The registered voters of the Town shall annually on the fourth Wednesday in May, vote in an all-day Town Referendum for the purpose of voting for the purpose of ordering a tax, making appropriations and transacting other such business relating to the finances of the Town. The polling hours and locations of such Referendum shall be determined by the Board of Canvassers. The Financial Town Referendum shall be publicly noticed and shall take place in the same manner as provided by law in respect to local referenda.
A vote of the registered voters at the Financial Town Referendum shall be required to authorize the Town to raise by a tax upon real and personal estate such sums of money as may be required to pay Town debts and to defray the necessary charges and expenses of the Town or to assess, levy or impose any other taxes for the support of the Town which legally may be assessed, levied or imposed under any general or special laws which are now or may hereafter be in existence.
The Town Clerk shall cause the registered voters of the Town to be notified of every Town Referendum which shall legally take place. The notice to the registered voters prescribed by law shall be given by the Town Clerk posting at least seven (7) days before the day appointed for such referendum, written notifications in three (3) or more public places in the Town of the time and date when the referendum is to be held, along with notice of the polling locations, and the questions to be voted thereon. The notice shall also be posted electronically on the Town's website.
No vote shall be passed in any Town Referendum concerning the disposing of the Town's land or making a tax, unless special mention be made in the notice thereof given. The notice for the making of a tax as herein provided shall be in substantially the following form required by Title 17, Chapter 8, Section 10 of the Rhode Island General Laws, as amended, pertaining to local referenda and shall contain the information required therein.
Prior to any Town Referendum prescribed by law or special Town Referendum called by request in the manner hereinafter provided, the Committee on Appropriations shall hold a public hearing where the matters on the referendum ballot may be discussed by the public. The pre-referendum meeting shall be held at a date, time, and place to be determined by the Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on Appropriations' proposed budget must be completed in advance of the meeting date. The Committee on Appropriations shall also schedule a second meeting at a date, time, and place determined by the Committee on Appropriations in advance the Financial Town Referendum. Notice of this meeting shall be provided in a manner consistent with the Rhode Island Open Meetings Act, as amended.
[Amended 11-2-2004; 11-4-2014]
The registered voters of the Town of Barrington on the first Tuesday next after the first Monday in November biennially in even numbered years shall by ballot elect a Moderator to serve for two (2) years and until a successor is elected and qualified. The Moderator shall be a registered voter. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of Moderator, by death, removal out of town, resignation, or by neglect or refusal to qualify, or for any other cause, the Council may fill the same until the next regular or special election to be held in the town.
The Moderator shall preside in all pre-referenda public hearing held pursuant to Section 7-1-5. The Moderator shall have the power to manage and regulate the business of each meeting conforming to law and maintain peace and good order therein.
[Amended 11-4-2014]
Whenever the Council, or whenever ten percent (10%) of the registered voters of the Town less any fractional part that may appear in the computation thereof, shall make a request in writing, for the holding of a Town Referendum on a specific question or questions in respect of which they shall have a right to vote, and direct the same to the Town Clerk, the Clerk shall refer the matter to the Board of Canvassers to schedule a special referendum for that purpose, to be held in the same manner and with the same notice as provided herein, provided, however, that the special referendum need not take place on the fourth Wednesday in May; provided, that the ten percent (10%) shall be computed on the total number of registered voters appearing on the last canvassed voting lists of the Town. No special Town Referendum shall be called without the consent of the Council if the subject or any of the subjects proposed to be considered at such special Town Meeting, shall have been acted on by the Town at any time within six (6) months previous to the time of such proposed call.
Except for appropriations recommended by the Committee on Appropriations, all ballot questions proposed to be placed on the Financial Town Referendum must be presented by a registered voter, the School Committee, or by the Town Council to the Town Clerk at least thirty (30) days prior to the Financial Town Referendum. Further, a ballot question seeking an appropriation in excess of $25,000 or seeking to increase or decrease an appropriation proposed by the Committee on Appropriations by more than $50,000, or twenty (20%) percent of a particular line item, whichever is less, shall either be put forward by the Town Council, by the School Committee, or be proposed by registered voters and, if proposed by registered voters, it must be submitted in the form of a petition which satisfies the procedural and signature requirements as outlined in Section 16-2-10(c)(i), (ii), & (iii) of the Charter for initiative and referendum. Any such voter petition shall be presented to the Board of Canvassers to determine if the necessary signature and procedural requirements have been met for its submission. With the assistance of the Town Solicitor's office, the Board of Canvassers shall also determine whether the question may lawfully be placed on the Financial Town Referendum ballot and whether the question should be modified to more clearly express the intent of the petitioner or otherwise comply with law. The budget proposed by the Committee on Appropriations shall appear on every Financial Town Referendum for approval, along with any alternative petition or alteration to the appropriations proposed by the Committee on Appropriations as presented by the Town Council, the School Committee, or qualified voters in a manner that complies with this Charter. If no such lawful alternative petition or alteration to the appropriations is proposed to the budget submitted by the Committee on Appropriations, then approval of the appropriations and budget recommended by the Committee on Appropriations shall appear as a single question on the Financial Town Referendum ballot.