The Moderator and the Town Clerk shall cause each vote, resolution or other act of a Town Meeting to be recorded.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Longmeadow as §§ 3-104 and 3-105 and Art. 3, Ch. 300, of the General Bylaws. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Moderator and the Town Clerk shall cause the record of each Meeting of the Town to be completed as soon as practicable following the Meeting.
[Amended 10-27-2009 STM, approved 12-9-2009; 10-25-2022 STM by Art. 23, approved 2-22-2023]
The Select Board shall set the date and time of the Annual Town Meeting, the exact date and time to be determined by February 1 of each year by the Select Board. In no case shall the Annual Town Meeting be held later than the second Tuesday in May and provided that the Annual Town Meeting cannot be scheduled before 6:30 p.m.
An item of business is out of order at a Town Meeting if it is not within the scope of an article designated for action at the Meeting in the warrant that was published before the Meeting.
A.
Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 39, Section 10, and the Charter specify what a Town Meeting warrant must include, who is to issue it and when it must be issued.
B.
The law of the commonwealth establishes the right of the citizen to include an article in the warrant for a Meeting following an established procedure, as provided in MGL c. 39, § 10.
C.
The last Monday in January shall be the last day for filing petitions with the Town Clerk for the insertion of articles in the Warrant for the following Annual Town Meeting, and the warrant shall be closed no later than 15 days prior to the date of the Annual Town Meeting.
[Added 5-16-2021 ATM by Art. 33]
D.
The last day for filing petitions with the Town Clerk for insertion of articles into the warrant for a Special Town Meeting shall be 45 days prior to the date of the Meeting, and the warrant shall be closed no later than 15 days prior to the date of the Special Town Meeting.
[Added 5-16-2021 ATM by Art. 33]
E.
All petition articles that mention federal, state, Town or any other laws or refer to any parcel of land or road or any other pertinent information should have a copy of such law, map or pertinent information, showing the location of the parcel of land or roads or any other pertinent information, attached to the petition article submitted to the Town Clerk. Copies of these documents should also be appended to the printed recommendation of the Finance Committee. Nothing herein shall be interpreted to restrict a citizen's rights under MGL c. 39, § 10.
[Added 5-16-2021 ATM by Art. 33]
A constable of the Town, pursuant to the order and direction of the Select Board, shall post notice of the date, time, and place of the Town Meeting on the Town bulletin board, the Town website and in at least one other public place in the Town.
The law of the commonwealth gives a citizen the right to demand a calling of a Special Meeting of the Town by following an established procedure, as provided in MGL c. 39, § 10. A Special Town Meeting may also be called by order of the Select Board.
If a Town Meeting is not properly called, the Select Board shall call the Meeting for a time as soon thereafter as is practicable.
At a Town Meeting held for the transaction of Town business, a person is not eligible to be admitted to the floor of the Meeting if a person's name is not upon the list of voters of the Town. The Moderator has authority to direct a police officer or constable of the Town to exclude or remove a person who is not eligible to be admitted to the floor of the Meeting.
The Moderator has authority to admit to a Town Meeting a media representative or any person whose knowledge, in the opinion of the Moderator, can assist the voters in better understanding a question that is before the Meeting.
The Moderator has authority to permit or prohibit the use of audio and video equipment for the purpose of news coverage and the authority to regulate the use of equipment if it is permitted.
Smoking is not permitted within a room in which a Town Meeting is held.
The annual Meeting of the Town is opened with prayer.
The conduct of the Meeting shall be as provided in the Charter.
The Moderator has the duty to preserve order and decorum in a Town Meeting, and to this end, he has authority to direct a police officer or constable of the Town to do any act that he believes is appropriate.
The Moderator is authorized to speak on points of order in preference to other persons and has authority to decide each question of order.
The Moderator shall put all motions in the order in which they are moved, unless a specific motion is previous in its nature.
A.
When a question is before a Town Meeting, the Moderator shall not receive a motion that does not relate to that question, except a motion to adjourn or some other motion that is privileged in its nature.
