ARTICLE III 3 BY-LAW PROVIDING THE PROCEDURE FOR ANNUAL TOWN MEETING WARRANT AND REPORT PREPARATION/PUBLICATION AND TOWN MEETING ADMINISTRATION

SECTION 3.1 FILING OF ARTICLES3-3.1

A. Warrant Articles to Adopt or Amend Zoning By-Laws

All subject matter seeking to adopt or amend zoning by-laws which is submitted for consideration as articles for insertion in the warrant for the annual town meeting (the “zoning articles”) shall be filed in the office of the Select Board prior to twelve o'clock (12:00) noon on not less than the one hundred and twentieth (120th) day preceding the date on which the opening session of said meeting is to be held. On a date determined by the Select Board, such date to be not less than one hundred and twenty (120) days preceding the date on which the opening session of said meeting is to be held, the warrant shall be closed as to zoning articles, and as soon as practicable thereafter a listing of all proposed warrant zoning articles which were received on not less than the said one hundred and twentieth (120th) day preceding said scheduled date shall be prepared and signed by the Select Board. The said listing shall, forthwith, be submitted to the Town Counsel for review and formatting.3.1 A

The Select Board shall within fourteen days of receipt of such zoning articles submit them to the Planning Board for review. The Planning Board shall then hold a public hearing thereon at which interested persons shall be given an opportunity to be heard. Said public hearing shall be held within sixty-five days after the proposed zoning articles are submitted to the Planning Board by the Select Board, in accordance with M.G.L. c. 40A, § 5.

No vote at town meeting to adopt a zoning article shall be taken until a report with recommendations by the Planning Board has been submitted to the town meeting or twenty-one days after said Planning Board hearing have elapsed without submission of such report. After such hearing and report, or after twenty-one days shall have elapsed after such hearing without submission of such report, the town meeting may adopt, amend (and then adopt), or reject such proposed zoning articles.

B. All Other Warrant Articles

All subject matter seeking other than to adopt or amend zoning by-laws which is submitted for consideration as articles for insertion in the warrant for the annual town meeting (the “non-zoning articles”) shall be filed in the office of the Select 3 Article III of these By-Laws was deleted in its entirety by action taken under article 2, STM June 2, 1969. A new Article III was inserted under article 32, ATM April 28, 2003. 3-3.1 Amended under article 46 ATM, May 2, 2005.

3.1 A Amended under article 29 ATM, May 13, 2013 6

Board prior to twelve o'clock (12:00) noon on not less than the one hundred and twentieth (120th) day preceding the date on which the opening session of said meeting is to be held. On a date determined by the Select Board, such date to be not less than one hundred and twenty (120) days preceding the date on which the opening session of said meeting is to be held, the warrant shall be closed as to non-zoning articles, and as soon as practicable thereafter a listing of all proposed warrant non-zoning articles which were received on not less than the said one hundred and twentieth day preceding said scheduled date shall be prepared and signed by the Select Board. The said listing shall, forthwith, be submitted to the Town Counsel for review and formatting.3.1 B

SECTION 3.2 PETITION ARTICLES The Select Board shall insert in the warrant for every annual town meeting all subjects the insertion of which shall be requested of them, in writing, by ten (10) or more registered voters of the town.

SECTION 3.3 ARTICLES NOT REQUIRING PETITIONS The warrant at an annual town meeting shall provide one or more articles providing for termination and closeout of prior special appropriations and for the transfer of funds from one existing account to another or the appropriation of additional funds as may be deemed to be needed and necessary by the Finance Director of the Select Board, the Finance Committee or the Select Board.

The Select Board shall insert in the warrant for every annual town meeting all subjects the insertion of which shall be initiated by the Select Board or requested of them, in writing, by any elected or appointed multiple member body. The Select Board may also approve for insertion in the warrant proposed articles submitted to the Select Board by any other town office, department or agency.

SECTION 3.4 PREPARATION OF THE WARRANT There shall be filed with each subject proposed to be included as an article in the annual town meeting warrant a brief statement of explanation by the proponent.

