All Town Meetings shall be called to order and presided over
by the Town Moderator. However, in the absence of the Town Moderator,
the Town Clerk shall preside until the election of a temporary moderator
by the members in attendance at that meeting. The Moderator is authorized
to speak on points of order and to decide each question of order and
has the duty to preserve order, decorum and civility in Town Meeting.
Except where otherwise specifically provided by law or these bylaws,
the Moderator shall be guided by the principles and rules of practice
contained in the work entitled "Town Meeting Time, a Handbook of Parliamentary
Law, Third Edition," by Johnson Trustman and Wadsworth, published
by Little Brown, as further revised from time to time.
Those entitled to vote at an Annual or Special Town Meeting
on any article in a warrant are only the elected Town Meeting members
(hereinafter the "voting members").
The minimum number of voting members necessary to constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business at any duly called Annual
or Special Town Meeting or any adjournments thereof shall be a majority
of the voting members.
[Amended 5-10-2017 ATM by Art. 13]
At any Annual or Special Town Meeting, the Town Clerk shall
provide to voting members and shall ensure a reasonable amount of
additional copies of such written materials for nonvoting members
of the public in attendance. All relevant material to any Town Meeting
will be provided electronically and be available on the website or
by request in printed form. All requests for printed material should
be received by electronic mail, telephone, a letter and/or in person
at least 24 hours prior to the start of the meeting. All persons,
including but not limited to citizens, interested parties or Town
Meeting members, are entitled to make a printed material request (and
receive it electronically if preferred). If a person cannot make the
request 24 hours prior to the Town Meeting, the Town will make every
effort to provide the material if possible. All requests should be
made to either the Selectboard office or the Town Clerk's office.
All articles shall be acted on in the order of their arrangement
in the warrant, except that when an Annual Town Meeting and a Special
Town Meeting are set for the same date, the articles of the Special
Town Meeting shall take precedence. Town Meeting members may vote
to take articles out of order. Voting members may, by a majority,
determine to defer action on any article of an Annual or Special Town
Meeting until after action on a specific subsequent article of an
Annual or Special Town Meeting scheduled for the same date.
[Amended 5-10-2017 ATM by Art. 13]
All motions on articles having to do with the expenditure of
money or incurring of debt shall be made as set forth in the warrant
by the Town Administrator, Selectboard Chair or Appropriations Chair
or their designee with the consent of the Moderator, if applicable,
or a representative of the petitioners who requested insertion of
the article. After the motion is made, if seconded, the maker of the
motion shall be granted an opportunity to offer an amendment thereto,
prior to any further discussion, and to speak in favor of the amendment.
Upon completion of such presentation, if any, and before the commencement
of any general discussion on the motion by all voting members, the
Appropriations Committee shall advise Town Meeting of its recommendation(s)
with respect to the motion and amendment and the reasons therefor,
and whether its recommendation is unanimous or by majority vote.
Only voting members are entitled to address any Annual or Special
Town Meeting, except that others may speak to articles at the discretion
of the Town Moderator or upon a majority vote of the voting members.
All persons desiring to speak shall signify their interest by a show
of hands and, upon obtaining recognition from the Town Moderator,
each speaker shall state his or her name and stand while speaking,
unless the Town Moderator otherwise directs. The extent and frequency
of any comments or debate shall be at the discretion of the Moderator
or by a majority vote of the voting members present and voting.
All motions shall be reduced to writing and submitted to the
Town Clerk.
[Amended 6-9-2021 ATM by Art. 14]
All votes, including those requiring two-thirds approval or
more, shall be taken in the first instance by a "yes" and "no" voice
vote. If the Moderator is in doubt as to the vote s/he shall call
for a show of hands or for a standing vote, or, if seven or more voters
immediately question the vote, the Moderator shall call for a standing
vote. Alternatively, at the discretion of the Moderator, the meeting
may use hand-held electronic devices to make and tally votes.
At the discretion of the Town Moderator or at the request of
at least seven voting members, any motion susceptible of division
shall be divided.
When a question is under debate, motions shall be received to
adjourn, to lay on the table, to call the previous question, to postpone
to a certain time, to commit, or to amend; which several motions shall
have precedence in the order stated. The first three shall be decided
without debate.
A motion to reconsider any vote must be made before the final
adjournment of the meeting. There can be no reconsideration of a vote
once reconsidered, or after a vote not to reconsider.
No Annual or Special Town Meeting shall be dissolved until all
of the articles contained in the warrant for such meeting shall have
been acted upon. No Town Meeting may be adjourned unless the date,
time and location of the adjourned meeting are publicly stated at
the time of postponement or, in the event of inclement weather or
other public safety emergency, in accordance with MGL c. 39, § 10A.
