Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
By-law minutes Jan 5 2026
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Municipal By-law Modernization Committee Minutes for January 5, 2026 Pequitside Farm Tavern Room 7:00 pm Members Present: Dr. Susan Harrington, Larry Overlan, Jen Kemalian, William Quinn, George T. Comeau, Randy Scollins, Paul McAuliffe, and Louis Jutras Absent: William Kring The meeting was called to order by the Chair Mr. Comeau at 7:00 pm. Mr. Comeau asked the members if they had any comments on the draft minutes. Mr. Jutras noted that he corrected a name misspelling and Mr. Overlan asked that he be listed as the no vote on the article request to elect a moderator at the annual election. The members were in agreement with the friendly amendments so the chair entertained a motion to approve the meeting minutes from the December 1, 2025 meeting with the added corrections. The motion to approve was offered by Mr. Overlan and seconded by Ms. Kemalian and Dr. Harrington. The minutes were unanimously approved 8-0. The chair then opened the meeting for any public comments but no one from the public was in attendance so the committee moved on to the next order of business which was to review and discuss various article options for Town Meeting. The first article for discussion that was offered by Mr. Comeau was on the reconsideration process. The chair provided some general comments on the article and pointed the members to the commentary section of his handout. Having said that Mr. McAuliffe asked for the current working in the bylaws on reconsideration which Dr. Harrington read aloud to the committee. Mr. Comeau noted that the wording that he presented reflects the aspects of what currently happens and has happened at Town Meetings but that this revision removes the 36 hour notice as well as the first order of business requirements. Mr. McAuliffe noted that he has a concern with the process of having the moderator as the deciding factor / gatekeeper to determine if the burden of proof in presenting a valid reason for reconsideration was met. Various members commented on other nuances and options for the reconsideration process. Mr. Overlan commented that we should remove this article request and reconsider the options at a subsequent meeting. The chair noted that we are providing a recommendation to Town Meeting and that the voters in attendance will make the final decision on approval or not. Ms. Kemalian reminded everyone of the timeline and review process for the article to be in the warrant and that the approved list with the proposed language will be sent to Town Counsel on Friday January 9. The discussion continued on the article with the focus going back to the approval process for reconsideration. After a lengthy discussion the following option was considered by the Page | 1
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committee. If the moderator deems a reconsideration request does not meet the requirements but the body feels differently then the proponent of the reconsideration request can ask for a vote of the town meeting members and if this vote passed by a simple majority, that the article will continue through to the reconsideration 2/3 vote process. This option provided an option for the voice of the voters to be heard. The final comment on the article revolved around the timing of the 2/3 vote. Mr. Jutras noted that this should be spelled out in the article and felt that it should happen when the motion to reconsider is presented. If passed, then the article would be discussed right before the budget ball is added to the lottery system. With the discussion completed Mr. Comeau entertained a motion to approve the wording with the 2 adjustments. The motion was made by Mr. Quinn, seconded by Dr. Harrington and the motion passed 7-1 with Mr. Overlan being the only no vote. Reconsideration Article: If an article of the warrant has once been acted upon and disposed of, a motion to return to the article may be made at any time, if the Moderator determines that the person offering the motion discloses significant new factual information to the Town meeting concerning said article, which existed but had not been disclosed or made available to the meeting when the motion under that article was debated, and the Moderator thereupon explains why such information satisfies the foregoing criteria. If the moderator deems a reconsideration request does not meet the requirements but the body feels differently, then the proponent of the reconsideration request can ask for a vote of the town meeting members and if this vote passed by a simple majority that the motion to reconsider will proceed provided, however, that debate and action on said motion shall be deferred until all financial articles are concluded and the budget ball is added to the lottery system. A two-thirds vote shall be required for approval of a motion to return to an article. The committee then discussed the article request to elect a moderator at the annual election. Mr. Scollins asked a general question as to the number of participants at the respective caucuses. Mr. Overlan noted that 35 members is the max number of voters and that the Republican caucus in Canton has 35 members. He also believes that the Democrat caucus has a number in the mid 20 range. Mr. Comeau noted that electing a moderator at the annual election allows all residents to participate. Dr. Harrington also noted that the bylaw simply states that a moderator shall be elected. Mr. Overlan questioned if this change was approved if it is changing the governance model of the Town. Most of the members felt that this was not the case and that the requested bylaw change just clarifies how the election of a moderator would take place. Page | 2
