1 00:00:00,719 --> 00:00:09,040 Welcome to the Fair Haven Town Meeting overview. My name is Mark Sylvia. I'm 2 00:00:05,839 --> 00:00:15,759 the Fair Haven Town moderator and today we're going to walk through what town 3 00:00:11,599 --> 00:00:22,240 Meeting does, how it functions, and share information on procedures and 4 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:27,199 rules for town meeting. In this overview, we'll cover the following 5 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:33,079 forms of local government. What does town meeting do? forms and frequency of 6 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:38,480 town meeting, how town meeting actually works, who the other participants are, 7 00:00:36,399 --> 00:00:44,399 and what resources are available to learn more about the town meeting 8 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:47,239 process and how it works in Fair Haven. So, let's start with forms of local 9 00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:52,960 government in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, there 10 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:59,160 are 351 cities and towns. That's broken down into 59 cities. Many we're familiar 11 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:04,320 with like New Bedford, Fall River, and Boston. But there are others that have a 12 00:01:02,079 --> 00:01:12,240 council manager form of government such as Franklin, Lel, and Worcester. There 13 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:17,920 are also 292 towns. In all 292 towns, there are select boards. Some have town 14 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:23,360 managers or town administrators or executive secretaries. But in certain 15 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:27,520 instances, towns either have an open town meeting form of government or a 16 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:34,799 representative town meeting form of government. In Massachusetts, that's 17 00:01:29,759 --> 00:01:40,240 broken down to 260 towns have open town meeting and 32 have representative town 18 00:01:38,079 --> 00:01:43,720 meeting. Fair Haven happens to be one of those communities that has a 19 00:01:42,079 --> 00:01:48,399 representative town meeting. So, we now know there are two 20 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:51,560 different town meetings. There's the open town meeting and the representative 21 00:01:50,799 --> 00:01:56,799 town meeting. Open town meeting is where any 22 00:01:54,240 --> 00:02:02,040 town resident who is a registered voter can go and vote. And a representative 23 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:06,560 town meeting is one where you elect representatives to go to town meeting 24 00:02:04,159 --> 00:02:10,720 and vote on your behalf. So, as I mentioned, Fair Haven's a representative 25 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:15,599 town meeting, but in either case, open or representative, what exactly does 26 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:20,400 town meeting do? Well, town meeting is the legislative body for towns in 27 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:24,879 Massachusetts. In cities, they have city councils. In towns, they have town 28 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:28,959 meeting. And if you can believe it, we have well over 400 years of history of 29 00:02:26,959 --> 00:02:33,280 town meetings in Massachusetts with the first town meeting happening in Plymouth 30 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:40,480 in 1622. Town Meeting is a local legislative body 31 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:48,040 that has the power to create or amend town bylaws, zoning bylaws, adopt the 32 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:52,800 budget, or approve other spending priorities. To boil it down more 33 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:57,440 specifically, the Secretary of State Citizens Guide to Town Meeting, which is 34 00:02:54,640 --> 00:03:02,159 a a great reference, identifies three things specifically 35 00:02:59,519 --> 00:03:06,319 that town meetings do. They set the salaries for elected officials. They 36 00:03:04,319 --> 00:03:10,800 vote to appropriate money to run the town. And they vote on the town's local 37 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:15,120 statutes, which in towns are called bylaws. As I mentioned earlier, there 38 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:20,640 are two types of town meeting. Representative, which is fair haven, and 39 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:26,319 open, which by example, a Kushnet, Matapo, Marian, and Rochester all have 40 00:03:22,959 --> 00:03:30,720 open town meeting form of government. Forms and frequency of town meeting 41 00:03:28,599 --> 00:03:34,599 include with representative town meeting. You elect town meeting members 42 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:39,120 and that's again Fair Haven is the example. They're elected by precinct. In 43 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:42,440 Fair Haven, we have six precincts and so there are town meeting members elected 44 00:03:40,799 --> 00:03:47,360 from each of those six precincts. They serve for a specified 45 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:51,920 term. So the standard term for a town meeting member is three 46 00:03:49,159 --> 00:03:55,599 years. Only elected town meeting members may vote at a town meeting. That's what 47 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:59,920 makes it representative is that you have to be elected as a town meeting member 48 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:05,920 to actually vote at town meeting. And the number of town meeting members in 49 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:09,879 Fair Haven is set by special act. We are the largest representative town meeting 50 00:04:08,159 --> 00:04:15,120 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As it relates to open 51 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:21,040 town meeting, as I mentioned, any town voter may vote at a town 52 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:24,800 meeting. The frequency of town meetings are regardless of whether you're an open 53 00:04:23,199 --> 00:04:29,919 town meeting or a representative town meeting is there is always an annual 54 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:35,120 town meeting. And that's primarily to set the budget for the next fiscal year. 55 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:38,800 And from time to time, there may be special town meetings. And it's called 56 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:42,400 special town meeting because they're not planned like the annual town meeting. 