[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Sharon
as Art. 1 of the Town Bylaws. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Every Town Meeting shall be notified by posting attested copies
of the warrant, calling the same, at 10 places within the Town, one
of which shall be the post office, at least 14 days before the day
appointed for the Annual Meeting or any Special Meeting of the Town.
The Town Clerk shall mail, or otherwise deliver, copies of the Town
warrant to every residence at least seven days before each meeting
of the Town. When the warrant contains proposed amendments to the
Zoning Bylaw,[1] a redline/strikeout version of the Zoning Bylaw amendments
shall be posted in 10 public places and electronically posted on the
Town website at the same time as the attested warrant is posted.
Notice of every adjourned meeting shall be posted by the Town
Clerk in not less than 10 public places in the Town and, if time shall
permit, be advertised in a newspaper published in Sharon, if any,
as soon as practicable after the adjournment, stating briefly the
business to come before such adjourned meeting.
A.
There shall be an Annual Town Meeting held in the spring, which shall
be primarily concerned with the adoption of an annual budget and other
warrant articles which have a fiscal effect on the Town. The portion
of the Annual Town Meeting for the transaction of business shall be
held on the first Monday in May of each year at 7:00 p.m. and shall
continue, by adjournment from time to time, until disposition has
been made of all articles contained in the warrant.
B.
The portion of the Annual Town Meeting for the election of officers
and such other matters as may be voted on the official ballot shall
be held on the third Tuesday of May of each year.
There may be a Special Town Meeting held in the Fall, as determined
by the Select Board, which shall be primarily concerned with nonfiscal
matters. The date of such Special Town Meeting shall be determined
by the Select Board by January 15 of that year and in any event shall
occur no earlier than September 1 of that year and no later than December
15 of that year. Such Special Town Meeting shall commence on the appointed
day at 7:00 p.m. and shall continue, by adjournment from time to time,
until disposition has been made of all articles contained in the warrant.
The foregoing notwithstanding, the Select Board shall comply with
the requirements of MGL c. 39, § 10, regarding the call
of a Special Town Meeting upon the request in writing of 200 registered
voters or 20% of the total number of registered voters of the Town,
whichever number is the lesser.
In conducting meetings, the Town Moderator is encouraged to
avoid cutting off debate, or allowing a motion from the floor to call
the question, on any proposed article until prescheduled speakers
both for and against the proposed article, as well as a representative
number of speakers from the floor both for and against the proposed
article, have had an equal opportunity to speak and any and all questions
that have been posed from the floor to Town officials or article proponents
have been addressed.
A motion to reconsider any prior votes of Town Meeting shall
not be accepted, except when, in the best judgment of the Moderator,
a significant error or omission occurred in the language or process
of the original action on the article, or a significant change of
circumstances has occurred, such that there is a substantial likelihood
that the outcome could change upon reconsideration or that reconsideration
would be in the Town's best interest. Such errors, omission or change
of circumstances shall be brought to the Moderator's attention as
soon as they are known, and the Moderator shall determine if and when
the matter will be taken up. The Moderator shall announce this decision
to the Town Meeting. If the Moderator determines that the matter may
be taken up pursuant to this section, a majority vote shall be necessary
in order to proceed with reconsideration.
[Added 5-1-2017 ATM by Art. 23]
A.
The Town
Clerk, or an agent designated by the Town Clerk, shall be authorized
to assign appropriate numbers to sections, subsections, paragraphs
and subparagraphs of the Town general bylaws and zoning bylaws, where
none are approved by Town Meeting.
B.
Where Town
Meeting has approved numbering of sections, subsections, paragraphs
and subparagraphs of Town general bylaws and zoning bylaws, the Town
Clerk, or an agent designated by the Town Clerk, after consultation
with the Town Administrator, shall be authorized to make nonsubstantive
editorial revisions to the numbering to ensure consistent and appropriate
sequencing, organization and numbering of the bylaws.
