[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting of the Town of Yarmouth 4-7-1981 by Art. 16.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter was derived from Sections 1.01 through 1.06 of the Town of Yarmouth Bylaws. Section 1.06 was originally adopted 2-9-1914 and amended 2-8-1915, 2-9-1915, 2-9-1954, 3-13-1973 and 4-24-1978 by Art. 9. Section 1.02 was originally adopted 2-8-1944 and amended 4-9-1974 and 4-23-1979 by Art. 55. Section 1.03 was originally adopted in 1915 and amended 4-9-1974 and 5-2-1977 by Art. 20. Section 1.04 was originally adopted in 1915 and amended 2-29-1936, 2-12-1952, 3-12-1957, 3-12-1963 and 4-25-1977 by Art. 15. Section 1.05 was originally adopted 3-12-1968 and amended 4-10-1980 by Art. 50. Section 1.06 was originally adopted 4-23-1979 by Art. 54.
[Amended 11-27-2001 STM by Art. 15, approved 12-11-2001; 10-5-2005 STM by Art. 8, approved 12-23-2005; 4-10-2007 ATM by Art. 51, approved 7-31-2007; 12-11-2007 STM by Art. 1, approved 2-8-2008; 4-8-2008 ATM by Art. 38, approved 8-5-2008; 7-26-2010 STM by Art. 4, approved 8-4-2010; 7-28-2014 STM by Art. 4, approved 9-16-2014; 5-4-2019 ATM by Art. 19, approved 8-14-2019]
The Annual Town Meeting for the election of all Town officers shall be held in the several precincts, under the general election laws governing the election of state officers, on the third Tuesday in May of each year. The Spring Annual Town Meeting for the appropriation of money for Town purposes and all other matters that may properly come before it shall be held on the last Tuesday in April of each year. The Meeting shall be opened by the Moderator and the articles acted upon in the order in which they appear in the warrant, unless the meeting shall prescribe a different order.
[Amended 4-13-1982 by Art. 6, approved 8-11-1982]
The Selectmen shall insert in the warrant for the Annual Meetings all articles, petitions for which, signed by 10 or more legal voters, shall be delivered to the Selectmen, through the office of the Executive Secretary or the Town Clerk, on or before the fifth day of January in each year; however, the Selectmen, by majority vote, may insert in said warrant any article or articles that they deem advisable and in the best interest of the Town until January 31 of any year, and, whenever it is possible, shall, before calling a Special Town Meeting, insert in some newspaper circulated in the Town a notice specifying the last day upon which articles to be inserted in the warrant for such meeting shall be presented to the Selectmen or the Town Clerk. The warrant for the Annual Meeting shall also designate the Town officers who are to be chosen by ballot and their respective terms of office.
Every Town Meeting shall be called in pursuance of a warrant, under the hands of the Selectmen, notice of which shall be given at least seven days before the Annual Meeting and at least 14 days before a Special Town Meeting, by posting attested copies thereof in each post office of the district of the Town and by publication of said warrant in one or more newspapers circulated in the Town.
A. 
There shall be a Finance Committee, consisting of no less than seven but not more than nine residents of the Town appointed by a Selection Committee consisting of the Moderator, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and the Chairman of the Finance Committee. The Selection Committee shall appoint a sufficient number of members each year to replace members whose terms have expired; provided, however, that the Selection Committee may choose not to renew the terms of a member (or members) and leave such position vacant so long as there remain seven members of the Finance Committee at all times. Members of the Finance Committee shall serve without compensation, and no member shall hold any other elective or appointive Town position, with the exception of the Personnel Board and the Capital Budget Committee, during said member's term of office. The Selection Committee may rescind an appointment to the Finance Committee if an appointee has failed to attend 1/2 or more of its regular meetings and may fill any vacancy for an unexpired term.
[Amended 4-7-2014 ATM by Art. 41, approved 4-29-2014; 10-29-2019 STM by Art. 3, approved 2-12-2020]
B. 
The Finance Committee shall annually choose a Chairman, a Secretary and such other officers as it deems necessary.
C. 
The Finance Committee shall have all of the duties and powers of a Finance Committee under the Annotated Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 39, § 16; Chapter 40, § 6; Chapter 41, §§ 59 and 60; and Chapter 70, § 6. The Finance Committee shall be the committee appointed by the Town to consider and report on proposed appropriations under Chapter 41, § 60, of the Annotated Laws of Massachusetts.
D. 
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section, the present elected members of the Finance Committee shall continue to serve as members of the Finance Committee under this section until their respective terms of office expire and their successors, appointed by the Selection Committee, are qualified.
[Amended 4-9-1985 by Art. 48, approved 6-6-1985]
To conduct business at any Annual or Special Town Meeting, a quorum of zero registered voters in the Town shall be present, the number of registered voters to be those registered on January 1 in the year when the Annual or Special Town Meeting is held.
A. 
The conduct of any Town Meeting, annual or special, shall be governed by the rules set forth in the book titled "Town Meeting Time," 1962 Edition, except as otherwise provided by state statute or Town bylaw.
B. 
No article at an Annual or Special Town Meeting can be reconsidered before one additional article has been acted upon or 15 minutes has passed, whichever is later. This section shall not apply to the last article in any warrant.
[Added 4-9-1985 by Art. 17, approved 6-6-1985]
[Added 9-29-2009 STM by Art. 7, approved 11-12-2009]
Whenever a two-thirds vote is required by statute, such vote may be declared as such by the Moderator without a count and be recorded as such by the clerk upon such declaration; provided, however, that seven or more members of a Town Meeting may challenge such declaration, all as provided by Massachusetts General Law Chapter 39, Section 15, at which time a count shall be held.