(A)
There shall be a representative form of Town Meeting
which shall exercise all power vested in the municipal corporation
so far as it is consistent with the provisions of this Charter.
(B)
When acting in conformity with all laws now or hereafter
applicable to the transaction of town affairs, the town shall have
the power to act through and shall be bound by the action of the town
meeting representatives who, when convened annually and specially,
shall constitute the Representative Town Meeting of Walpole.
(C)
Actions of Representative Town Meeting shall have
the same effect as if they had been taken in a town meeting open to
all voters of the town, as organized and conducted before the establishment
of the Representative Town Meeting.
(A)
There shall be 150 elected Town Meeting Representatives.
(B)
Attendance records shall be kept of each town meeting
and shall be made available at the Town Clerk's office. The Town Clerk
shall cause the attendance records of the Town Meeting Representatives
to be published in the Annual Report of the Town.
(C)
The Town Clerk, Town Administrator, Assistant Town
Administrator, any member of the General Court who is a registered
voter of the Town, and the chairpersons of the Select Board, Board
of Assessors, Planning Board, Board of Sewer and Water Commissioners,
Board of Library Trustees, Housing Authority and the School. Capital
Budget and Finance Committees shall all be ex officii members at large
of Town Meeting, but shall have no vote, unless already elected as
Town Meeting Representatives.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19; 1-4-2023 by Chapter 370 of the Acts of
2022]
(D)
It shall be the duty of the ex officii members at
large and the head of each town department or their designees to attend
that part of every representative town meeting at which matters pertaining
to their areas, other than those acted upon or determined by ballot,
are to be considered.
(E)
Town Meeting Representatives shall receive no compensation
for serving in that capacity.
(F)
A Town Meeting Representative shall be ineligible
to vote on any issue on which he or she is declared to be in conflict
of interest by Town Counsel in accordance with the General Laws.
(G)
Any citizen of the town may speak at least once on
any issue at town meeting, as provided for in the Rules of Town Meeting,
but he or she shall have no vote.
(A)
The number of elected Town Meeting Representatives
to which each precinct is entitled for the ensuing year shall be determined
between February 1 and February 15 by the Town Clerk.
(B)
The representatives shall be apportioned among the
precincts, as nearly as possible, according to the following formula:
|
No. of inhabitants of that precinct
No. of inhabitants in the town
|
=
|
No. of representatives for that precinct
150
|
(A)
The Select Board shall divide the town into not less
than five nor more than nine voting precincts. Each precinct shall
contain not less than two thousand nor more than four thousand inhabitants.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(B)
The precincts shall be plainly designated. All efforts
shall be used to see that they are compact and contiguous and that
they are bounded by center lines of highways and other well-defined
limits.
(A)
The Select Board shall review the precincts in April
every ten (10) years beginning with the year 2002 for the purpose
of determining whether their boundaries should be redrawn in whole
or in part.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(B)
The precincts shall also be reviewed in any other
year when Town Meeting so votes, provided such vote is not held later
than the 1st day of November.
(C)
The Select Board members shall, within ten (10) days
of completing their revisions, file a report of their action with
a map and a description of the precincts and addresses of the registered
voters in each precinct with the Town Clerk, the Board of Assessors
and the Registrars of Voters.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(1)
Such map, descriptions and lists shall be posted
for one (1) month in the Town Hall; and,
(2)
Similar information shall be posted for one
(1) month in at least one public place in each precinct unless that
information is published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the town.
(3)
The Town Clerk shall send written notice to
each voter affected by the redistricting.
(4)
The Town Clerk shall notify the Secretary of
the Commonwealth of any revisions of the precincts.
(D)
The redistricting shall be effective upon the date
of filing of the report of the Select Board with the Town Clerk.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(E)
Election of Town Meeting Representatives in a new
or revised precinct.
(1)
At the next annual town election following the
establishment of a new precinct or the revision of any existing precinct,
the full number of representatives apportioned to those precincts
shall stand for election.
(2)
The first third to the nearest whole number
of Town Meeting Representatives elected, in order of votes received,
shall serve for three (3) years, the second third to the nearest whole
number shall serve for two (2) years, and the remaining Town Meeting
Representatives for one (1) year. In case of a tie vote affecting
the division into thirds, the remaining Town Meeting Representatives
from that precinct shall determine the same by ballot.
(A)
Any registered voter may be nominated to serve as
Town Meeting Representative from the precinct in which he or she is
domiciled. To appear on the ballot, the nominee must file a nomination
paper with the Town Clerk which:
(B)
Special rights of incumbents.
