[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of
the Town of Walpole 1972 ATM[1]; printed as amended by the Spring ATM of the following
years: 1983, 1986, 1987, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2010; the Fall
ATM of 2010; and the Spring ATM of 2015. Subsequent amendments noted
where applicable.]
[1]
This enactment provided as follows: "The following
rules of procedure shall become effective upon a majority vote of
the elected representatives of the Annual Town Meeting of 1972 and
as amended under Rule 10." It also provided that all instances of
the word "shall" are to be interpreted as mandatory and not directory.
A.
All RTM Members shall sit in an area designated for them, and only
them, as displayed at the entrances to the meeting.
B.
Individuals who are not RTM Members, but who serve on Town Committees,
or are in attendance in support of Town Officials, and wish to be
seated in a reserved area must make their presence known to the Moderator.
C.
All other individuals must be seated in the unreserved area. If more
space is needed to accommodate the public, the Moderator will realign
the reserved areas.
A.
Any individual wishing to address the assembly must approach the
microphone, or in the event that the RTM is physically unable to approach
the microphone, a microphone shall be provided them, to gain attention
and shall only be allowed to speak after being recognized by the Moderator.
B.
When recognized by the Moderator, RTM Members shall identify themselves
by name and precinct number. Town Officials and Town Committee Members
shall state their official title. All other speakers shall state their
name and residence.
C.
All speakers who have been retained, paid or otherwise, or who are
speaking on behalf of or as a representative of a group or organization
must so state when identifying themselves.
D.
The only reason for speaking without recognition of the Moderator
shall be to question the conduct, procedure, or legality of the discussion
at hand. The RTM Member may vocally state "Mr. Moderator . . . Point
of Order." The Moderator shall immediately suspend debate, and recognize
the RTM Member who shall approach the microphone, or in the event
that the RTM is physically unable to approach the microphone, a microphone
shall be provided them, and state the reason for the call of a Point
of Order. No further discussion may take place until the Point of
Order is addressed and ruled upon by the Moderator.
E.
The Moderator shall attempt to use the order below when recognizing
speakers. This shall in no way restrict the number of times a person
may speak nor restrict the Moderator from calling speakers in any
order. The Moderator shall make an effort to recognize an individual
who wishes to speak for the first time, over those who have previously
spoken to the issue:
(1)
Primary spokespersons for or against the motion who are making a
presentation.
(2)
The Finance Committee Spokesperson.
(3)
Town Officials and Town Committee Members, including ex officio members
according to the Town Charter, whose official duties or Committee
have relevance to the motion.
(4)
RTM Members.
(5)
All other speakers. These speakers may speak for not more than five
minutes. Permission to speak longer than five minutes may be granted
by a majority vote of the RTM Members.
F.
Presentations being given by speakers listed in Subsection E(1), (2) and (3) may be limited to a specified time period if recommended by the Moderator or by an RTM Member via a motion. Any recommendation to limit a presentation must also be approved by a majority vote of the RTM Members. A presentation time period may subsequently be extended by a motion which is adopted by a majority vote of the RTM Members.
The sponsors of an Article shall not be bound by the recommendation
of the Finance Committee. A negative main motion, "no action," shall
be debatable, and the sponsor(s) or RTM Member(s) may speak against
dismissal or postponement in favor of affirmative action. Defeating
the "no action" is not alone sufficient to establish action on an
Article. After defeat of this "no action" motion, the Moderator shall
state that no motion has been made and request that a motion be made.
A sponsor or RTM Member may then make an alternative motion. In the
absence of an alternative motion, the next article shall be taken
up.
A.
A motion to close debate may be made by an RTM Member by first gaining recognition from the Moderator as provided under Rule § 825-2A. Such a motion is nondebatable, and the person making the motion must not precede his motion by any comment whatsoever, or the motion and the speaker will be declared out of order and debate shall continue. Upon a properly made motion, the Moderator shall immediately call for a vote on the motion.
B.
A motion to close debate requires a two-thirds vote for passage.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM]
A.
There are five methods for taking votes. They are Voice, Standing,
Roll Call, Electronic and Secret Ballot.
B.
A motion will carry only when the affirmative vote, (i.e., "Aye"
or "Yes") meets the quantitative requirements established either by
General Laws, or any established procedural rules (majority, two-thirds,
four-fifths, etc.). Any vote, requiring a majority vote for passage
that ends in a tie shall result in defeat of the motion.
C.
Voice Vote: The RTM members, when called upon by the Moderator, vote
by voice; i.e.: "Aye" or "No." This shall be the primary method of
voting.
D.
Standing Vote:
(1)
The Moderator shall conduct a Standing Vote in any of the following
cases:
(2)
The hall shall be divided into sections by the Moderator. Two Tellers
for each section, chosen from the RTM Members, shall be appointed
by the Moderator. The Moderator shall also appoint alternative Tellers,
as needed, to temporarily replace any Teller who wishes to speak on
an article. RTM members shall stand in accordance with their vote
when asked to do so by the Moderator. The Tellers, for each section,
shall each count the section, and agree on the count, or conduct a
recount. The Tellers shall use the public address system to announce
their count to the Moderator and the public at the same time. The
Moderator shall count the votes of the Tellers by a show of hands.
E.
Roll Call Vote:
(1)
The Moderator shall conduct a Roll Call Vote in the following cases:
(2)
The Town Clerk shall call the roll, by precinct. RTM Members must
respond to the Roll Call with "Aye," "No" or "Abstain." At the conclusion
of the calling of the roll the Clerk shall request the vote of any
RTM Member that was not recorded earlier. The Moderator will call
the results of a Roll Call Vote on the basis of those present and
voting, assuming that a legal quorum is considered to exist.