57 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:47,759 But there are instances where town meeting must vote on matters related to 58 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:52,240 the town. And so a special town meeting may be called. All right. So, we talked 59 00:04:50,639 --> 00:04:57,240 about forms of town meeting, representative versus open, how town 60 00:04:55,280 --> 00:05:02,000 meeting members participate in the process. Now, let's talk a little bit 61 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:07,120 more specifically about how town meeting works. A little more detail on annual 62 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:12,080 versus special town meetings. Annual town meeting, every town must have an 63 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:19,840 annual town meeting and it's typically held between February and May. It can be 64 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:24,479 in June, but that requires a special act or charter to specify that. And the 65 00:05:21,919 --> 00:05:28,960 whole reason why you want it done um well before July 1st is because July 1st 66 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:34,720 is when the fiscal year starts. The annual town meeting is always called by 67 00:05:30,639 --> 00:05:39,520 the select board and there is a requirement of 7 days notice prior to 68 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:44,400 the actual town meeting happening. So, the warrant, which I'll go into more 69 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:48,400 detail in a few minutes, is the notice to the town that they're having this 70 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:52,680 meeting, and it must be posted at least seven days prior to holding that 71 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:58,560 meeting, and that's under state statute. I also mentioned special town 72 00:05:55,560 --> 00:06:03,759 meetings. That's anything in addition to annual town meetings. They may be called 73 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:09,440 at any time during the year. They can be called either by the select board or 74 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:14,240 upon request by 200 registered voters. So there are two pathways there for a 75 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:19,360 special town meeting to be called. And unlike the annual, it requires 14 days 76 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:23,600 notice. And the reason why is people don't anticipate a special. They know 77 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:28,400 when their annual is, but if you have a special, that's usually something 78 00:06:25,919 --> 00:06:32,319 unique. And so they want more time to notify the public of that actual 79 00:06:30,319 --> 00:06:35,919 meeting. So let's talk a few minutes about town meeting members and what 80 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:40,319 their responsibilities are. So as I mentioned previously in a representative 81 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:44,880 town meeting form which fair haven is members are elected by their precinct to 82 00:06:42,639 --> 00:06:48,560 vote on articles that come before annual or special town 83 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:52,639 meetings. Those town meeting members represent the citizens in their 84 00:06:50,479 --> 00:06:57,520 precincts and certainly vote on matters that will affect their precincts as well 85 00:06:55,039 --> 00:07:03,199 as the entire town. And it's the responsibility of town meeting members 86 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:08,639 to debate articles and make motions that they feel are important on any topic 87 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:12,639 that's in the warrant. So a town meeting member comes to town meeting, they're 88 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:16,880 representing their precinct, they also have the perspective of the whole town 89 00:07:14,639 --> 00:07:21,240 and they actually debate and ultimately vote on all of the matters that come 90 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:26,000 before them. It's a pretty important responsibility. Now, some interesting 91 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:30,160 town meeting facts about Fair Haven. We have approximately 92 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:34,000 429 elected town meeting members, the majority of which are divided among the 93 00:07:32,319 --> 00:07:37,360 six precincts, but there are also atlarge town meeting members like 94 00:07:35,919 --> 00:07:41,360 members of your select board or the school committee. It's also interesting 95 00:07:39,039 --> 00:07:45,919 that if the state representative or state senator for the district lives in 96 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:49,680 Fair Haven, they automatically become town meeting members. Town meeting 97 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:53,280 members in Fair Haven generally serve for three-year terms and they're 98 00:07:51,039 --> 00:07:57,440 staggered a third, a third, a third. quorum for that town meeting is 100 town 99 00:07:55,759 --> 00:08:02,120 meeting members and as I mentioned earlier fair haven actually has the 100 00:07:59,759 --> 00:08:06,879 largest representative town meeting in Massachusetts. So we talked broadly 101 00:08:04,639 --> 00:08:10,800 about responsibilities of town meeting members. We talked about the difference 102 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:15,199 between open town meeting and representative town meeting. So let's 103 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:21,520 talk a little bit more specifically about Fair Haven. in Fair Haven's town 104 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:26,560 