General Bylaw Article 1-1
PART 1 - ARTICLES RELATING TO TOWN MEETING
ARTICLE 1 - 1
TOWN MEETING
Sec. 1 A. The Annual Town Meeting shall be held on the first Monday in May at 7:30 o'clock in the afternoon. The primary purpose of this meeting shall be to deal with all financial matters of the Town including revisions of the Classification and Compensation By-Law, if necessary. The election of Town Officers and the voting upon questions as required by General or Special Law shall be held on the third Saturday in May. The hours for the opening and the closing of the polls shall be left to the discretion of the Board of Selectmen. (07/2020)
Sec. 1 B. The Board of Selectmen shall call one Special Town Meeting annually on the first Monday in October at 7:30 o'clock in the afternoon for the primary purpose of considering General By-Law and Zoning By-Law changes and other matters where financial considerations are not involved.
Sec. 1 C. Nothing in this section shall prevent insertion in any Warrant of any Article on any subject proper for Town Meeting consideration, nor shall there be any restraint in the calling of additional Special Town Meetings; and the foregoing "primary purposes" are set forth as a guide for the orderly conduct of Town business
Sec. 2. Notice of every Town Meeting shall be given by posting attested copies of the Meeting Warrant at the Town Hall, Fire Stations, Police Station, various public locations and Post Offices at least seven (7) days, exclusive of the day of posting, prior to the date of such Annual Town Meeting: provided further that notice of any Special Town Meeting shall be posted at least fourteen (14) days, exclusive of the day of posting, prior to the date of such Special Town Meeting. 07/2020
Sec. 3. The Town Clerk shall, after an adjournment of seventy-two (72) hours or more, of any Town Meeting, cause to be posted within twenty-four (24) hours of the adjournment, in the several places named on the preceding section. The said notice shall state the time to which the Meeting stands adjourned, and shall contain a concise statement of matters remaining to be acted upon.
Sec. 4A. Whenever an Article is inserted in a Warrant upon the request of any voter or voters other than a Town Officer, the same shall be in writing and signed by said voter or voters; and the Warrant shall stipulate "proposed by" and the name or names of such persons. If the number of persons requesting the insertion of an Article in a Warrant exceeds ten, the Board of Selectmen may omit all the names of such persons except the name of the first person who has signed the request or petition and in such case they shall add after such "and (number) others", giving the number of the signers.
Sec. 4B. If an Article is inserted in the Warrant at the request of a Town Officer, Board, Committee or Commission of the Town, said request shall be signed by such Town Officer, or by a majority of such Board, Committee or Commission and the Warrant shall stipulate that said Article was "Proposed by" and then stating the official title of such Officer, Board, Committee or Commission.
Sec. 4C. The Board of Selectmen shall insert in the Warrant for the Annual Meeting all subjects, the insertion of which shall be requested of them in writing, and signed, by ten or more registered voters of the Town; and in the Warrant for every Special Town Meeting, all subjects, the insertion of which shall be requested of them in writing, and signed, by one hundred or more registered voters or by ten percent of the total number of registered voters of the Town, whichever number is the lesser.
Sec. 5. The Board of Selectmen shall, immediately after issuing a Warrant for a Town Meeting, transmit a copy thereof to the Secretary of the Finance Committee and the Moderator.
Sec. 6. No action shall be acted upon at any Town Meeting unless there are present one hundred or more registered voters of the Town. 10/1992
Sec. 7. No action at Town Meeting shall be valid unless the subject thereof is contained in the Warrant. In the case of an Article requiring the transfer of funds from an appropriation voted at any Town Meeting, such Article shall specifically identify the sources of said funds by stating the dates of the Meeting at which originally voted, the Article number, and line item if appropriate.
Sec. 8. When supplying a written article to the Board of Selectmen for inclusion in the Warrant for an upcoming Town Meeting, copies shall be supplied by the proponent of the article, on the same date to the Finance Committee and Town Accountant.
In the instance of the use of the terminology “a sum of money” or other non-specific wording concerning monies, the proponent shall also furnish, as a footnote to the article, a general description of the item or service sought along with a current best estimate of the funding required. (10/2000)