(1)
Incumbent Town Meeting Representatives shall
have the following rights:
(a)
to forego the filing of nomination papers if they have filed a written statement of their intent to seek re-election with the Town Clerk twenty-one (21) days prior to the last day for the filing of nomination papers for the office of Town Meeting Representative; (See Article VII, Section 7-1, Computation of Time.)
(b)
to have the words "candidate for re-election"
added to their names as they appear on the ballot.
(2)
The term "incumbent" shall include those Town
Meeting Representatives who are required to stand for re-election
because of a redistricting of the precincts of the creation of new
precinct, provided that a portion of his/her original precinct is
contained in the new precinct; but,
(3)
For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
shall not be taken to include those persons who have been elected
by Town Meeting Representatives to fill a vacancy.
(C)
Should an equal number of votes be received by two
or more candidates and cause a tie for the purpose of deciding who
shall be declared elected a Town Meeting Representative, the remaining
Town Meeting Representatives of that precinct shall decide the issue
by secret ballot, as in Section 2-5(E)(2).
(D)
The Town Meeting Representatives shall be elected
in conformity with Chapters 53 and 54 of the General Laws relative
to elections, and the provisions of law relating to precinct voting
at election shall apply to all elections and primaries in the town
so far as such laws are not inconsistent herewith. The provisions
of this article pertaining to the establishment of precincts shall
not authorize any action contrary to the provisions of any law relative
to the use of precincts in the formation of representative districts.
(E)
Except as provided in Section 2-5(E)(2), the term
of office for Town Meeting Representatives shall be three years, so
that approximately one third of the membership shall be elected each
year.
(A)
Resignation and relocation:
(1)
Town Meeting Representatives may resign by filing
a written resignation with the Town Clerk, effective upon the date
of filing.
(2)
A representative who moves from the town shall
cease forthwith to be a representative and must, within ten (10) days,
submit a written notice to the Town Clerk. A representative who moves
from one precinct to another may serve only until the next annual
town election.
(B)
When a vacancy occurs in the full number of Town Meeting
Representatives from any precinct arising from any cause, other than
the failure of the registered voters thereof to elect, said vacancy
shall be filled until the next annual town election by the remaining
Town Meeting Representatives of the precinct in which the vacancy
has arisen.
(1)
The Town Clerk shall call a special meeting
of the Town Meeting Representatives of the precinct in which the vacancy
exists. The Town Clerk shall also publish notice of such vacancy at
least one week prior to filling that vacancy.
(2)
The Town Clerk shall mail to every such representative,
a notice specifying the object, time and place of the meeting, not
less than five (5) days before the time set for the meeting.
(3)
At the said meeting, a majority of the representatives
from such precinct shall constitute a quorum.
(4)
The choice to fill the vacancy shall be by ballot
and a majority of the votes cast shall be necessary for election.
(5)
After receiving written acceptance from the
successful candidate, the Town Clerk shall give public notice of his/her
election.
(A)
The Moderator shall be nominated and elected in the
same manner as the other elected town officials at the annual town
election.
(B)
The term of office for Moderator shall be for one
(1) year.
(C)
The Moderator shall preside over the town meetings,
appoint members of the Finance Committee and Capital Budget Committee
and have those other powers and duties as may be given him or her
by the General Laws, amendments to this Charter, by-law, or vote of
the Town Meeting.
[Amended 1-4-2023 by Chapter 370 of the Acts of 2022]
(D)
If the Moderator is absent, the Town Clerk shall have
the power to call the meeting to order and act on a motion to adjourn
or, if there is business to be transacted, the Clerk shall have the
power to preside until a Moderator Pro Tempore is elected by the Town
Meeting Representatives, which election shall be held as the first
order of business of the meeting at which the moderator is absent.
(E)
The Moderator Pro Tempore shall have no power to make
appointments unless specifically authorized by vote of the Town Meeting.
(A)
The Town Meeting shall have the power to establish
Committees.
(B)
Town Meeting shall direct such a committee to report
to the Town Meeting, the Moderator, or to the Select Board, and shall
determine the time, manner and method of reporting.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(C)
Town Meeting shall appoint the committees or give
this power to the Moderator or to the Select Board.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(D)
those committees shall be:
(E)
Finance Committee
(1)
The Moderator shall appoint a committee of fifteen
to serve as the Finance Committee.
(2)
The Moderator shall appoint five (5) members
each year for a term of three (3) years, which expires on June 30.
Should a vacancy occur, the committee chair shall notify the Moderator,
who shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. The members of
the committee shall receive no compensation for serving in that capacity.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(3)
The Finance Committee shall have all the powers
granted a committee of its nature by the General Laws and in this
regard shall not be affected by Paragraph (H) of this section.