Any proposed warrant article shall be deemed to be incomplete unless all available plans, specifications and estimates and other supporting data necessary for its consideration by town meeting, as well as the explanation of the purpose of the article, are submitted prior to said deadlines. The insertion of any subject matter as an article in the warrant by the Select Board shall be conclusive evidence of compliance with the condition set forth in the preceding sentence, and the Select Board’s decision shall be final.

SECTION 3.5 PUBLICATION OF THE WARRANT Annually, on or before the sixtieth (60 th ) day preceding the date on which the opening session of the annual town meeting is to be held, the Select Board shall issue, in final form, a warrant calling the annual town meeting and setting out the subjects to be acted upon at the said meeting. In accordance with Section 2.4, the warrant as thus published may omit certain

3.1 B Amended under article 29 ATM, May 13, 2013 7

subjects which were included in the list of subjects submitted on or before the one hundred and twentieth day for zoning articles and ninetieth day for all other articles preceding the date on which the opening session of the annual town meeting is to be held but it shall not contain any subject which was not included on such list.

SECTION 3.6 REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS There shall be published for every annual town meeting a copy of the warrant and a report to the voters which shall contain the explanation and relevant data submitted in accordance with Sections 2.4, together with the articles; provided, however, that voluminous supporting material necessary for consideration of the report to town meeting may, in the alternative and at the discretion of the Finance Committee and (with respect to zoning articles) the Planning Board, be made reasonably available for inspection at public locations prior to town meeting.

In addition to the report of the Planning Board setting out its recommendations as to all zoning articles as required by section 2.1, the Finance Committee shall prepare a written report, setting out its conclusions and recommendations, including the reasons therefore, regarding articles in the warrant. The report shall also include as an appendix the annual report of the capital outlay and planning committee, setting forth (i) a five-year capital plan for the information and guidance of town meeting and (ii) a one-year capital plan that the committee believes should be approved by the ensuing annual town meeting and the method of financing same. In addition, the Select Board shall have the opportunity to include in the report its conclusions and recommendations, including the reasons therefore, regarding articles in the warrant that relate to its general superintendence over the administration of town affairs.

Not later than the fourteenth (14th) day prior to the date on which the opening session of the annual town meeting is to be held, one copy of the warrant and report shall be posted on the town’s website and another copy shall be delivered or mailed to each residence that contains one or more registered voters.

SECTION 3.7 CONSENT CALENDAR Before every annual town meeting the moderator, after consultation with the chairs of the Select Board and the Finance Committee, shall select from the warrant those articles which in the experience and judgment of such officers are deemed likely to be adopted without debate and cause such articles, and the motions to be made under each one of them, to be identified in a Consent Calendar included as part of the report required to be prepared by Section 2.6.

At an appropriate time during the town meeting, the moderator shall announce consideration of the Consent Calendar. Upon such announcement by the moderator the chair of the Finance Committee shall forthwith move to adopt 8

the motions in the consent calendar, as a group, without debate. After seconding of the motion the moderator shall recognize any voter for the purpose of holding out any article and shall cause any article thus held out to be deleted from the motion to adopt. When all requests to hold out articles have been received, the moderator shall put the motion as modified to a vote. Adoption of the motion by unanimous vote shall constitute adoption of all of the motions contained therein. Thereafter all articles held out, or if the motion to adopt is not voted unanimously, all articles in the Consent Calendar, shall be acted upon individually as otherwise provided in town meeting procedures.

SECTION 3.8 RULES GOVERNING AMENDMENTS TO A MAIN MOTION A motion to amend or to substitute another motion must be submitted to the moderator in writing. The moderator may refuse to accept a proposed amendment or substitution not in writing.

Whenever possible, copies of proposed amendments or substitutions should be given to the town moderator and the Town Clerk in advance of the meeting at which the motion is made.

If the proposed amendment or substitution consists of thirty words or more, it shall be duplicated and a copy made available to every person present before the meeting is asked to vote on the motion to amend or to substitute.

When an amendment or substitute motion is under consideration, debate is limited to a discussion of that amendment or substitute motion only, and discussion on the main motion is out of order until a vote is taken on the motion to amend or substitute.

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