ARTICLE IV

THE OPENING AND PROCEDURE OF TOWN MEETINGS FOR THE TRANSACTION OF MUNICIPAL BUSINESS

Section 1. Reading of the Warrant and Return of Service The warrant for the Town Meeting and the return of the person who has served the same shall be read by the Town Clerk, unless the meeting votes that the reading of the articles in the warrant be dispensed with.

Section 1A. Moderator 4-1A The Moderator chosen to preside over the Annual Town Meeting for the transaction of municipal business shall continue in that office until the next Annual Town Meeting. If a moderator so chosen is absent a Temporary Moderator shall be chosen to preside.

Section 2. Limitation on Admission to Voters; Exception No person whose name does not appear upon the list of registered voters shall be admitted upon the floor of the hall where a Town Meeting is being held, and the voting list shall be used to determine who shall be admitted by Tellers appointed by the presiding officer. Other persons may be admitted upon the floor of the hall with the permission of the Moderator.

Section 3. Quorum 4-3

Section 4. Town Moderator, Powers and Duties4-4 (a) In General – The town moderator shall preside and regulate the proceedings at town meetings so as to preserve order and decorum. The town moderator shall decide all questions of order, subject to a motion to appeal the ruling of the chair as provided by law, by by-law or by the rules of parliamentary procedure. Every ruling involving a question of order shall be entered into the records of the town meeting by the town clerk. The town moderator may appoint another voter to perform the duties of the town moderator subject to the approval of Town Meeting in order to speak on an article appearing in the warrant, if ill or called away, or in any other instance where it might be construed a conflict of interest for the town moderator to preside.

(b) Parliamentary Guidelines - In all matters of parliamentary procedure not provided for in the constitution and laws of the Commonwealth, the town by-laws, town policies, procedures and practices, the town moderator (and the voters) shall be guided by the principles of fairness, clarity, and efficiency, in that order. In determining any parliamentary question, the town moderator shall give due regard to the entire body of scholarship encompassing parliamentary

4-1A Inserted under article 2, STM June 2, 1969. 4-3 Article IV, Section 3 of these By-Laws was deleted in its entirety by action taken under article 18, ATM April 29, 1996. 4-4 Section 4 replaced under article 35, ATM April 26, 2006. 10

procedure, but with particular emphasis on the most recently published edition of Town Meeting Time, a manual of parliamentary procedure published by the Massachusetts Moderators Association, but resort may also be had for guidance to other authorities and examples of parliamentary procedure, including reference to rules and rulings of state and local legislative bodies.

Section 5. Order of Business4-5 The order of business at the annual town meeting shall be as follows: 1. the election of a moderator, 2. the adoption of procedures to govern the conduct of the meeting, 3. to hear the reports of committees appointed at prior town meetings, 4. to hear a report on the fiscal condition of the town, 5. to act on a, so-called, consent agenda,

After all of the above matters have been taken up the other articles in the town meeting warrant shall be acted upon in the order in which they are drawn, in lottery fashion, by the town clerk, assisted by the town moderator.

When an article has been drawn in the lottery it shall then, at once, be acted upon and no other article shall be taken up until the drawn article has been fully disposed of, provided, however, a motion to return the article to the lottery pool until some other article has been acted upon, may be accepted by the moderator if made prior to any discussion on the merits of the drawn article.

All articles which in the opinion of the moderator could, or might raise, appropriate or transfer any funds or otherwise obligate the town to spend or encumber any funds, shall be acted upon before the general appropriation article is taken up.

The moderator may declare that certain articles must be acted upon in a particular order of sequence, or that one article must be acted upon before another article may be acted upon, or that an article is to be taken up at a time certain. In any such situation the articles shall be acted upon in the order and at the time determined by the town moderator. Any decision by the Moderator may be appealed to the floor of town meeting in accordance with Article IV, section 4 of the General Bylaws of the Town.

Section 6. Reconsideration4-6 If an article in the Warrant has once been acted upon and disposed of, it shall not be again considered at the same meeting, or any adjournment thereof except by a two-third (2/3) vote of the voters present and voting on the motion to reconsider.

No final vote shall be reconsidered unless notice shall have been given not less than thirty-six week day hours preceding the time a vote is taken on the question: “Shall the final vote taken under article [oo] of this warrant be reconsidered?”

4-5 Section 5 replaced under article 35, ATM April 26, 2006. 4-6 As amended under article 35, ATM April 26, 2006. 11

Whenever a motion is made (and seconded) to reconsider a previously completed final vote, the moderator shall place said motion on the calendar for action as the first order of business at the next session of the town meeting held more than thirty- six week day hours after the time the said motion is made.

Section 7. Reports of Committees No reports of Committees shall be in order unless made under an article in the Warrant which indicates the subject to be reported upon, or the report of the Finance Committee on an article which indicates the subject to be reported upon.

Section 8. Conduct of Speakers Every person when about to speak shall rise, respectfully address the chair and wait until they are recognized by the Moderator, and in speaking they shall refrain from mentioning by name any other person present, shall confine themselves to the question under consideration and avoid personalities.

