petitioner.
[Amended 5-6-2013 ATM by Art. 18]
As provided by law (MGL c. 39, § 10),
200 registered voters may petition the Selectmen to call a Special
Town Meeting, 100 registered voters may insert an article in the warrant
for any Special Town Meeting, and 10 registered voters may insert
an article in the warrant for an Annual Town Meeting.
[Added 5-6-2013 ATM by Art. 18]
A.
Any five voters of the Town may submit to the Board of Selectmen
or the Finance and Warrant Commission, not less than 30 days prior
to the closing of the warrant, a proposed warrant article and shall
designate a "lead petitioner" for the purposes of this section.
B.
The Board of Selectmen or the Finance and Warrant Commission shall
include the proposed article on an agenda at a regular or special
meeting for discussion and provide the lead petitioner with nonbinding
guidance no later than seven days prior to the close of the warrant.
C.
Failure to submit an article under this section shall not prevent the filing of a petition under § 138-7; provided, however, that any guidance provided to the petitioners under this section shall not be binding on the Finance and Warrant Commission or Board of Selectmen in the event that a petition is submitted under § 138-7.
[Amended 5-6-2013 ATM by Art. 18]
Copies of all articles submitted for insertion
in the warrant for any Annual or Special Town Meeting shall be forwarded
forthwith by the Selectmen to the Finance and Warrant Commission for
its consideration.
Copies of the vote adjourning any Town Meeting,
except the stated adjournment of the Annual Town Meeting, shall be
posted by the Town Clerk in at least two public places as soon as
practicable after the adjournment. The notice shall include a brief
statement of the business remaining to be acted upon.
Immediately after the call to order, the warrant
for the Town Meeting shall be read by the Moderator, unless the meeting
votes that the reading of the articles in the warrant be dispensed
with.
No person whose name does not appear upon the
list of registered voters shall be admitted to the hall where a Town
Meeting is being held, except with the permission of the Moderator.
The Moderator shall determine the bounds of the hall.
The number of registered voters necessary to
constitute a quorum at any Town Meeting held for the transaction of
municipal business shall be 175, but a smaller number may adjourn
any meeting to a stated time and place. The determination and announcement
of a quorum present by the Moderator shall be conclusive upon the
question of fact, unless determination be doubted, in which case a
count shall be taken and recorded.
The Moderator shall preside at the meeting and
shall preserve order and decorum. The Moderator may appoint a voter
to perform the duties of Moderator while he addresses the meeting,
or in case he is called away from the meeting.
The Moderator may speak to points of order in
preference to other voters and he shall decide all such questions.
Every question of order with the decision thereon shall be entered
by the Clerk in his records of the meeting.
A.
Majority vote. Unless otherwise provided by law or
bylaw, all motions shall require a majority vote of the voters present
and voting. A motion may be withdrawn by the mover if no objection
is made.
B.
Resolutions. Resolutions shall be presented in writing
to the Moderator and entertained at his discretion.
C.
Order of business. All articles in the warrant shall
be taken up in order of their arrangement unless otherwise decided
by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting. No motion to lay
on the table shall be entertained at any time by the Moderator.
D.
Motions under the article; negative and affirmative
motions.
(1)
The recommendation of the Finance and Warrant Commission
shall be the first motion under an article of the warrant and shall
be considered the main motion.
[Amended 5-6-2013ATM by Art. 18]
(2)
A motion for indefinite postponement shall be equivalent
to a motion that no action be taken under the article and such motion
may not be amended.
(3)
If the vote of the Town shall defeat the motion of
indefinite postponement, favorable action on the subject matter of
the article shall require a motion to that effect.
(4)
Any motion shall be reduced to writing if the Moderator
so requests.
E.
Permitted reports. No reports of committees shall
be in order unless made under an article in the warrant which indicates
the subject to be reported upon, or the report of the Finance and
Warrant Commission on an article indicates the subject to be reported
upon.
[Amended 5-6-2013 ATM by Art. 18]
F.
Motion to dissolve. No motion, the effect of which
would be to dissolve the meeting, shall be in order until the subject
matter of every article in the warrant for such meeting has been finally
disposed of, but this shall not preclude an adjournment of the meeting
to another time and place.
[Amended 2001 ATM by Art. 24]
A motion to reconsider an article may only occur
on the same night the article was voted and shall require a two-thirds
vote of those present and voting and shall not be made again.
A.
Every person desiring to speak shall rise, respectfully
address the Chair and wait until he is recognized by the Moderator,
and shall stand while speaking unless the Moderator directs otherwise.
He shall confine himself to the question under consideration and avoid
personalities.
B.
No person shall address the meeting without first
being recognized by the Moderator, and all persons shall, at the request
of the Moderator, be silent. When two or more persons shall rise to
speak at the same time, the Moderator shall name the one entitled
to speak.
C.
Without first obtaining leave of the meeting, no person
shall speak more than twice on any question except to correct a mistake
or misstatement, or to make an explanation, and no person shall speak
more than 10 minutes at any one time without being again recognized
by the Moderator.
D.
Limiting debate. Any motion to move the question or
otherwise limit debate shall require a two-thirds vote of those present
and voting.
E.
Any person who is employed as an attorney to speak
on any matter under discussion at a Town Meeting shall disclose the
fact of his employment before speaking thereon.
F.
Voice vote. When a question is put, even if the motion
requires a two-thirds affirmative vote to carry, the sense of the
meeting shall be determined by the voices of the voters, and the Moderator
shall first announce the vote as it appears to him by the sound, unless
otherwise provided by general law.
[Amended 2001 ATM by Art. 25]
G.
Standing, electronic, or written vote. If the Moderator
is unable to decide by the sound of the voices, or if his announcement
of the vote is thereupon doubted by seven or more voters raising their
hands for that purpose, the Moderator shall without debate determine
the vote by ordering a standing vote, and he may appoint tellers to
make and return the count, or he may order a vote by electronic voting
or secret written ballot.
[Amended 5-6-2019 ATM by Art. 17]
H.
Secret ballot. An electronic vote or written ballot,
to be taken by a "yes" and "no" secret ballot, and in such manner
as the Moderator shall determine, may be ordered on any motion by
a majority of voters present and voting.
[Amended 5-6-2019 ATM by Art. 17]
I.
Dividing the question. If a motion is susceptible
of division, it shall be divided and the vote on each part taken separately
if a majority of those present and voting so vote, or if the Moderator,
in his discretion, so rules.
In the conduct of all Town Meetings not prescribed
by law or by these bylaws, the Moderator shall be guided by the rules
of practice contained in Johnson, Trustman and Wadsworth, Town Meeting
Time, A Handbook of Parliamentary Law, Little, Brown and Company.