meeting um and the town as a whole were divided into six precincts. So there are 105 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:29,960 six voting precincts in the town and so town meeting members are elected from 106 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:36,159 each of those six precincts. Prior to a town meeting um 107 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:40,000 there are precinct meetings for each one of those 108 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:44,159 precincts. In those meetings they you would elect a chair. If there are any 109 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:50,240 vacancies in your precinct for town meeting, you can fill vacancies at that 110 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:54,080 precinct meeting. Um, or you can also discuss any of the town meeting articles 111 00:08:52,399 --> 00:08:58,080 that are on the warrant or really any issues that you want to bring up related 112 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:03,600 to your precinct. As I mentioned, you elect a chair. The role of the chair for 113 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:09,200 each precinct is to call and organize those precinct meetings, conduct those 114 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:12,640 meetings. Each precinct has two appointments to the finance committee. 115 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:16,959 It's the chair that makes those appointments and then the chair 116 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:20,880 communicates. They're the communicator. They're the coordinator between the 117 00:09:18,399 --> 00:09:26,320 precinct and the town moderator and the town clerk on any town meeting related 118 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:29,560 issues. So, it's an important role. Um, it's one that is a resource to all of 119 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:36,959 the town meeting members in that precinct. And it's one that uh is 120 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:40,480 elected each year at a precinct meeting. So, we talked about town meeting 121 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:44,480 members, we talked about the precincts. So let's spend a few minutes on the role 122 00:09:42,399 --> 00:09:48,959 of the town moderator. So the town moderator is the person who presides 123 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:56,320 over the town meeting. They're responsible for the orderly conduct um 124 00:09:52,800 --> 00:10:04,240 of those town meetings. Uh that includes ensuring that there's equal emphasis on 125 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:10,000 the rules that any determination of um questions regarding points of order or 126 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:14,560 uh the rules and procedures that the moderator interprets them evenly and 127 00:10:12,279 --> 00:10:20,160 equitably. Um the town moderator declares the outcome of all votes um and 128 00:10:17,839 --> 00:10:24,399 will determine matters of procedure. That's a definition that's in state 129 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:28,800 statute. The moderator role is established by state law. So every town 130 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:32,880 that has a town meeting has an elected moderator and that moderator's duties 131 00:10:30,959 --> 00:10:38,240 and responsibilities are outlined in state law and can also be further 132 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:43,200 defined in local bylaws or charter. The moderator is elected to a three-year 133 00:10:40,079 --> 00:10:47,680 term. In Fair Haven, in addition to uh presiding over town meeting, the 134 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:51,839 moderator also has certain appointing authority responsibilities. So in Fair 135 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:56,880 Haven, the town moderator jointly appoints the atlarge member of the 136 00:10:54,399 --> 00:11:00,800 finance committee along with the chairman of the finance committee and 137 00:10:58,399 --> 00:11:06,000 the chair of the select board. And the moderator also jointly appoints um the 138 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:09,920 two Fair Haven members to the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational 139 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:14,959 Technical High School Committee along with the chair of the school committee 140 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:19,600 and the chair of the select board. It's also the case that from time to time the 141 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:24,079 moderator may be designated as the appointing authority for special 142 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:29,040 committees and so in Fair Haven most recent example of that is the charter 143 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:34,640 committee town meeting through a article on the warrant authorized and approved 144 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:38,959 the creation of a charter committee and as part of that designated the moderator 145 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:42,480 as the person who would be the appointing authority for the charter 146 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:47,200 committee. So, those are some of the roles and responsibilities of the town 147 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:50,839 moderator. So, now let's talk about the actual warrant. You've heard me talk a 148 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:57,200 little bit about the warrant in this presentation. So, it's important to not 149 00:11:53,680 --> 00:12:02,560 only understand what the warrant is, but how the warrant is organized. So, the 150 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:07,360 warrant is actually the agenda for town meeting. It is defined in state law. 151 00:12:05,519 --> 00:12:13,120 Just to give you a few of those highlights. Under state law, the warrant 152 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:17,720 is what every town meeting must be called through. So in other words, that 153 00:12:14,959 --> 00:12:24,399 is the agenda. That is what has to be posted 7 days before