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After some discussion the committee decided that a 2 year term was acceptable and the chair entertained a motion on this article. The motion was made by Dr. Harrington, seconded by Mr. Quinn and the motion passed 7-1 with Mr. Overlan being the only no vote. Election of a moderator: The town moderator, elected as provided below, shall preside at all sessions of the town meeting. Annually, at the first session of the spring town meeting, the town moderator shall appoint a deputy moderator to serve as acting moderator in the event of the temporary absence or disability of the town moderator. The appointment of a deputy moderator shall be subject to ratification by the town meeting. The deputy moderator shall, when presiding at town meeting sessions, have all the powers of the town moderator, but shall have no other powers or duties of the town moderator. The town moderator, at town meetings, shall regulate the proceedings, decide all questions of order, make public declaration of all votes and may exercise such additional powers and duties as may be authorized by general law, by-law or other vote of the town meeting. (a) Term of Office - At each town election at which the term of office expires, or when a vacancy exists, a town moderator shall be elected for a term of 2 years. (b) Powers and Duties - The town moderator shall be the presiding officer of the town meeting, shall regulate its proceedings, decide all questions of order and shall have such other powers and duties as may be provided for that office by general law, by-law and other vote of the town meeting. (c) Vacancy - In the event of a vacancy in the office of town moderator, the deputy moderator, as designated above, shall perform the powers and duties of the town moderator until the election of a successor. The next order of business was to discuss the article request for electronic voting. Mr. Comeau offered the following wording: Electronic voting: Notwithstanding the provisions of Voice vote, subject to the availability of an approved electronic vote counting and recording system for use by Town Meeting members, the Moderator may determine that a vote be taken by use of such electronic vote counting and recording system. Ms. Kemalian asked if the recommendation was going to address any changes to article IV Sections 12, 15, or 17 of the existing bylaws. After a committee discussion the consensus was that the existing sections need to stay until such time as an electronic option is available. Page | 3
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Hearing no other comments the chair entertained a motion for electronic voting. The motion was made by Dr. Harrington, seconded by Mr. Scollins and the motion passed unanimously. The last motion for consideration was the motion to extend the term of the committee. Mr. Comeau provided everyone with wording of the article. Mr. Jutras noted the 2 year term and membership title changes so the final motion will incorporate those updates. Bylaw Modernization Committee Extension: To see If the Town will vote to reauthorize the Town Meeting Bylaw Modernization Study Committee for two (2) years to conduct a review of the Town of Canton's General By-Laws for possible town meeting articles to adopt changes thereto (but not the town's Zoning By-laws) and to bring forth recommendations for adoption of changes on or before the 2028 Annual Town Meeting. Vacancies occurring on this Town Meeting Committee shall be appointed by the Town Moderator. The Committee shall continue to be comprised of 9 members to include: A Member of the Select Board, or designee of the Select Board; Director of Finance, or designee of the Finance Director; Information Systems manager, or designee of the Information Systems manager Town Administrator, or designee of the Town Administrator; and 5 citizens of the Town of Canton as members at large. The committee then discussed the next meeting date and February 2, 2026 at 7 pm was selected. Mr. Jutras will work on the location and notify the members. Having complete all of the agenda items and seeing that there were no items to discuss the chair entertained a motion to adjourn at 8:40 pm. The motion was made by Mr. Scollins, seconded by Dr. Harrington and the motion was unanimously approved. Respectfully submitted, _____________________________________ Louis Jutras Page | 4