[Adopted 6-6-2011 ATM by Art. 26]
If a 2/3 vote is required by statute, the Moderator is authorized
to declare a voice vote; provided, however, that if a vote so declared
is immediately questioned by seven or more voters, the Moderator shall
verify it by taking a standing count.
Warrants for the Town Meetings shall be directed
to any Constable of the Town or some other person, and it shall be
the duty of said Constable or other person to warn the inhabitants
of said meeting by posting attested copies of the Warrant in not less
than six public places at least 14 days before the day of said meeting.
The Board of Selectman shall print, at the expense of the Town, the
Annual and Special Town Meeting Warrants in sufficient quantity for
the Town voting inhabitants; make them available in the Town offices
14 days before the day of said meeting and make them available at
time and place of said meeting. Those Warrants furnished to the Townspeople
at Town Meeting shall be 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches standard letter
size.
All petitioned articles calling for an appropriation
of money to be inserted in the Warrant shall be submitted to the Town
department involved by the petitioners on or before November 15. The
department shall examine the request contained in the article and
submit a recommendation as to the feasibility of the project requested
and the reasonableness of the price stated therein. Said recommendation,
in writing, shall be attached to the petition and be returned to the
sponsor within 10 days for filing with the Board of Selectmen. Failure
to obtain the recommendation of the department in question through
no fault of the petitioner shall not constitute a bar to the filing
of such petition with the Selectmen.
The duties of the Moderator not especially provided
for by law, or by these bylaws, shall be determined by the rules and
practices contained in "Town Meeting Time."
A motion to reconsider any vote must be made
before the final adjournment of the meeting at which the vote was
passed, and such motion to reconsider shall not be made at an adjourned
meeting unless the voter has given notice of his intention to make
such a motion, either at the session of the meeting at which the vote
was passed, or by written notice to the Town Clerk within 48 hours
after the adjournment of such session. There can be no reconsideration
of a vote once reconsidered or after a vote not to reconsider.
No article in the Warrant shall again be taken
under consideration after it has been disposed of by vote, unless
ordered by a vote of 2/3 of the voters present and voting.
No motion the effect of which would be to dissolve
a Town Meeting shall be in order until every article in the Warrant
has been duly considered and acted upon, but this shall not preclude
the postponement of action on or consideration of any article to an
adjournment of the meeting to a stated time.
A vote to accept the report of a special committee
shall place the report before the meeting but shall not discharge
the committee. A vote to adopt or reject a report of a special committee
with or without amendment shall discharge the committee.
At any Town Meeting held for the transaction
of Town business, if the Moderator or a vote of the meeting so orders,
no person whose name is not on the list of voters shall be admitted
to the floor of the hall, and such order may be enforced by the use
of a checklist, but the same shall not apply to the state election,
primaries or Town Meetings for the election of Town officers, or be
construed to prohibit press reporters from the meeting. The Moderator
shall determine the bounds of the hall.
No person shall speak for more than five minutes
for the second time on any subject if there are any other citizens
who desire to be but have not been heard on the same subject without
first obtaining leave of the meeting.
Any report, resolution or motion shall be reduced
to writing before being submitted to the meeting, if it is so requested
by the Moderator.
