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Town of Abington, MA
Plymouth County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
Zoning Map New Laws (3) Index Notes (4)
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Abington 4-3-2006 ATM by Art. 8.][1]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Elections — See Ch. 53.
Finance Committee — See Ch. 67.
Town offices — See Ch. 155.
[1]
Editor's Note: This Article also superseded former Ch. 152, Town Meetings, derived from Ch. 1 of the 1992 Town of Abington Bylaws, as amended.
[Amended 6-6-2016 ATM by Art. 9]
The Annual Town Meeting shall be held on the first Monday of April of each year. The election of such officers as are required by law to be elected by ballot and determination of such matters as are required by law to be determined by ballot shall be considered part of the Annual Town Meeting and shall be held on the last Saturday in April of each year. This section shall not otherwise alter the existing statutory authority of the Board of Selectmen to delay the date of Town Meeting pursuant to M.G.L. c. 39, § 9.
[Amended 4-2-2012 ATM by Art. 15L]
A. 
Posting. A copy of the warrant for every Annual and Special Town Meeting shall be posted at the post offices and two or more other public places in Town in accordance with the requirements of MGL c. 39, § 10.
B. 
Availability of warrants and notice thereof. Forthwith following execution of the warrant, the Town shall post a printable version of the warrant on the Town's website, make copies available at the Town Offices and Public Library, and, to the extent feasible, at two additional publicly accessible locations in Town.
C. 
Notice. No later than one week prior to the date of Town Meeting, a notice shall be delivered to the post office for mailing to each residence of one or more registered voters in the Town setting forth, at a minimum, the date, time and place of the Town Meeting, as well as language similar to the following:
[Amended 10-29-2012 STM by Art. 6]
The warrant and Finance Committee recommendations may be viewed at the Town Clerk's office at 500 Gliniewicz Way or on the Town's website at www.abingtonma.gov. Contact the Town Clerk at (781) 982-2112 to request a paper copy of the warrant.
D. 
Validity of meeting. While it is the intent of this bylaw that every effort shall be made to file, post, and comply with the mailing and copying requirements set forth in § 152-2B and C, failure to do so shall not invalidate the action of the meeting.
At all Town Meetings, the Board of Selectmen shall be directed to use a checklist of registered voters for admission of all persons to said meeting.
The quorum of any Annual or Special Town Meeting shall be 150 registered voters of the Town.
In conducting Town Meeting, on the proposed amendments involving sums of money the larger of the largest amount shall be put to the question first, and an affirmative vote thereon shall be a negative vote on any smaller amount.
In conducting Town Meeting, when a motion for reconsideration is decided, that decision shall not be reconsidered and no question shall twice be reconsidered. No motion to reconsider a vote shall be in order after the meeting has been adjourned for any period of time subsequent to the passing of the vote which is sought to be reconsidered.
A. 
Except on a motion on parliamentary procedure and except on a question involving an appropriation of money less than $5,000, in conducting all town meetings, when a vote on a motion or question is doubted by seven voters or more, a count or a secret written ballot shall be taken.
B. 
Whenever a two-thirds vote is required by statute, such vote may be declared as such by the Moderator without a count and shall be recorded as such by the Town Clerk upon such declaration; provided, however, that seven voters or more may challenge such declaration, at which time a count shall be taken.
Articles for the Annual Town Meeting Warrant, except for Articles I (wage classification) and II (budgets), shall be inserted in the Warrant in the order in which said articles are received by the Board of Selectmen. Articles for any Special Town Meeting Warrant shall be inserted in the Warrant in the order in which said articles are received by the Board of Selectmen. All petition articles, when received by the Board of Selectmen, shall be referred to the Town Clerk and Registrars of Voters for checking as to the correctness of signatures.
In conducting Town Meeting, articles shall be considered in numerical order unless voted otherwise by a four-fifths majority of the voters present and voting at the meeting, or unless two or more articles are related in the opinion of the Moderator, in which event, the articles may be considered together.
All proposed salary and wage increases for Town employees and officials other than employees of the School Department and increases previously approved shall be presented in a special article in the Town Warrant. Such salaries shall be itemized by department and job classification. On a motion duly seconded, a majority of voters present and voting at Town Meeting may require the Moderator to order a separate secret ballot on any position or classification included in a special article for proposed salary increases.
[Added 4-2-2012 ATM by Art. 15C]
When the Board of Selectmen determines by separate vote that it is necessary or appropriate, the Town may hold its annual or special Town meetings outside the geographic boundaries of the Town. Reasons for holding a Town meeting outside of the Town shall include, but not be limited to: anticipated voter turnout; emergencies relating to commonly used Town Meeting locations, or handicapped accessibility.