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Departments: Board of Selectmen

Town Meeting

2011 Warrant Articles

The next Town Meeting is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 25, 2011 at the Hingham High School, 17 Union Street

The next Town Election is scheduled for Saturday, April 30, 2011.

ARTICLE 2: TOWN MEETING AND NOTICE THEREOF

SECTION 1 - The annual town meeting for the transaction of all business except the election of such officers and the determination of such matters as by law are required to be elected or determined by ballot shall be held on the fourth Monday of April in each year at seven o'clock P.M., except that in the year 1976 said annual town meeting shall be held on the first Monday of May at seven o'clock P.M.

SECTION 2 - The annual election of such and the determination of such matters as by law are required to be elected or determined by ballot shall be held on the Saturday following the fourth Monday of April in each year. At this and all town elections the polls shall be opened at eight o'clock A.M. and remain open until eight o'clock P.M.

SECTION 3 - At state elections the polls shall open at seven o'clock A.M. and remain open until eight o'clock P.M.

SECTION 4 - (a) Except as otherwise required by law, notice of every town meeting shall be given by posting, at least seven days before the day appointed for the meeting, an attested copy of the warrant therefor in the Town Office Building. Compliance with this paragraph (a) as to any meeting shall constitute valid notice thereof.

(b) If the Hingham Journal or any other newspaper is at the time circulated in the town as a local newspaper, the Selectmen shall publish in one such newspaper, at least seven (7) days before the date on which at any meeting there is to be an election of officers, or other action by official ballot, a statement of the time and place at which the polls will be open, and a copy of so much of the warrant as refers to the business then and there to be done, provided that except as otherwise provided by law compliance with the provisions of this paragraph (b) shall not be a requisite of valid notice of any meeting, and noncompliance therewith shall not affect the validity of any meeting or action taken thereat.

SECTION 5 -
(a) At least seven (7) days before the day appointed in the warrant for any annual town meeting, the Selectmen shall cause a copy of the warrant and a copy of the report of the advisory committee thereon to be delivered to each occupied dwelling house, tenement and hotel in the town, by mail or by any method determined by the Selectmen. Provided, however, that if it appears to the Selectmen that for any reason timely distribution of the warrant under this paragraph will not be made, and if the Hingham Journal or any other newspaper is at the time circulated in the town as a local newspaper, they shall publish an attested copy of the entire warrant in one such newspaper at least seven (7) days before the day appointed in the warrant for the meeting.

(b) At least fourteen days before the day appointed in the warrant for any special town meeting, the Selectmen shall cause a copy of the warrant to be delivered to each occupied dwelling house, tenement and hotel in the town, by mail or by any method determined by the Selectmen. Provided, however, that if it appears to the Selectmen that for any reason the timely distribution of the warrant under this paragraph will not be made, and if the Hingham Journal or any other newspaper is at the time circulated in the town as a local newspaper, they shall publish an attested copy of the entire warrant in one such newspaper at least fourteen days before the day appointed in the warrant for the meeting.

(c) As soon practicable after the adjournment of any town meeting, on a vote to adjourn to another day, the Selectmen shall cause a brief statement of the day and hour to which the adjournment was voted and of the business remaining to come before the meeting to be posted in the same place where notice of the town meeting was posted pursuant to Section 4 of this Article, and if the period of adjournment will permit, shall cause a similar notice to be published in some one newspaper, if any, circulated in the town as a local newspaper.

(d) Except as otherwise required by law, compliance with this Section 5 shall not be a requisite of valid notice of any meeting of any action taken thereat.

SECTION 6 - In conjunction with each article made a part of the warrant for a town meeting pursuant to a petition to the Selectmen, there shall be inserted in such warrant the name of the first person signing such petition and the words "and others."

SECTION 7 - The warrant for the annual town meeting shall close on the twentieth day of January, except that the closing date for all zoning articles shall be December first; provided, however, that the Selectmen shall open the warrant within such period for the insertion of additional articles to the extent that compliance with any provision of law shall require, or whenever in their reasonable opinion there remains sufficient time for compliance with the provisions of Sections 4, 5, and 6 of this Article and with the provisions of Article 14. The warrant for a special town meeting shall close on the day determined by the Selectmen who shall cause notice of said date to be posted in the Town Office Building.