C.
These motions have precedence in the order in which they are here arranged.
D.
The Moderator shall permit debate upon the merits of the main question upon a motion to postpone indefinitely or upon a motion to amend.
The Moderator shall not receive a motion to cut off debate on any motion that is before a Meeting until at least five voters have spoken for, and five voters have spoken against, the pending motion; but if fewer than five voters have asked to speak for or against the pending motion, the Moderator may receive a motion to cut off debate after the voters who have asked to speak, not to exceed five on either side, have had an opportunity to do so.
Except when the Moderator has recognized a voter for the correction of an error or to state an explanation, a voter is not entitled to speak more than two times on one question until others who have not spoken have had an opportunity to do so, and a voter is not entitled to speak more than three times on one question, without first obtaining leave of the Meeting to do so.
The Moderator has the authority to require that a motion be reduced to writing.
A person who speaks at a Town Meeting shall stand, address the Moderator, and identify himself or herself by name and address.
The Moderator is authorized to refer to a person by name for the purpose of identification or recognition; but otherwise, one person shall not refer to another person by name in a Town Meeting.
A person who desires to ask of another person a question relating to debate shall put the question to the Moderator.
If a vote has been taken at a Town Meeting, the vote is not reconsidered at that Meeting or at any adjournment of that Meeting, unless 2/3 of the voters present cast an affirmative vote on the motion to reconsider the issue; and, if reconsideration is sought at any adjournment of that Meeting, the mover of reconsideration must inform the session at which the principal vote was taken of his intent to seek reconsideration at the adjournment.
[Amended 5-9-2017 ATM, approved 8-31-2017]
If a vote is taken in a Town Meeting and if the decision of the Moderator is doubted by seven or more voters, the Moderator shall request the house to be seated and shall appoint tellers. The Moderator shall announce that only those voters who occupy seats on the floor of the Meeting are eligible to be counted on the vote, but the Moderator has authority to instruct the tellers to count the votes of specific voters who are unable to obtain seats on the floor of the Meeting. The Moderator shall cause the question before the Meeting to be distinctly and clearly stated and, in sequence, the Moderator shall request those who choose to vote in the affirmative and those who choose to vote in the negative to raise their voting cards in the air until they are counted by the tellers. The tellers shall carefully count the voters' raised cards and shall report to the Moderator. The Moderator shall announce the number of voters in the affirmative and in the negative. If a two-thirds vote for an action at a Town Meeting is required by statute, the Moderator, in accordance with MGL c. 39, § 15, as amended, may dispense with the requirement of taking a count of the vote if the Moderator, in his discretion and without taking a count, determines that 2/3 of those voting supported this action.
The Moderator shall present to a Town Meeting the articles in the warrant in the order in which the articles appear in the warrant, but the Meeting may direct a different order of business by an affirmative vote of 2/3 of the voters present.
Fifty voters constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at a Town Meeting, but less than a quorum may adjourn a Meeting to a stated time or without day. This section does not apply to a Meeting or a part of a Meeting that is devoted exclusively to the election of a Town officer.
If a motion would have the effect of dissolving a Town Meeting, the motion is not in order until each article in the warrant for the Meeting has been considered and acted upon.
If a Town Meeting is adjourned to a time certain, the Town Clerk shall give as much notice of the time and place to which the Meeting has been adjourned as is practicable under the circumstances.
Unless otherwise directed by the Town Meeting, the Moderator has authority to appoint a committee that is established by vote of the Town Meeting. Prior to making an appointment, the Moderator shall consult with such Town officials as he thinks appropriate as a means to provide each committee with members having the best available expertise, knowledge, background and experience to accomplish the purposes for which the committee has been established. The Moderator shall announce committee appointments no less than 14 days and no more than 21 days following the adjournment of the Town Meeting that established the committee.
Referendum shall be permitted on articles voted on at Town Meeting in accordance with the Charter.