The legislative branch shall consist of a form of Town Meeting, that is limited to those inhabitants who are elected to meet, deliberate, act and vote in the exercise of the corporate powers of the Town.
The Town Meeting membership shall consist of three hundred and ninety members who shall all be Voters and who shall be apportioned in precincts on the basis of population with each precinct having, as near as possible, the same number of the Town Meeting members as every other precinct. At each Annual Town election, the registered voters of each precinct shall elect, for the term of three years, one third of the number of Town Meeting members to which that precinct is entitled and shall at such election fill for the unexpired term or terms any vacancies then existing in the number of Town Meeting members in their respective precincts.
The Town Clerk shall, after every election of Town Meeting members, forthwith notify each member by mail of his or her election.
Nomination of candidates for Town Meeting membership shall be made by filing, with the Town Clerk at least thirty-five days before the election, of nomination papers that have been signed by not less than twenty Voters of the precinct in which the candidate resides, provided, that any Town Meeting member has attended one-half, or more, of the Town Meeting sessions (whether or not a Quorum is present and whether or not any business is actually conducted) that were held during that member's term of office may become a candidate for re-election by giving written notice thereof to the Town Clerk at least thirty days before the election. No nomination papers shall be valid unless the candidate's written acceptance of said nomination is attached thereto when they are filed with the Town Clerk.
Upon every revision of the precincts where the number of precincts is changed, the terms of office of all Town Meeting members from every precinct so revised shall cease upon the election of their successors. The Voters in each precinct shall, at the first Annual Town election following any precinct revision where the number or dimension of precincts is changed, elect by ballot, the total number of Town Meeting Members to which their precinct is entitled. The first third in order of votes received of members so elected shall serve three years, the second third in such order shall serve two years, and the remaining third in such order shall serve one year in case of a tie vote affecting the division into thirds, as aforesaid, the members elected from the precinct shall by ballot determine the same; and thereafter, except as is otherwise provided herein.
(a)
Resignation of members. A Town Meeting member may resign by filing a written resignation with the Town Clerk, and such resignation shall take effect upon the date of such filing.
(b)
Forfeiture of office upon removal from Town or precinct. A Town Meeting member who removes from the Town shall cease to be a Town Meeting member and an elected Town Meeting member who removes from one precinct to another or is so removed by a revision of precincts shall not retain membership after the next annual election.
(c)
Filling of vacancies. Any vacancy in the full number of Town Meeting members from any precinct may be filled until the next annual election by the remaining Town Meeting members of the precinct from among the registered voters thereof. The Town Clerk shall promptly give notice of any vacancy to the remaining members from the precinct in which the vacancy or vacancies exist and shall call a special meeting of such members for the purpose of filling any vacancy. A notice specifying the object, time and place of the meeting shall be mailed to every such member not less than seven days before the time set for the meeting. At the said meeting a majority of the members present shall elect from their own number a chairman and a clerk. The choice to fill any vacancy shall be by written ballot and a majority of the votes cast shall be required for a choice. The chairman and clerk shall count the ballots and shall make a certificate of the choice and forthwith file the same with the Town Clerk, together with a written acceptance by the member or members so chosen who shall thereupon be deemed elected and qualified subject to the right of all the Town Meeting members to judge of the election and qualifications of the members.
The Town Meeting Members As Such Shall Receive No Compensation As A Town Meeting Member; Provided, That Nothing In This Section Shall Be Construed To Prohibit A Representative Town Meeting Member From Receiving Remuneration From The Town For Other Services Rendered.
The Town Moderator shall preside over every Town Meeting, except in the case of a conflict of interest or as otherwise provided by law. If the Town Moderator is absent or is unable to preside over a Town Meeting or a portion thereof, whether due to a conflict of interest or otherwise, then the Town Clerk shall preside until and unless the Town Meeting appoints a moderator pro tempore for that Town Meeting.
The Town Moderator, at Town Meetings, shall regulate the proceedings, decide all questions of order, make public declaration of all votes and may exercise such additional powers and duties as may be authorized by the General Laws, by any regulations that are promulgated pursuant thereto, by Special Law, by this Charter, by Town By-Law or by other Town Meeting vote. To assist in the counting of votes, the Town Moderator shall, at each Town Meeting, appoint at least two persons, not Town Meeting members, to act as tellers.
Rulings made by the Town Moderator may be appealed to the Town Meeting by a motion to do so which shall be put to the meeting by the Town Moderator in the form: Shall the ruling of the moderator be reversed? A Majority Vote shall be required to reverse the ruling of the Town Moderator.
The Town Meeting shall meet in regular session twice in each calendar year. The first Annual Town Meeting shall be held on the first Tuesday in the month of June and shall be primarily concerned with the determination of matters involving the expenditure of Town funds, including, but not limited to, the adoption of an Annual Operating Budget for all Town agencies. The second Annual Town Meeting shall be held on the third Tuesday in October.
Special Town Meetings may be held at the call of the Select Board at such times as it may deem necessary in order to transact the legislative business of the Town in an orderly manner. Special Town Meetings shall also be held on the petition of two hundred or more voters, in the manner provided by General Law.
(a)
In General. Every Town Meeting, whether pursuant to Section 2-8 or Section 2-9, shall be called by a warrant issued by the Select Board, with such advance notice as is provided by the General Laws, and which shall state the time and place at which the Town Meeting is to convene and, by separate articles, the subject matter to be acted upon. The publication of the warrant for every Town Meeting shall be in accordance with any By-Law governing such matters.