the annual or 14 154 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:28,880 days before the special. It lists all the matters to be voted on at town 155 00:12:26,639 --> 00:12:34,000 meeting as well as specifies the date, time, and location. And so anything that 156 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:38,720 is not on that warrant cannot be taken up at town meeting. And then it's 157 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:43,200 important to emphasize that the warrant is actually prepared by the select 158 00:12:41,279 --> 00:12:49,200 board. At the end of the day, it's the select board that determines generally 159 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:52,720 what is going to be included on the warrant from a town meeting. The only 160 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:56,560 difference is petitioned articles, which I'll get into in a moment. But 161 00:12:54,399 --> 00:13:00,639 ultimately the select board organizes the warrant and then signs it. Which 162 00:12:58,399 --> 00:13:05,920 means once it's signed by the select board and it's posted, that's it. It 163 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:10,639 cannot be changed after that. So what are those agenda items that are included 164 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:15,040 in the warrant? They're actually called articles and they're in order. So in 165 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:18,959 this example that you can see here, there's article one, article 2, article 166 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:23,920 3. Those are each of the items to be voted on at town meeting and they're 167 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:29,200 referred to as articles. As I mentioned, the warrant is intended to be there to 168 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:32,680 warn the voters of the matters that are going to be discussed. And the articles 169 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:37,760 are those specific matters. And as I mentioned previously, 170 00:13:35,279 --> 00:13:42,160 those are the only items that can be acted on at a town meeting and must be 171 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:46,720 acted on through what's called a motion. Once a motion is made and seconded on 172 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:50,320 any one of these articles, then town meeting members can debate them and then 173 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:54,959 vote on them. In addition to that warrant, what else do town meeting 174 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:58,720 members get to prepare for town meeting day? So there are a number of things 175 00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:03,600 that are provided to town meeting members. It is the case on an annual 176 00:14:01,519 --> 00:14:07,920 basis certainly that town administration, the moderator, town 177 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:11,279 meeting members, precinct chairs identify ways to improve the materials 178 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:15,040 that are provided to town meeting members. But in general, town meeting 179 00:14:12,959 --> 00:14:18,800 members will receive the town warrant and report of the finance committee, 180 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:22,720 which also includes a letter from the town moderator. There are instances 181 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:26,800 where fiscal information is provided by the finance director. And all of that is 182 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:31,760 mailed to town meeting members and made available on the town website at the 183 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:36,320 precinct meetings that are held. Motions are distributed. Many times motions will 184 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:43,360 be distributed in advance of town meeting at the preview and any updates 185 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:47,839 on the day of town meeting also provided um on the town's website and at these 186 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:51,279 precinct meetings updates may be shared with town meeting members. On the day of 187 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:57,040 town meeting, there's also material that's provided in the lobby included 188 00:14:54,079 --> 00:15:01,360 updated motions, other materials regarding articles, and then the town's 189 00:14:59,519 --> 00:15:05,279 annual report, which is something that's approved by town meeting, and also 190 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:08,800 provided the day of town meeting. So, there is a lot of information that's 191 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:13,519 provided. There is information that's posted on the town moderator page, the 192 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:18,560 town meeting page, and information that's provided through the select board 193 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:23,360 and the finance committee. So, we now know what the warrant is. We know what 194 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:28,560 articles are. We know what materials are provided. I just want to run through 195 00:15:26,079 --> 00:15:32,079 with all of you what to expect the day of town meeting. So, what are the town 196 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:36,720 meeting procedures that we follow whenever we have an annual town meeting 197 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:41,360 or a special town meeting? So, the first order of business is always to call the 198 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:45,040 town meeting to order. We need to indicate that a quorum of town meeting 199 00:15:43,199 --> 00:15:49,839 members are present and that the warrant that agenda has been properly posted. At 200 00:15:47,839 --> 00:15:53,600 the annual, we'll do opening ceremonies. We don't typically do that for a special 201 00:15:51,519 --> 00:15:58,240 town meeting because they're smaller and they're usually on week nights, not on 202 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:02,240 Saturdays like the annual. As moderator, I'll provide instructions to town 203 00:16:00,079 --> 00:16:06,800 meeting members and offer procedural motions uh so that we have rules of 204 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:11,360 procedure outside of Robert's rules, which of course is what helps to guide 205 00:16:09,199 --> 00:16:17,600 us. But we create some of our own rules to make town meeting more efficient and 206 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:20,959 equitable. We'll then have the chair of the select board and chair of finance 207 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:26,320 committee typically make opening statements. We will then go into any 208 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:30,320 other procedural motions regarding the warrant that are required or any other 209 00:16:28,079 --> 00:16:35,680 instructions. And then we move into article presentations, debates, and 210 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:39,519 votes. And so we go through each article in the warrant. There's a motion and a 211 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:43,920 second. There's presentation on that article, debate and then we vote and 212 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:49,199 then the final order of business in any town meeting is to adjourn. So I talked 213 00:16:46,399 --> 00:16:55,759 about uh rules of procedure and so there are a number of different rules that 214 00:16:51,759 --> 00:17:01,279 govern how town meeting operates. Our bylaws reference Robert's rules of 215 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:06,720 order, which lays out how you make a main motion, how you amend that main 216 00:17:03,279 --> 00:17:10,799 motion, what different um other motions can be made procedurally like indefinite 217 00:17:08,559 --> 00:17:15,679 postponement. Our bylaws indicate that we generally follow Robert's rules of 218 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:20,880 order. There are also state laws that drive or direct how we vote at a town 219 00:17:18,959 --> 00:17:26,240 meeting. That includes that zoning bylaws and borrowing authority uh in 220 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:30,080 each instance require twothirds of town meeting members to vote favorably in 221 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:33,760 order for those to pass. And a bill of prior year, which is a bill from a 222 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:38,160 previous fiscal year, depending on if it's at the annual or the special, state 223 00:17:35,919 --> 00:17:42,640 law defines what that quantum of vote is. For an annual, it's four-fifths of 224 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:48,080 those present in voting and for a special, it's 9/10. And then we have 225 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:52,720 traditions. Some of those traditions we adopt through rules of procedure at the 226 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:58,400 beginning of town meeting and others are traditions that we follow um that have 227 00:17:56,080 --> 00:18:03,280 been traditions passed on from town meeting to town meeting. And some of the 228 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:09,280 examples of traditions are uh whenever we vote on a fiscal item, we always vote 229 00:18:06,559 --> 00:18:12,720 on the higher figure first. It's also a tradition that the select board 230 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:17,520 generally make all main motions and the finance committee second those motions. 231 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:23,120 Those traditions have been followed for decades and are um part of what makes up 232 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:27,360 the town meeting rules that we follow. It's important I think that we also take 233 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:33,200 a few minutes to talk about when we actually take up an item, how do you do 234 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:37,840 that? How do you make motions? How do you make changes? And how do you 235 00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:43,679 ultimately vote on a particular article? So a motion as it's defined is a formal 236 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:48,720 proposal by a member to take certain action. So in other words, if and we 237 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:53,520 used an example here, article 10 from a previous town meeting. It was community 238 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:59,600 preservation program fire escapes. The article itself reads exactly what action 239 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:04,240 is being asked of for a town meeting to take and who's asking for that and how 240 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:08,720 much. So you can see in the article language itself, it explains an amount 241 00:19:06,559 --> 00:19:13,520 of money to be transferred from a previous town meeting to fund a 242 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:17,039 particular project at the Fair Haven High School. Then it explains who's 243 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:21,360 asking for that money, in this case the community preservation committee, how 244 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:26,000 much is being requested and what's being recommended by, in this case, this the 245 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:30,480 select board and the finance committee. So that's the article, but in order to 246 00:19:27,919 --> 00:19:35,760 actually take action on that article, somebody needs to make a motion. That's 247 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:41,280 the specific formal proposal for town meeting to take. And so the motion in 248 00:19:37,919 --> 00:19:45,760 this instance reads below move adoption and that the the town vote to transfer 249 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:51,840 that sum of money. It specifies where it comes from and then any other 250 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:55,919 requirements in that motion. So at the end you see it reads however that no CPC 251 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:58,559 funds may be spent until the school committee obtains the necessary 252 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:03,440 additional funds to complete the project. So all of that is in the motion 253 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:08,720 that is ultimately what town meeting is being asked to vote on. So that motion 254 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:12,400 gets made. There needs to be a second from someone and as I mentioned 255 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:17,840 previously under town traditions typically the select board would make 256 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:21,679 this motion. It would be seconded by the finance committee. Likely the community 257 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:27,520 preservation committee might make a presentation on it. And then once that 258 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:32,400 presentation is done, it is left to town meeting to debate and ultimately vote on 259 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:36,960 it. So town meeting members can get up, they can speak in favor, they can speak 260 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:41,600 in opposition and then ultimately once debate is exhausted or someone moves the 261 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:47,120 question, we then go to a vote and then I will say all those in favor say I. 262 00:20:44,559 --> 00:20:51,919 those opposed and then I will call what that outcome is and we'll move on to the 263 00:20:49,679 --> 00:20:55,840 next article. So that's what a motion ultimately does. I mentioned debate, 264 00:20:54,159 --> 00:21:00,360 right? So the motion is made, then it's seconded and then there's debate. As I 265 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:05,760 mentioned, there's typically a presentation, not always, sometimes. And 266 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:11,120 then town meeting members can get up, they can ask questions, they can speak 267 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:16,559 in favor or in opposition, or they can offer other motions. So that's how it 268 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:20,720 works with town meeting. Let's take a few minutes to just talk about some of 269 00:21:18,159 --> 00:21:25,120 the other participants that play an important role um in support of what 270 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:29,600 town meeting does. The first that I'll mention here is the select board. As I 271 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:34,000 mentioned previously, the select board, they play many roles in the town meeting 272 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:39,440 process. First, they call the annual town meeting annually. They also can and 273 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:44,720 typically call a special town meeting as needed unless a citizen's petition does 274 00:21:42,159 --> 00:21:48,480 that. They issue the warrant, meaning they spend the time putting that warrant 275 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:52,559 together. They review all of the articles and typically we'll make 276 00:21:50,559 --> 00:21:58,480 recommendations on every article and then they sign the warrant and it gets 277 00:21:55,679 --> 00:22:01,919 posted which means at that point nothing else can be added to the warrant and 278 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:06,240 that's what's going to be discussed and debated at town meeting. In addition to 279 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:12,320 the select board, the finance committee plays a very important role in the town 280 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:16,760 meeting process. The finance committee, there's one in every town, every 281 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:22,240 municipality. It's established by statute. It defines in state law what 282 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:28,480 the function of the finance committee is, which is to review the town budget 283 00:22:25,039 --> 00:22:33,200 and any other finance related issues and make recommendations to town meeting. In 284 00:22:31,039 --> 00:22:37,360 some instances and in some towns, it's broader than just reviewing financial 285 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:41,120 matters. Uh the town of Plymouth, as an example, has what's called an advisory 286 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:44,559 and finance committee. They review every article, regardless of whether it has a 287 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:49,919 financial impact, and make recommendations to town 288 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:54,640 meeting. For Fair Haven, our finance committee is made up of 13 members. Two 289 00:22:52,720 --> 00:23:00,080 are appointed per precinct and one at large. Uh the precinct members are 290 00:22:57,360 --> 00:23:04,480 appointed by the precinct chair for that precinct and as I mentioned before the 291 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:07,440 atlarge appointment is made by the combined votes of the moderator the 292 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:11,440 finance committee chair and the select board chair. The finance committee 293 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:15,840 reviews all financial articles and makes a report to the annual town meeting. 