Section 9. Conduct of Speakers, Continued No person shall address the meeting without first being recognized by the Moderator and all persons shall, at the request of the Moderator, be silent. When two or more persons shall rise to speak at the same time the Moderator shall name the one entitled to speak.

Section 10. Limitation of Speaking Without first obtaining leave of the meeting, no person shall speak more than twice on any question except to correct a mistake or misstatement, or to make an explanation, and no person shall speak more than ten minutes at any one time without being again recognized by the Moderator.

Section 11. Limitations on Debate4-11

(a) Time Limit – Debate may be closed not less than ten minutes following the adoption of a vote to limit debate under an article to a fixed time.

(b) End All Debate – All debate may be terminated under an article by the adoption of a vote to “move the previous question” with a plurality of two-thirds, or more of the voters present and voting. The moderator shall refuse to accept a motion to move the previous question when made by a speaker after said speaker has made any remarks concerning the merits of the main question then pending.

4-11 Section 11 replaced under article 35, ATM April 26, 2006. 12

Section 12. Voting4-12 When a question is put to the voters the sense of the meeting shall, in the first instance, be determined by the voices of the voters, and the moderator shall announce the vote as it appears to the moderator by the sound. If the moderator is in doubt, the sense of the meeting shall next be determined by a show of hands, and if the moderator is in further doubt the sense of the meeting shall finally be determined by a standing vote. If the announcement of a vote by the moderator is immediately doubted by seven or more voters standing in their place for that purpose, the moderator shall, without debate, determine the vote by ordering a standing vote and shall appoint tellers to make and return the count, as provided in section 15. At the discretion of the town moderator the voice vote, or the show of hands vote, may be eliminated. There is no appeal from the results of a standing vote.

If a two thirds, four fifths or nine tenths vote of a town meeting is required by statute, a standing vote shall be taken, and the vote shall be recorded in the records by the town clerk; provided, however, if a two-thirds vote of a town meeting is required by statute, a declaration by the town moderator that the vote constitutes that number shall be sufficient, unless said declaration shall immediately be doubted by seven or more voters as aforesaid. If a four fifths or nine tenths vote of a town meeting is required, the Moderator may choose to see by voice vote whether the vote is unanimous, in which case no standing vote shall be necessary.

Section 13. Disclosure of Interest 4-13 Any person who is employed as an attorney by another interested in any matter under discussion at a Town Meeting shall disclose the fact of their employment before speaking thereon.

Section 14. Emergency Measures 4-14 No vote adopted at any town meeting for the transaction of business, except a vote to adjourn, shall be operative until the final dissolution of said town meeting, unless the meeting at which the vote in question is adopted, also votes by a two- thirds majority of those present and voting, that the vote in question relates to an existing emergency, in which case the said vote shall take full force and effect immediately.

Section 15. Teller Voting Procedure 4-15 a. That two tellers for each of the three seating sections of the hall be assigned, plus one teller for the official’s table. b. That residents be requested to stay in their places until a total vote is completed and announced.

4-12 Section 12 replaced under article 35, ATM April 26, 2006. 4-13 Inserted under article 34, ATM 1951. 4-14 Inserted under article 10, ATM 1965. 4-15 Inserted under article 63, ATM 1971. 13

c. That the doors to the hall be closed during the tallying of a vote and standees be required to take a seat in the hall or any place designated by the Moderator. d. That a list of at least 20 volunteer tellers be kept by the moderator and that they be used on a rotating basis. e. That a tallied vote be posted, by section, as it is taken, on a large blackboard. f. That all votes be counted and recorded “Ayes” first and “Nays” second.

Section 16. Labor Contracts 4-16 At least forty-five (45) days before the start of a Town Meeting at which any labor contract between the town and any municipal employee or group of municipal employees is to be presented to any Town Meeting for funding, copies of the contract shall be placed on file by the municipal employer for public examination, inspection and review in the Office of the Select Board, Finance Committee, Town Clerk and at the Canton Public Library, and further in case of any labor contract entered into by the School Committee, copies of any such contract shall also be placed on file at its Administration Offices. In addition, all such labor contracts shall be posted at Town Meeting in a conspicuous place designated by the Moderator. A representative of the municipal employer shall certify to the Town Meeting that the foregoing requirements have been met. Such certification shall be conclusive.

Section 17. Motion to Require the Use of Written Ballots4-17 Written ballots may be used to determine a vote under any article in the warrant (1) in the discretion of the moderator made in advance of the meeting, or (2) if said use is directed by a majority vote of the town meeting in lieu of the procedures for voting set out in Article IV, Section 12. Notwithstanding the requirements of Article IV, section 5 of these General Bylaws, whenever the town meeting votes to cause the vote under any article in the warrant to be taken by written ballots the vote shall be suspended for not less than thirty-six week day hours in order to allow time for ballots to be prepared and procedures to be put in place for the conduct of said voting. The town moderator shall place said motion on the calendar for action as the first order of business at the next session of the town meeting held more than thirty-six weekday hours after the time the said motion has been voted.

4-16 Inserted under article 6, STM held June 10, 1991 and as amended under article 18, ATM 1991. 4-17 Section 17 inserted under article 35, ATM April 26, 2006. 14