SECTION 8 - The Selectmen shall, immediately after insertion of any article in the warrant for any annual or special town meeting, forward copies of such article to the advisory committee.

SECTION 9 - The number of voters necessary to constitute a quorum at town meetings, except such parts of meetings as are devoted exclusively to the election of town officers, shall be three hundred; provided, however, that a number of less than three hundred may from time to time adjourn the same.

ARTICLE 3: PROCEDURE AT TOWN MEETINGS

SECTION 1 - All sessions of any town meeting shall be public to the extent required by law. At any session of a town meeting held for the transaction of town business (other than for the election of such officers as are required by law to be elected by ballot) no person whose name is not on the list of voters shall be admitted to that part of the hall reserved for voters, and this provision shall be enforced by use of such list. The moderator shall determine the bounds of the reserved space.

SECTION 2 - Printed copies of the warrant shall be furnished the voters at all town meetings.

SECTION 3 - Articles in the warrant shall be acted upon in their order, unless the meeting by vote otherwise determines.

SECTION 4 - All reports, motions, and resolutions submitted for the consideration of the meeting involving the expenditure of money shall be in writing and any other report, motion, or resolution shall be reduced to writing if the moderator so directs.

SECTION 5 - No person shall speak more than twice upon any question, except for the brief correction of an error in or misunderstanding of his previous statement, unless all other who have not spoken on the question shall have spoken if they desire to do so, and unless leave of the meeting is first obtained.

SECTION 6 - Without permission of the moderator, no person shall speak on any subject for more than ten (10) minutes for the first time or more than five (5) minutes for the second time.

SECTION 7 - Every person desiring to speak shall arise and address the chair and, after recognition is obtained, shall stand while speaking, unless the moderator otherwise directs.

SECTION 8 - Except as otherwise required by law, all votes shall be taken in the first instance by voice vote. If the moderator is in doubt as to the results or if seven voters rise and express doubt as to the result declared by the moderator, a standing vote shall be taken, except that the vote shall be by ballot in such manner as the
moderator shall determine if either the Advisory Committee or fifty (50) voters promptly call for a ballot vote. On matters requiring a two-thirds vote, the moderator may declare two-thirds in favor by voice vote, and a count need not be taken unless a standing vote or a ballot vote is required in accordance with this Section.

SECTION 9 - When a question is before the meeting, the following motions, to wit:
To adjourn,
To lay on the table,
For the previous question.
To postpone to a time certain,
To commit, recommit or refer
To amend,
To postpone indefinitely,
shall be received and shall have precedence in the foregoing order, and the first three
shall be decided without debate.

SECTION 10 - No vote shall be reconsidered except after the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the voters present and voting on a motion to reconsider such vote.

SECTION 11 - A motion to reconsider any vote must be made before the final adjournment of the meeting at which the vote was passed; provided, however, that such motion to reconsider shall not be made at an adjourned session of the meeting unless the mover has given notice of his intention to make such a motion either at the session of the meeting at which the vote was passed or by written notice to the town clerk not less than twelve hours before the hour to which adjournment has been voted and not more than forty-eight hours after the hour of adjournment of such session. A vote shall not be reconsidered a second time or after a motion to reconsider it has failed to pass.

SECTION 12 - At a special town meeting, not held within the annual town meeting, no amount of money shall be appropriated for any purpose (1) if the Advisory Committee recommends to the meeting that no amount be appropriated for that purpose or (2) which is in excess of the amount recommended to the meeting by the Advisory Committee for that purpose, except in either case by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the voters present and voting on such appropriation.

(Section 12 was submitted by the Town Clerk to the Attorney General on 7/27/87. It was adopted after no action by the Attorney General within 90 days as specified in Chapter 40, Section 32 of the Massachusetts General Laws)