A.
All business of the Annual Town Meeting, except the election of such
officers and the determination of such matters as are required by
law to be elected or determined by ballot, shall be considered at
a meeting to be held on the fourth Wednesday of May at 7:30 p.m.,
or on continued dates thereafter.
B.
All business of an obligatory Fall Special Town Meeting shall be
considered at a meeting to be held not later than the third Wednesday
of November at 7:30 p.m., or on continued dates thereafter.
A.
Notice of every Town Meeting shall be given in accordance with Section
2-7-3 of the Charter and by posting attested copies of the Warrant
therefor at Town Hall and in other municipal buildings throughout
Town not less than 60 days before the day fixed for the Annual Town
Meeting, and 45 days before the day fixed for the Fall Special Town
Meeting and any other Special Town Meetings. In the event of an emergency,
said notice requirements may be waived by majority vote of the Board
of Selectmen but never so that notice is less than 14 days before
the date set for any Town Meeting.
B.
Every Warrant Article shall include the name and address of the petitioner
so that the Finance Committee and other tribunals may contact them
to schedule their appearance at the required public hearing.
The Finance Committee will deliver its report as provided in
the Charter to the office of the Board of Selectmen by noontime 10
days prior to any Town Meeting. Upon receipt, the Board of Selectmen
and Town Clerk shall make available the report and recommendations
of the Finance Committee as well as the Annual Town Report at no charge.
Copies of the Warrant and of the report and recommendations
of the Finance Committee thereon shall be made available to the voters
at Town Meeting.
As soon as practicable after the adjournment of Town Meeting,
on a vote to adjourn to another day, the Town Clerk shall cause a
brief statement of the day and hour to which the adjournment was voted
and of the business remaining to come before Town Meeting to be posted
at Town Hall and in other municipal buildings throughout Town, and,
if the period of adjournment will permit, shall cause a similar notice
to appear in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the
Town.
A.
Required quorum. The number of voters necessary to constitute a quorum
at any Town Meeting shall be zero.
B.
Appointment, duties of Tellers; Moderator to control stage. The Moderator
shall appoint Tellers, who shall permit only registered voters to
enter upon the floor at any Town Meeting. Nonregistered persons shall
be seated in sections of the hall under the direction of the Moderator.
C.
Conduct of Town Meeting. The Moderator shall determine the rules
under which the Town Meeting shall be conducted, so long as such rules
are generally accepted in Massachusetts for the conduct of such meetings
and so long as a copy of such rules are available at each Town Meeting,
on file with the Town Clerk at least 14 days prior to Town Meeting,
and a copy is provided to Town Counsel at least 14 days prior to Town
Meeting.
D.
Order of voting on articles. Articles of the Warrant of the Town
Meeting shall be acted upon in the order in which they appear unless
otherwise determined by a 2/3rds vote of the Town Meeting or at the
discretion of the Moderator.
E.
Motions that are required in writing. All motions having to do with
the expenditure of money shall be presented in writing; other motions
shall be in writing if so directed by the Moderator.
F.
Division of motions. If a motion is susceptible of division, it shall
be divided and the question shall be put separately upon each part
thereof, if seven voters so request.
H.
Amending amendments to motions. An amendment to a motion shall not
be amended.
I.
Attorneys representing clients to disclose fact before speaking.
Any person employed as an attorney on any matter under discussion
at Town Meeting shall disclose the fact of that employment before
speaking thereon.
J.
Method of determining question when question is put. When a question
is put, or on matters requiring a 2/3rds vote, the sense of the meeting may
be determined, in the Moderator's discretion, by the use of an electronic
tally and display system or by a raising of hands, use of voting card
or placard or similar process. Votes taken by an electronic tally
and display system shall be visible to the Town Meeting members and
any members of the public present at the meeting. The display shall
show each "yes," or "no," vote; and a tally of all votes. Votes taken
by hand also shall be visible to the Town Meeting members and any
members of the public present at the meeting.
The Moderator shall declare the vote, or the 2/3rds vote, as
it appears to the Moderator on the electronic tally and display system
or by a show of hands or use of placard or similar process. If the
Moderator's decision is immediately questioned by seven or more voters
rising in their places for that purpose, the Moderator may re-tally
the electronically recorded votes or re-take the vote electronically,
by show of hands, or use of placard, or similar process.
The Town Clerk shall make available in the Town Clerk's office,
within a reasonable time after a session in which a vote(s) was taken
by the use of an electronic tally and display system, a list of votes
on each article. Failure to make the votes available in such manner
shall not affect the validity of such votes.
After a public hearing for which the notice is posted for at
least one week, the Moderator, in consultation with the Selectboard
and Town Clerk, shall be authorized to adopt regulations for the purpose
of facilitating implementation of electronic voting under this bylaw
and for ensuring the security and integrity of the electronic voting
process.
K.
Effect of votes on amendments involving sums of money. On a proposed
amendment involving sums of money, the smaller amount shall be put
to the question first, and an affirmative vote thereon shall be a
negative vote on the larger amount.
L.
Requisites for voting on all articles. No article shall be voted unless and until the subject matter thereof shall have been considered after a public hearing held in accordance with § 25-12 by either the Finance Committee or other tribunal as required by law. The Finance Committee shall publish its recommendations and those of the other tribunals at least 10 days prior to Town Meeting.
M.
(Reserved)
N.
Reconsideration of motions. No question shall be reconsidered at
an adjourned session of a Town Meeting unless that adjourned session
is held on the same evening; no vote may be reconsidered on a motion
to adjourn, to lay on the table, or for the previous question.
O.
Dissolution and adjournment of Town Meeting. No motion the effect
of which would be to dissolve the Town Meeting shall be in order until
every article in the Warrant has been duly considered and acted upon,
but this shall not preclude the postponement of consideration of any
article to an adjournment of the Town Meeting at a stated time and
place.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 205-8, Notifications by Town
Clerk after Town Meeting, was repealed 10-14-2015 STM, Art. 18.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 205-9, Report of committees;
discharge of committees, was repealed 10-14-2015 STM, Art. 18.
Any and all registered voters shall be required to show some
form of identification prior to voting at all Town meetings. Such
identification shall preferably contain a photograph but, at the very
least, shall be sufficient to verify the full name and address of
the voter. Sufficient forms of identification include, but are not
limited to, the following: Massachusetts driver’s license, passport,
student I.D., utility bill or statement, library card, credit or debit
card statement, lease or rental contract, mortgage or other bank statement,
property tax bill or statement.