(4)
The Finance Committee shall be the advisory
committee for town meeting on all subjects. For this reason, the Finance
Committee may compel the appearance of any town official, employee
or other persons, records or information which is reasonable and necessary
for its deliberations.
(5)
The Finance Committee shall include, with each
report which the Finance Committee is required by Town by-laws to
distribute to each residence prior to the Fall and Spring Annual Town
Meetings, a schedule showing the following:
(F)
Town Meeting Rules Committee
(1)
At the first session of the annual town meeting,
each precinct shall meet and select one of its members to serve on
the Town Meeting Rules Committee.
(2)
The Town Meeting Rules Committee shall consider
any subject matter which deals with the manner in which town meeting
conducts its business and submits its recommendations to town meeting.
(3)
Changes in the Rules of Town Meeting shall be
effective upon a two-thirds vote of the town meeting.
(4)
Copies of ratified changes in the Rules of Town
Meeting shall be-made available to all current Town Meeting Representatives
in the office of the Town Clerk.
(5)
Should a vacancy occur, or should any precinct
fail to select one of its members to serve on the Town Meeting Rules
Committee, the Moderator shall appoint a Town Meeting Representative
who shall be from that precinct, to fill out the unexpired term. Any
member of the Town Meeting Rules Committee who ceases to be a Town
Meeting Representative shall be deemed to have resigned therefrom.
(G)
Town By-laws Committee
(1)
At the first session of the fall annual town
meeting in the year in which this Charter is adopted and at no more
than five (5) year intervals thereafter, each precinct shall meet
and select one (1) of its members to serve on the Town By-laws Committee.
(2)
The Town By-laws Committee shall review the
town by-laws and present its report, including any revisions or recodifications,
to the next fall annual town meeting for reenactment. Subsequent to
enactment by the Town Meeting, copies of the revised by-laws shall
be published as required by the General Laws.
(3)
Should a vacancy occur or should any precinct
fail to select one of its members to serve on the Town By-laws Committee,
the Moderator shall appoint a Town Meeting Representative, who shall
be from that precinct, to fill out the unexpired term. Any member
of the Committee who ceases to be a Town Meeting Representative shall
be deemed to have resigned therefrom.
(4)
The Town By-laws Committee shall be discharged
upon dissolution of the fall annual town meeting at which its report
is presented for action unless otherwise voted by the Town Meeting.
(5)
Copies of the revised by laws shall be made
available for distribution; provided, however, that a charge not to
exceed the actual cost per copy of reproduction may be charged.
(H)
Capital Budget Committee
(1)
There shall be a Capital Budget Committee consisting
of seven members which are appointed, six (6) of which shall be appointed
by the Moderator, and one (1) designated from the Finance Committee
for three (3) year terms, so arranged that the terms of not more than
three members shall expire each year.
(2)
The Capital Budget Committee shall review and
make recommendations with respect to any proposed expenditure of town
funds on capital projects to the town meeting, the Finance Committee
and other town boards, departments, offices and committees.
(3)
The various town boards, officers, and committees
charged with the expenditures of town money shall, at a reasonable
time before the end of each calendar year, prepare detailed estimates
of the amounts deemed by them advisable for the town to expend for
capital projects annually for a period up to six years or as determined
by the Capital Budget Committee, together with explanatory statements
providing such additional information about each proposed capital
project as reasonably may be requested by the Capital Budget Committee.
(4)
The Capital Budget Committee shall duly consider
the same and may confer with said town boards, officers and committees,
and hold hearings, if they deem it advisable. The Committee shall
meet with the Finance Committee before preparing its final report.
The Committee shall make a report annually of the matters so considered
by it with recommendations or suggestions relative thereto, and their
said report shall be published and distributed, as part of the annual
report of the Finance Committee.
(5)
A capital project shall generally be considered
a physical betterment or item of equipment having a substantial useful
life (in excess of 5 years) the total cost of which exceeds $5,000
or such other amount as may be specified from time to time in the
Town By-laws. A capital project shall be more specifically defined
as a non-recurring expenditure financed in whole or in part by town
funds or other sources of revenue available to the town for the construction,
reconstruction, replacement, major repair, extension or other improvement
of a public building, highway, sidewalk, storm drain, sewer, installation,
vehicle, equipment, bridge, playground, land, park or cemetery or
pond, and public works or other facility, structure or utility appurtenant.
(I)
Except for the Finance Committee (as provided in Paragraph
(D)(3) in this section) and any other Committee of the Town Meeting
which is given such powers by the General Laws, no committee established
by the Town Meeting shall have executive or legislative powers and
all matters shall be determined by the Town Meeting.
