[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Milton
as Ch. 2 of the 3-10-1934 General Bylaws. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 5-10-2012 ATM
by Art. 34; 7-30-2020 STM by Art. 8]
A. The warrants
for all Town Meetings shall be directed to the constables of the Town,
and notice of such meetings shall be given by posting attested copies
of the warrant in each of the post-offices of the Town at least seven
days before the annual meeting and at least 14 days before any Special
Town Meeting. The warrants for all Town Meetings shall be made available
to read and download on the Town's website; paper copies shall be
mailed to each member of Town Meeting, each member of the Warrant
Committee and each elected Town Official and any resident of the Town
who submits a written request to the Town Administrator to receive
a paper copy; and paper copies shall be available at the Select Board's
Office, the Senior Center, and the Milton Public Library at least
seven days before the day of the Annual Town Meeting and at least
14 days before the day of any Special Town Meeting.
B. The warrants
for all elections shall be directed to the constables of the Town,
and notice of such elections shall be given by posting attested copies
of the warrant in each of the post-offices of the Town at least seven
days before the annual or special election. The warrants for all elections
shall be made available to read and download on the town's website
and paper copies shall be available at the Select Board's Office,
the Senior Center, and the Milton Public Library at least seven days
before the day of such elections. The Town Administrator may add more
locations for the distribution of paper copies of all warrants as
needed.
A. The annual meeting for the election of Town officers shall be held
upon the last Tuesday of April, the polls to be open from 7:00 a.m.
in the morning until 8:00 p.m. in the evening for the election of
such Town officers and the determination of such matters as by law
are required to be elected or determined by ballot. All such officers
shall be voted for and all such matters shall be determined on official
ballots.
B. Prior to Town Election, the Town Clerk shall publicize the upcoming
election of Town Meeting members by such methods as issuing media
releases, placing free advertisements, and utilizing the Town's website,
the Town's local newspapers, the Town's local access cable television
programming including but not limited to its public-service programming,
to publicize the importance of Town Meeting membership and the process
to be nominated and elected Town Meeting member.
[Added 10-28-2013 FTM
by Art. 2]
[Amended 5-10-2012 ATM
by Art. 34]
The Town shall meet in regular meetings once in the spring and
if required, once in the fall, each calendar year, and in special
meetings, at such times as the Select Board may direct, or as otherwise
provided by law.
A. The Spring Town Meeting, which shall be the Annual Town Meeting for purposes of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 39, Section
9, shall include the adoption of an annual budget and other warrant articles, except the election of such officers and the determination of such matters as by law are required to be elected or determined by ballot, and shall meet on the first Monday of May at 7:30 p.m. in the evening.
B. A regular Fall Town Meeting shall meet, if required, on the fourth
Monday in October at 7:30 p.m. in the evening.
All motions shall, if required by the Moderator, be reduced
to writing before being submitted to the meeting. If a motion is susceptible
of division it shall be divided and the question put separately upon
each part thereof if 10 Town Meeting members so request.
[Amended 6-9-2022 ATM by Art.
14]
Upon taking the question, the sense of the meeting shall be
taken by the voices of the Town Meeting members and the Moderator
shall first announce the vote as it appears to him by the sound. If
the Moderator is unable to decide by the sound of the voices or if
his announcement made thereupon is doubted by seven Town Meeting members
arising in their places for that purpose, the Moderator shall request
the Town Meeting members to be seated, and shall appoint tellers;
the question then shall be distinctly stated, and those in the affirmative
and negative respectively shall be requested to rise and stand in
their places until they are counted by the tellers, who shall report
their count to the Moderator, who thereupon shall announce the vote.
If the vote is further doubted and 25 Town Meeting members arise in
their places and ask for a division of the meeting by the taking of
the yeas and the nays, then the roll of the meeting shall be called
in alphabetical order by the Town Clerk, and each Town Meeting member
shall rise in his place if he answers yea or nay when his name is
called, and the Moderator shall announce the vote. No Town Meeting
member shall be allowed to vote after the vote is declared. When an
electronic voting system approved by the Moderator is in use, upon
a question being put to the Town Meeting, the Moderator will determine
by electronic vote the sense of the meeting and shall announce the
vote as displayed by the electronic voting system. No Town Meeting
member shall be allowed to vote after the vote is declared.
No vote shall be reconsidered at the same meeting, except upon
a motion made within one hour of the adoption of such vote, unless
ordered by 2/3 of the Town Meeting members present and voting thereon,
provided that the time which shall elapse between any adjournment
and the next calling to order of the meeting following such adjournment
shall be excluded in computing the hour since the adoption of said
vote.
If a motion for the previous question is adopted by vote of
the meeting no person shall speak to the motion then under consideration
more than once or for longer than five minutes without a vote of permission
of the meeting, except that the Chair of the Warrant Committee may
speak again to close the debate but not for more than five minutes.
When a question is before the meeting, the following motions,
viz: - to adjourn to lay on the table, for the previous question,
to postpone to a certain time, to commit (or recommit) or refer, to
amend or substitute, shall have precedence in the order in which they
are placed in this section; but no article in the warrant shall be
finally disposed of by a vote to lay on the table, to postpone indefinitely,
or to take no action thereunder. In proposed amendments, involving
amounts or dates, the smallest amount and the shortest time shall
be put first.
Any person who is employed as an attorney by another person
interested in any matter under discussion at a Town Meeting shall
disclose the fact of his employment before speaking thereon.
No appropriation of a sum of money exceeding $500 shall be made
until the subject matter thereof has been considered and estimates
reported to the Town, either by the Select Board members or other
Town officers, or by the Warrant Committee or some committee chosen
for the purpose in pursuance of a vote of the Town.
A. Whenever, pursuant to General Laws, Chapter 39, Section
10, any subject is inserted in the Warrant for an Annual Town Meeting at the request of 10 or more registered voters, the fact of said request and the names and addresses of the first 10 registered voters making the request shall be printed in the Warrant immediately following the Article involved.
B. Whenever
an Article is inserted in the Warrant for an Annual or Special Town
Meeting at the request of a Town department, board, committee or authority,
the name of such requesting organization shall be printed in the Warrant
immediately following the Article involved.
Except as hereinafter provided, the term of any non-elected
committee of the Town established by vote of an Annual or Special
Town Meeting, other than a committee established by or pursuant to
a statute or bylaw, shall expire upon the final adjournment of the
third Annual Town Meeting following the meeting at which it was voted
to establish or to extend the term of such committee, unless a different
term is specified by Town Meeting or unless such committee is earlier
discharged; notwithstanding the foregoing, the term of any committee
heretofore or hereafter authorized by vote of an Annual or Special
Town Meeting, to expend more than $2,000 in any one fiscal year for
the construction, renovation or repair of any facility, or for the
acquisition of any goods or equipment, or for consultant work or personal
services, shall be extended upon such appropriating vote until such
committee is specifically discharged by a vote of an Annual or Special
Town Meeting.