F.
Electronic
Vote:
(1)
The
Moderator shall conduct an electronic vote (replacing the standing
count voting method) in any of the following cases:
G.
Secret Ballot Vote:
(1)
A Secret Ballot Vote shall be conducted in the following cases:
(a)
The Moderator shall conduct a Secret Ballot if prior to taking
any vote, a motion is made from the floor and seconded by no less
than 20 RTM Members. Such a motion requires a two-thirds vote for
adoption.
(b)
In the case of the absence of the Moderator, the election of
a Temporary Moderator may be by Secret Ballot on a motion made and
seconded from the floor. Such a motion requires a majority for adoption.
(2)
The RTM Members from each precinct shall come to the front of the
hall and register with a Teller and receive a Ballot. The RTM Members
will then mark the Ballot in the manner directed and deposit it in
the Ballot Box. The Tellers will then count the Ballots with the Town
Clerk. The Moderator will call the results of a Secret Ballot.
H.
Motions of either a Roll Call Vote or Secret Ballot Vote are not
subject to debate, nor may such a motion be reconsidered.
I.
There is no appeal to the Moderator's call of a Roll Call or a Secret
Ballot Vote.
The word "reconsideration" applies to a vote, not to an Article.
The intention of a motion to reconsider, therefore, is to reverse
a previously taken vote, regardless of reasons. The motion on which
the vote was originally taken is exactly the same motion that will
be before the house again if the motion to reconsider is carried.
A.
Reconsideration on any Article, or portion of an Article, if it has
previously been divided, is permitted.
B.
The motion to reconsider is not debatable. The mover must explain,
in not more than three minutes, why such a motion is being made, following
which the vote will be immediately taken, assuming that the mover
has made no statements requiring comment by Town Counsel or the Moderator.
C.
A motion to reconsider requires a two-thirds vote for passage.
D.
A motion to reconsider, if defeated, may be raised a second time.
E.
The motion to reconsider, if carried, may not be raised again unless
the original vote is reversed. (Example; the original vote was in
favor; the vote is reconsidered and the resulting vote is against:
the vote against may once more be reconsidered.)
A.
Consideration of salary changes under negotiations may be deferred
until the conclusion of negotiations.
B.
Upon motion of the Moderator, or any RTM Member, Articles may be
considered out of printed sequence only by a majority vote of the
RTM. Courtesy would be given to citizen sponsored Articles.
C.
A vote to change the order of Articles for consideration may not
be reconsidered.
D.
Consent Agenda: The purpose of the Consent Agenda would be to identify
like Articles, which generate no apparent controversy and could be
properly voted on as one unit without debate. The Moderator would
read the Article numbers to be placed on the Consent Agenda. If any
Town Meeting Member objects to the inclusion of any Article, that
Article would be removed and acted upon separately.
A.
In conformity with the Act establishing a Representative Town Government
in Walpole, Chapter 709 of the Acts of 1969, and in conformity with
the Town Charter, written notification of the first session of all
Town Meetings will be mailed to all Town Meeting Representatives.
B.
The first session of all Town Meetings shall be scheduled on a Monday evening and, in the event of a lack of quorum, shall automatically be rescheduled for the following Monday evening and shall be so posted by the Town Clerk and notice so published in accordance with the Walpole Town Code, § 219-2. Additional sessions, as may be required, shall be scheduled for the following consecutive Wednesdays and Mondays until dissolution.
C.
A Town Meeting shall be considered postponed on any day on which
school, at the location of Town meeting, has been cancelled and shall
reconvene on the next nearest Monday or Wednesday evening.
D.
The Moderator, after consulting with appropriate Town Officials,
has the authority to postpone Town Meeting due to inclement weather
or other emergencies. Town Meeting shall reconvene on the next nearest
Monday or Wednesday evening.
A.
A Standing Committee called the Rules Committee consisting of one
RTM Member from each Precinct shall be elected at the first meeting
(Spring Session) of the Annual Town Meeting.
B.
Each Precinct shall have its caucus at its own convenience and will
be prepared to offer a candidate for re-appointment or a new candidate.
Upon receipt of a complete slate, the Moderator shall put their names
to the RTM Members.
C.
If a vacancy occurs prior to the opening of Town Meeting the Town Clerk shall notify all RTM Members from that Precinct of the opening. The Moderator shall appoint a RTM Member from the same Precinct to serve until the next Special or Annual Town Meeting. At the next Special or Annual Town Meeting, the Precinct shall select a member of the Rules Committee as called for in Subsection B above.
A.
All proposed changes in Rules will be referred to the Rules Committee
which will consider them and make recommendations as the first order
of business at the first meeting (Spring Session or Fall Session)
of the Annual Town Meeting.
B.
Changes in the Rules, presented in accordance with Subsection A above shall become immediately effective upon a two-thirds vote of the RTM Members present.
C.
Rules governing all other matters not specifically covered herein
or by Rules later adopted, remain within the province of the Moderator
to decide and to order.
Study committees to be appointed by the Moderator require a
two-thirds vote of the meeting so to order.
Any written information distributed, inside the building, to
Town Meeting Representatives must be identifiable as to the responsible
individual. In the case of a committee or citizens group, written
information, distributed inside the building, must include the name
of the Chairman or authorized representative of said group.
If the Moderator determines that the proceedings will likely
be interrupted by the broadcast coverage including lighting, roving
cameras, and interviews being conducted while Town Meeting is in session,
the Moderator may recommend changes to be made after informing the
RTM Members and securing a majority vote.
Town Meeting shall be conducted under the following documents.
In the case of any conflict, the priority of the documents shall be
as follows:
