The town representatives shall serve without a salary.
A moderator, chosen in accordance with section
3-8, shall preside at all sessions of town meeting, but the moderator shall not have a vote unless the town representatives present and voting are equally divided. The moderator shall, at the first town meeting following each regular annual election, appoint, subject to the approval of the representative town meeting, from among the town representatives a deputy moderator to serve in the event of the moderator's absence or disability. In the case of an absence or disability of the moderator and the deputy moderator the representative town meeting shall elect from among its own membership a temporary moderator to act during that absence or disability. The moderator shall perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to the office of moderator by by-law, rule or other vote of the representative town meeting.
All powers of the town shall be vested in the representative
town meeting, except as otherwise provided by law or by this charter.
The representative town meeting shall provide for the exercise of
all of the powers of the town and for the performance of all duties
and obligations imposed upon the town.
The town clerk or the town clerk's designee shall serve as clerk
of the town meeting. The clerk shall give notice of all town meetings
to the town representatives and to the public, keep the record of
its proceedings and perform such other duties as may be assigned by
this charter, by by-law or by other vote of the representative town
meeting.
Every town officer, or in the case of a multiple member body,
a designated representative, or a representative of each department
shall attend all sessions of the town meeting, unless deterred by
illness or other reasonable cause, for the purpose of providing the
representative town meeting with information pertinent to matters
appearing in the warrant.
If any person described above is so deterred, he shall designate
a deputy to attend in his place.
If a person required to attend a town meeting under this section
is not a voter, that person shall, notwithstanding, be entitled to
speak in order to provide the representative town meeting with information
on pertinent warrant articles.
Elected officials of the town, as defined in section
3-1, and the chair of the finance and warrant committee, when attending a town meeting, shall have all of the rights and privileges of town representatives except the right to vote.
[Amended by Ch. 63 of the Acts of 2023, approved 11-8-2023]
No final vote of a representative town meeting approving a measure
under any article in the warrant shall be operative for 14 days after
the dissolution of the town meeting excepting the following votes,
which shall take effect immediately upon dissolution of the meeting
or otherwise as provided by law: a vote to adjourn; an authorization
to borrow money in anticipation of taxes; an authorization to pay
debts and obligations of the town; an appropriation of funds necessary
to implement a written agreement executed under collective bargaining
or the budget of the town as a whole; or a vote declared by preamble
to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation
of the peace, health, safety or convenience of the town and which
is passed by a two-thirds vote of the town representatives present
and voting at such meeting.
If within the said 14 days, a petition, signed by not less than
5 per cent of the voters of the town eligible to vote as of the date
of the town meeting at which the final vote occurred, is filed in
the office of the select board requesting that the question involved
in that vote be submitted to the voters of the town at large, then
the operation of that vote shall be further suspended pending a determination
as hereinafter provided. Such petition shall contain the names and
addresses of the voters who signed the petition as they appear on
the list of voters. Within 14 days following the filing and including
the time for certification by the board of registrars of a referendum
petition, the select board shall call a special election which shall
be held and forthwith and no sooner than 35 days after issuing the
call; provided, however, that if a regular or special election is
to be held not more than 60 days following the date the petition is
filed, the select board may provide that the question or questions
involved be presented to the voters at the same election.
All votes shall be taken by official ballots and the voter list
shall be used in the same manner as in the election of town officers.
The questions submitted shall be determined by a majority vote of
the voters voting thereon, but no action of the representative town
meeting shall be reversed unless at least 20 per cent of the voters
eligible to vote in the election participate by voting in the election.
The question submitted shall be stated on the ballot in substantially
the same language and form in which it was stated when presented by
the moderator to the representative town meeting as appearing in the
records of the town meeting and shall be similar to the following:
"Shall the voters of the town confirm the action taken by the representative
town meeting at the town meeting held on [insert date] to [insert
here the question as stated when presented by the moderator]?" A brief
summary of the measure drafted by town counsel shall appear below
the question.
This election shall be held on a Saturday, unless it is to be
held in conjunction with another election, and the polls shall open
not later than 7:00 a.m. and shall not close earlier than 8:00 p.m.
If a petition conforming to the requirements of this section
is not filed within 14 days of the dissolution of the town meeting,
the vote shall then become effective.