A Town Meeting shall be held annually to elect officials at
municipal polling places on the first Tuesday following the first
Monday in November. A Town Meeting will be held annually in May to
enact a municipal budget and to conduct such other business as may
be necessary. Additional Town Meetings will be held two additional
times each year, usually in March and September to conduct municipal
business, as necessary. Special Town Meetings shall be held at such
times as provided by statute or ordinance.
At the general business meeting of the Town each May, an annual
report of the Town will be made and shall include a State of the Town
message from the executive branch of the Town government summarizing
the general condition of the Town. Other reports of Town officers
and of standing and special committees shall be made available to
the public. Reports required by statute or by the Town to be published
shall be posted on the Town's website and printed for distribution
one week before the Town Meeting.
No person shall speak more than twice on any one question or
more than five minutes at a time at Town Meeting without permission
of the Moderator or assembled Town Meeting body to do so.
Prior to the election of the Town Meeting Moderator, the Town
Clerk may call the assembled body to order with an invocation and
may use the following:
We are gathered here together in a civil assembly.
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We gather as a community, in the oldest sense of the word.
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We gather together to by and make decisions, about what we think
is right, and about what we think is wrong.
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Let us advocate for our positions, but never at the expense
of others.
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Let us remember that there is an immense gap between saying
"I think I am right" and "I am right".
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Let us always remember that our neighbors with whom we might
disagree at Town Meeting are good people with hopes and dreams as
true and as high as our own.
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Let us not forget the citizens who have served our town in the
past as well as those who are serving it today.
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Most importantly, let us remember that, in the end, caring for
each other, and our community, is of far greater importance than any
differences we may have at this meeting.
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A Moderator shall be elected to serve at every general business
meeting of the Town. The election of the Moderator shall be conducted
as governed by statute or ordinance. The Moderator shall follow the
Maine Moderator's Manual or such other rules as may be allowed by
statute or ordinance. The Moderator shall make a summary presentation
to the assembled body about the rules of procedure and decorum to
be followed at the meeting.
Every general business meeting of the Town shall be opened with
a prayer.
All materials made available at Town Meeting shall disclose
who is responsible for making them available to the assembled body.
Any materials developed by Town officials or Town staff shall be identifiable
as Town materials through the use of some form of authentic identification
method.
At the general business meeting of the Town each May, the Town
may bestow a recognition award on a citizen of the Town. The Town
Meeting Committee shall be responsible for developing a nomination
and selection process. The name of the award recipient shall not be
disclosed prior to the meeting.
No motion shall be entertained at a reconvened meeting for reconsideration
of any vote passed at the original meeting, or any adjournment thereof,
unless notice of such action to reconsider shall have been given at
such original meeting or at some intervening reconvened meeting, but
this section may be suspended in any particular case by a vote of
three-fourths (3/4) of those present and voting.