Chapter 2

ANNUAL TOWN

MEETING

Sections:

2.010 Annual Town Meeting

2.020 The Calling of Town Meeting

2.030 Town Meeting Procedures

2.010 Annual Town Meeting.

The Annual town Meeting shall be conducted in two parts as follows:

(A) The election of Town Officers shall be held on the second Tuesday of

April in each year with polling places provided for each precinct. The polls shall be open

in all precincts no later than 7:00 A.M. and close at 8:00 P.M.

(B)The officers of the Town to be elected at the annual election in the years in

which the terms of the incumbent expire, with their terms in office, shall be as follows:

One Moderator for three years.

Three Selectmen, three years each, one elected annually.

Three Assessors, three years each, one elected annually.

Three members of Board of Public Works, three years each, one elected

annually.

Five members of the School Committee, three years each, one elected in

one year and two in each of next two succeeding years.

Six Library Trustees, three years each, two elected annually.

Five members of Planning Board, five years each, one elected annually.

Four members of the Housing Authority, five years each, one elected

annually, except in fifth year when State Appointee is appointed: making a

five-member board.

(B) If a vacancy occurs in any elected office, that vacancy shall be filled in

accordance with the provisions of the Mass. General Laws, Chapter 41, as amended.

(D) The meeting for the transaction of other business shall be held the first

Monday in May, starting at 7:00 P.M.

2.020 The Calling of Town Meeting.

(A) The Selectmen shall have delivered or mailed a true copy of the Warrant for

town meeting to every occupied dwelling at least 7 days before the Annual Town

Meeting and at least 14 days before a Special Town Meeting.

(B) If the Annual Town Report includes a true copy of the Warrant and is

distributed under the same requirements as Sec. 2.020(A), this shall fulfill the

requirements of that section.

Annual Town Meeting is not properly called as herein provided, it shall be called and

held as soon as practicable thereafter.

(D) If the Board of Selectmen by unanimous vote determine that an Emergency

exists requiring the holding of a Special Town Meeting and such emergency shall be

prolonged by reason of the requirement for delivering or mailing a copy of the Warrant,

the Board of Selectmen shall publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the

town, provided that if notice is to be published in this manner, a concise summary of each

article to be considered shall be included, and publication made in two editions of the

newspaper or publication once each week for 2 successive weeks with the first

publication at least 14 days before the Special Town Meeting shall fulfill the

requirements for the notice under Section 2.020(A).

(E) The Warrant for that part of the Annual Town meeting for the transaction of

business shall be closed and no further articles shall be received later than at the close of

Town Offices on January 15 prior to the holding of said meeting.

(F)The Selectmen shall insert in the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting all

articles requested of them in writing by ten or more registered voters of the Town and in

the Warrant for every Special Town Meeting all articles requested of them in writing by

one hundred registered voters of the Town.

(G) The Selectmen shall call a Special Town Meeting upon request in writing,

upon a form approved by the Secretary of State of two hundred registered voters of the

Town: such meeting to be held not later than forty-five days after receipt of such request.

(H) The written request of registered voters for the insertion of articles in Meeting

warrants shall not be valid unless the required number of registered voters not only sign

their names but also state their residences, with street and number of dwelling. The

Selectmen shall submit such written requests to the Board of Registrars of Voters who

shall check and forthwith certify the number of signatures so checked which are names of

voters of the Town. (G.L.39/10).

(I) Town Meetings, regular, postponed to another date, special or emergency, will

have priority over other Town business. Meetings of elected or appointed Town officials,

boards and committees are to be scheduled so as not to conflict with these dates.

2.030 Town Meeting Procedures.

(A) QUORUM. A quorum at any town meeting shall be 150 voters, except that a

quorum for any adjourned town meeting or special town meeting shall be 100 voters. In

the event that the necessary quorum for any regular, adjourned or special town meeting

has not been attained within thirty (30) minutes after the scheduled starting time, the

Moderator shall adjourn said meeting to another date and time certain. Persons entering

the meeting hall shall be issued identification sufficient to distinguish voters from non-

voters.

(B) LIMITS OF THE FLOOR.

1.The Moderator shall determine the limits of the floor for any town meeting.

2.Lobbying and circulation of handbills or other voter information within the

building, shall be at the discretion of the Moderator.

3.Only registered voters of the town may be limited to the floor.

4.When facilities permit, seating may be provided for non-voters.

5.A Sergeant-at-Arms, appointed by the Moderator, shall enforce this chapter at

the direction of the Moderator.

6.All persons shall be seated during the meeting, as far as possible.

7.Every town meeting shall, if practicable, be opened with prayer and Oath of

Allegiance.

8.The Moderator shall regulate the use of audio or visual equipment for the

purposes of news coverage

1.The general rules of parliamentary procedure shall prevail in such matters not

covered by law, or in these General By-Laws for conducting the business of any

town meeting.

2.The Moderator shall preserve decorum and order and he shall decide all

questions of order and he may make any ruling of parliamentary law without

appeal.

3.Articles in the warrant shall be acted upon in the order in which they stand,

unless the meeting shall direct otherwise by a 2/3rds affirmative vote.

4.No person shall address a town meeting without leave of the Moderator. All

questions asked of any person shall be asked through the Moderator.

5.No person shall speak more than three times on any questions without obtaining

permission of the Moderator, except to correct an error, make an explanation or to

answer a question.

6.Persons entitled to speak shall rise and address the Moderator, remaining

standing while speaking.

7.No person in the meeting shall be referred to by name except by the Moderator

for the purpose of recognition or identification.

8.Every motion or amendment to the motion shall be reduced to writing.

9.Any person who is employed as an attorney (or agent) of another, interested in

any matter under discussion of a town meeting, shall disclose the fact of his

employment before speaking.

10.Non-voters may speak at a town meeting only by permission of the Moderator

and with proper identification.

11.If a motion to reconsider shall be allowed by the Moderator, it shall require a

two-thirds affirmative vote of those present and entitled to vote and voting upon the

motion for reconsideration. No vote passed at any meeting shall be reconsidered at any

adjournment thereof unless such reconsideration by ordered at the meeting at which it

was adopted by two-thirds of the voters present and voting upon such motion for

reconsideration. No question shall be reconsidered more than once.

12.Whenever any matter has been referred to a committee and the report of the

committee thereon has been presented, and has been read before the meeting, the report

shall be regarded as accepted.

13.Upon taking a vote, 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 question shall then be distinctly and clearly stated, and those in the affirmative and

negative respectively, shall be counted by the tellers, who shall carefully count each side

and make report thereof to the Moderator. No person shall be counted who does not

occupy a seat, provided that the tellers, under the direction of the Moderator, may count

the voters of those who are unable to obtain seats.

14.A motion for a secret ballot shall be permitted. A ballot vote may be called for

on any question by a 2/3rds majority of the voters present and voting.

15.No motion whose effect would be to dissolve a Town meeting shall be in order

until each article in the Warrant has been duly considered and acted upon but this

shall not prevent an adjournment of a meeting to s stated time.

16.The Moderator, while occupying the chair, shall not participate in any

discussion so as to influence motions or articles on the floor.

17.In the absence of the Moderator, or until a Temporary Moderator is elected, the

Clerk of the Town shall preside. (Subsection A amended May, 1992: subsection A amended by letter dated 1-12-90)