The legislative powers of the town shall be vested in a town meeting open to all voters. A quorum for conducting town business shall be set by by-law.
A moderator, elected as provided in article IV, shall preside and regulate the proceedings of each session of the town meeting.
The annual town meeting shall be held on a date fixed by by-law and at such time and place as the select board shall designate.
Special town meetings may be held at the call of the select board at such times as it may deem appropriate and whenever a special town meeting is requested by voters in accordance with procedures established by General Laws, town by-law or this charter.
Every town meeting shall be called by a warrant issued by the select board that shall state the time and place at which the town meeting is to convene and, by separate articles, the subjects that are to be acted upon.
The select board shall prepare the warrant for all town meetings and, by public notice published in a local newspaper, shall advertise the date of the opening and closing of the warrant for all town meetings.
The warrant shall include rules and procedures as provided for in subsection (b) of section C3-8.
The opening of the warrant shall be no less than 90 days prior to the date of the annual town meeting. The opening of the warrant for any special town meeting shall be no less than 20 days prior to the date of the special town meeting.
The warrant for the annual town meeting shall remain open no less than 30 days.
A notice of the availability of the warrant shall be published on the town website and in a local newspaper at least 14 days prior to any such town meeting.
All said warrants shall also be posted in every post office in the town at least 14 days prior to any such town meeting and shall remain so posted until the date of the meeting.
The order of consideration of the articles as printed in the warrant may be changed only by a 2/3 vote of the town meeting.
(a) 
All proposed operating expenses shall be included in a single article in the annual town meeting warrant. In addition, all proposed capital acquisitions expenditures shall be included in another, single article in the annual town meeting warrant.
(b) 
The select board and the finance committee shall review and comment on all articles calling for the appropriation of funds that are to be considered at all town meetings.
(a) 
By written petition to the select board, 10 voters may secure the inclusion of an article in the warrant for the annual town meeting; provided, that such petition shall be submitted in accordance with by-laws governing town meeting warrants.
(b) 
By written petition to the select board, any 100 voters may secure the inclusion of an article for the warrant of any special town meeting; provided, that such petition shall be submitted in accordance with by-laws governing town meeting warrants.
(a) 
Members of boards and commissions, town officers and department heads, or their duly designated representatives, shall attend town meeting for the purpose of furnishing information when proposals affecting their particular office, board or department are included in the warrant.
(b) 
The moderator shall prepare, in consultation with the town clerk, rules of parliamentary procedure in simplified form.
(c) 
No person shall speak twice on the same question until all those wishing to speak thereon have done so, nor shall any person speak for more than 5 minutes at a time, except by permission of the town meeting; provided, however, that the restrictions shall apply neither to those persons required to be in attendance under provision of subsection (a) nor to those persons making the original motion under any article.
(d) 
The select board shall, by recorded vote in the warrant, indicate its recommendations on all articles.
(e) 
No motion, the effect of which would be to dissolve the town meeting, shall be in order until every article in the warrant has been duly considered and acted upon. This requirement shall not preclude the postponement or consideration of any motion to adjourn the meeting to a stated time and place.
(f) 
All special committees created by any town meeting shall make a report in accordance with the schedule set by the town meeting action that created the committee. Such report shall serve to discharge any such committee unless the town meeting shall vote to prolong its existence for a period not exceeding 1 year. Written copies of such reports shall be submitted to the town clerk, town manager and the select board and shall be published in full or in summary form in the next annual town report.
(a) 
At least once every 10 years, a special committee shall be appointed by the town moderator, with notification to the select board, for the purpose of reviewing the provisions of the charter and to make a report, with recommendations to the town meeting, concerning any proposed amendments or revision which said committee may deem to be necessary or desirable. This charter may be revised, amended or replaced in accordance with the procedures made available by articles 89 and 113 of the amendments to the constitution and any legislation enacted to implement said amendments.
(b) 
Any future amendments to this charter shall minimize the use of pronouns by using the title of the office wherever possible and, where not possible, by using gender neutral pronouns such as they, them or their.