(b)
Initiation of Warrant Articles. The Select Board shall include on the warrant for a Town Meeting the subject matter of all petitions that are submitted by (1) any individual elected Town Official, (2) any Multiple Member Body acting by a majority of its members, (3) any ten voters for the Annual Town Meeting and any one hundred voters or thirty-six Town Meeting members for a Special Town Meeting, provided such petitions have been received by it within the time period it has established for the warrant to be open, and further provided that any such petition that has been filed by voters must demonstrate the residency of the petitioners and such residency must be verified, all as provided in the general laws. Articles on the warrant shall list the petitioner(s).
Whenever a Town Meeting is to be called the Select Board shall give notice by publication in a local newspaper and on the Town Website of such intention and shall include in the warrant for such Town Meeting the subject matter of all petitions which are received at its office on or before four o'clock in the afternoon of the fourth business day following such publication.
(a)
Availability. Every Town Official, the chairperson of every other Multiple Member Body, and the head of each Department shall attend all sessions of the Town Meeting for the purpose of providing the Town Meeting with information that is pertinent to the matters that are contained in the warrant. In the event that any Town Official, chairperson of a Multiple Member Body, or Department Head is to be absent due to illness or other reasonable cause, such person shall designate a deputy to attend to represent that office, Multiple Member Body, or Department. If any person that has been designated to attend the Town Meeting under this section is not a Voter, such person still shall, have the right to address the Town Meeting for the purpose of compliance with this section.
(b)
Participation. A Town Official, the chairperson of a Multiple Member Body, a Department Head, or a person attending a Town Meeting to represent any of said agencies shall have a right to make a motion under any article in the warrant which relates specifically to the operation of the agency such person represents, but, unless otherwise elected as a Town Meeting Member, he or she shall have no right to vote on that, or any other motion or article.
Except as otherwise provided by law or this Charter, all powers of the Town shall be vested in the Town Meeting. The Town Meeting shall provide for the exercise of all powers of the Town and for the performance of all duties and obligations imposed upon the Town.
(a)
Meetings to be Public. All Town Meetings shall be public.
(b)
Notice of Meetings. The Town Clerk shall notify the Town Meeting members of the time and place at which Town Meetings are to be held, the notices to be sent by mail at least seven days before the meeting or alternative means of service approved by the Select Board. Notice of every adjourned Town Meeting shall be posted by the Town Clerk in the Town Office building. All such notices, whether for an original or adjourned Town Meeting, shall state briefly the business to be acted upon at any such Town Meeting and shall include notice of any proposed reconsiderations.
(c)
Quorum. A majority of the Town Meeting members that are then in office shall constitute a Quorum for doing business; but a lesser number of members may organize temporarily and may adjourn from time to time.
(d)
Clerk of the Town Meeting. The Town Clerk, or the designee of the Town Clerk, shall be the clerk of the Town Meeting. The clerk of the Town Meeting, shall keep the minutes of Town Meeting proceedings and shall perform such other functions as may be otherwise required.
(e)
Meetings of Multiple Member Body. No Multiple Member Body of the Town shall schedule a meeting of the same to coincide with any Town Meeting. This section shall not be construed to prevent an emergency meeting of a Multiple Member Body, save only the Select Board, as permitted by the Open Meeting Law, so long as such meeting is held in the same building in which the Town Meeting is transpiring; furthermore, this section shall not be construed to prevent a meeting to be held of a Multiple Member Body during a Town Meeting when any portion of that meeting will consist of a public hearing for which notice has been given by publication or other means prior to the date for which the Town Meeting was scheduled.
(f)
Voter Participation. Subject to such rules as may from time to time be adopted by the Town Meeting members, any Voter shall have a right to speak at sessions of the Town Meeting but shall have no right to vote at the same time.
(a)
Effective date of certain votes suspended (votes subject to referendum procedures). A vote that is passed at any Town Meeting, that authorizes the expenditure of at least two hundred and twenty thousand dollars as a special appropriation, or establishes or abolishes a Multiple Member Body or office, merges two or more Multiple Member Bodies or offices, fixes the term of office of Town Officials or members of a Multiple Member Body, where such term is optional, increases or reduces the number of members of a Multiple Member Body, or adopts or amends a By-Law, shall not be operative until after the expiration of eight days, exclusive of Sundays and holidays, from the dissolution of the Town Meeting. If such petition as described in paragraph (b) is not filed within said period of eight days, the vote of the Town Meeting shall become operative and effective upon the expiration of said period.
(b)
Referendum petition. If, within said eight days a petition, that has been signed by not less than six per cent of the Voters, containing their names and addresses as they appear on the list of Voters, and that asks that any such vote as is described In paragraph (2) above be submitted to the Voters at large, is filed with the Select Board, then the Select Board, within not less than twenty-one days of the filing of such petition, shall call a Special Town election for that sole purpose, and said election shall be convened not less than thirty-five days, nor more than sixty days from the date of the call of such election.
(c)
Special Election. The polls shall be opened not later than eleven o'clock in the forenoon and shall be closed not earlier than eight o'clock in the evening, and all votes regarding the approval of any Town Meeting action so submitted shall be taken by ballot, and the check list shall be used in the several precinct meetings in the same manner as in the election of. Elected Town Officials. The approval of the Town Meeting action so submitted shall be determined by a Majority Vote of the Voters of the Town voting thereon, but no action of the Town Meeting shall be reversed unless at least twenty-five per cent of the total Voters shall vote to disapprove such action. Each ballot question shall be in the form of the following question: "Shall the Town vote to approve the action of the Town Meeting [insert Annual or Special Town Meeting date] whereby it was voted (the vote as it appears in the records of the Town Clerk)".