(A)
The Town Meeting shall meet annually at 7:30 p.m.
on the first Monday in May to consider and adopt an annual operating
and capital budget, and to act on fiscal subjects or any pertinent
matters. The meeting shall be continued on other days until all articles
in the warrant shall have been acted upon; however, all business must
be completed prior to the annual town election.
(B)
The Town Meeting shall also meet annually at 7:30
p.m. on the third Monday in October to consider and act on matters
of planning, zoning, subdivision control, building codes, and the
adoption, amendment, or repeal of by-laws, as well as to consider
and act upon such other business, including matters involving an appropriation
of town funds, as may properly come before the meeting. The meeting
shall be continued on other days until all articles in the warrant
have been acted upon. In case of an emergency, the business of the
meeting may be adjourned for no longer than two weeks.
(C)
A special town meeting may be called by the Select
Board, and/or by petition of 200 registered voters.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(D)
A majority of the Town Meeting Representatives shall
constitute a quorum.
(E)
The Town Clerk shall notify the Town Meeting Representatives
of the time and place at which the annual and any special town meetings
are to be held.
(A)
The articles in the warrant for any town meeting which
relate to the election of a Moderator, town officers, and Town Meeting
Representatives and to referenda and all matters to be acted upon
and determined by ballot shall be acted upon and determined by the
registered voters of the town.
(B)
Meetings of the registered voters of the several precincts
for election and primaries and for voting upon a question to be submitted
to the town, shall be held at the same time and at such place or places
as the Select Board members shall direct in the warrant for the meetings.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(C)
All other articles shall be acted upon and determined
exclusively by the Town Meeting Representatives at a meetings held
at a time and place specified by the Select Board members in the warrant
for such meetings subject to a referendum as herein provided.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
At least (7) days before the session of town
meeting at which any collective bargaining agreement is presented
for approval or funding, the Town Meeting Representatives and Select
Board shall be furnished with a written summary explaining the revisions
contained in that agreement. In addition to the foregoing, at least
seven (7) days before being presented for such approval or funding,
a copy of the entire agreement shall be placed on file with the office
of Town Clerk for inspection by any Representative Town Meeting Member
or resident and shall be posted on the town of Walpole's website.
These agreements shall remain posted on the website until at least
five (5) days after the town meeting is dissolved.
Any changes in a negotiated labor contract made
subsequent to its distribution to the Town Meeting Representatives
and prior to its funding may be submitted with explanation, but without
the furnishing of a completely revised contract or contracts.
(A)
A referendum may be held on a vote of the Town Meeting
which:
(1)
authorizes the expenditure of $25,000 or more
as a special appropriation;
(2)
establishes a new board or office;
(3)
abolishes an existing board or office;
(4)
merges two or more boards or offices;
(5)
fixes the term of office of town officers, where
such term is left to local option;
(6)
changes the number of members of a board;
(7)
adopts a new by-law; and
(8)
changes or repeals an existing by-law.
(B)
The votes mentioned in numbers 3-6 shall not be subject
to referenda when adopted under Chapter 43B of the General Laws, since
a vote of the entire town is required thereon.
(C)
A petition requesting a referendum must;
(1)
State the question upon which the referendum
is to be held;
(2)
Be filed with the Town Clerk within ten days
of the last session of the Town Meeting in which the vote was taken;
(3)
Be signed by not less than fifty voters from
each precinct, the aggregate number of those signing being not less
than 4% of the voters of the town.
(D)
The date and method for taking the vote on the referendum
shall be as follows:
(1)
The Town Clerk shall determine within five days
whether the petition meets the requirements of Paragraph (C) and report
his/her findings to the Select Board members.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(2)
The Select Board members shall, within five
days of the receipt of the petition and a favorable report of the
Town Clerk, set the date for the vote.
[Amended 10-21-2019 FATM, Art. 19]
(3)
Such vote shall be taken on any Saturday within
forty-five (45) days of the filing of the petition with the Town Clerk.
(4)
Each question submitted shall be placed on the
official ballot in the following form:
|
"Shall the Town vote to approve the action of
the Representative Town Meeting whereby it voted, (insert a brief
description of the substance of the vote)?"
|
(5)
The polls for voting upon such a question shall
be opened no later than 8:00 a.m. and shall be closed no earlier than
8:00 p.m.
(6)
The vote shall be taken by ballot and the checklist
used in the several precincts in the same manner as for the election
of the town officials.
(F)
If no petition is received within the time limit of
Paragraph (C), the vote of Town Meeting shall then become operative
and effective, except as provided by state statute.