294 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:19,919 They make recommendations on all fiscal articles and they also approve reserve 295 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:23,840 fund transfers. annually there's a reserve fund set up and so during the 296 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:27,520 year when there isn't town meeting if there is a departmental need for 297 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:32,320 additional funding instead of waiting for that next town meeting they can go 298 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:36,559 to the fincom and the fincom can approve reserve fund transfers. So the finance 299 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:40,880 committee plays a very important role just like the select board does. There 300 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:45,120 are other participants in that town meeting process as well and I just 301 00:23:43,039 --> 00:23:52,880 wanted to highlight a few. The first is the town clerk. So the town clerk takes 302 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:59,280 the minutes at town meeting and also takes attendance to verify that there is 303 00:23:55,600 --> 00:24:05,360 a quorum. Whenever there is a question of the moderator on their determination 304 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:10,480 on a vote and we go to a tally, the clerk ultimately will tally those votes 305 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:14,720 and work with the tellers that are appointed for that town meeting. In some 306 00:24:12,559 --> 00:24:18,880 instances, there could be secret ballot. Regardless of how that vote is taken, 307 00:24:16,799 --> 00:24:23,600 other than when the moderator calls the vote, if the town moderator's call is 308 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:28,240 questioned or there's a request to go to secret ballot, the town clerk oversees 309 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:32,400 that process. Tellers are appointed at the beginning of town meeting. And 310 00:24:29,679 --> 00:24:37,360 again, when seven town meeting members stand to question the decision of a 311 00:24:34,559 --> 00:24:41,760 moderator on a hand vote, it may be that we have to do a count. And when we do a 312 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:45,279 count, you need tellers. Tellers are typically they are always town meeting 313 00:24:43,679 --> 00:24:48,559 members that are appointed at the beginning of town meeting. And then 314 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:53,440 there's town council. Town council is the attorney for the town. Town council 315 00:24:51,279 --> 00:24:57,679 plays an important role in town meeting the day of and even leading up to it. 316 00:24:55,440 --> 00:25:01,919 Town council will review all motions and warrant articles in advance of town 317 00:24:59,679 --> 00:25:07,720 meeting to make sure there aren't any legal issues. And at town meeting, town 318 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:12,960 council is there to advise the moderator on town meet questions of town meeting 319 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:16,880 procedure and law or on any legal matters that may come up at town 320 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:20,640 meeting. There are also numerous appointed officials that play an 321 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:24,400 important role leading up to town meeting, including the town 322 00:25:22,159 --> 00:25:28,559 administrator, superintendent, the chiefs of police and fire, board of 323 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:34,880 public works superintendent, the director of finance, planning director, 324 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:38,720 concom. There are a number of appointed officials that play an important role 325 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:42,159 and other boards and committees. School committee, planning board, board of 326 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:45,200 health, board of public works, community preservation committee. There are a 327 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:50,720 number of other committees that may themselves have sponsored articles on 328 00:25:47,679 --> 00:25:55,200 the warrant or may have a role to play in any one of the articles and they 329 00:25:52,559 --> 00:25:59,279 certainly all have budget requests that are part of the annual budget. There are 330 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:03,520 also petitioners. So I mentioned the select board creates the warrant and 331 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:08,559 determines what articles appear on the warrant. But petitioners, citizens can 332 00:26:06,799 --> 00:26:12,480 actually collect signatures and place their own articles on the warrant. Those 333 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:15,760 have to be placed on the warrant. There's not a question. Once they're 334 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:20,559 filed and those signatures are certified, they go on the next town 335 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:25,360 meeting warrant. So for an annual town meeting, it's 10 signatures to place a 336 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:31,120 petitioned article on the warrant. And for a special, it's 100 signatures. So 337 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:35,120 petitioners play a role not only in getting articles on the warrant, but 338 00:26:32,799 --> 00:26:39,279 also they're usually there to make the presentation or to argue their case for 339 00:26:37,039 --> 00:26:43,600 their article that's on the warrant. residents and citizens, that's anybody 340 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:48,559 in town or in surrounding communities can come and observe town meeting. Uh 341 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:52,559 they can speak at town meeting but cannot vote as long as they get 342 00:26:50,159 --> 00:26:56,400 permission from town meeting to do so. And of course, just like this video 343 00:26:54,159 --> 00:27:02,320 that's being produced now, Fair Haven TV, cable access, print 344 00:26:59,799 --> 00:27:08,559 journalists are all critically important because they bring that democracy 345 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:14,480 directly to residents in the form of for Faven TV. They produce the actual day of 346 00:27:11,919 --> 00:27:18,960 town meeting. It's live and then it's available thereafter to stream. Any of 347 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:23,919 the other leadup events like the preview are also covered by Fair Haven TV. We 348 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:29,440 have our local print journalists that also cover it for local newspapers and 349 00:27:27,039 --> 00:27:33,120 there may be others that are from regional publications that may be 350 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:40,039 interested. It's always very important for the press and our local access to be 351 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:45,039 participants in this process. That is the overview of Fair Haven Town Meeting 352 00:27:43,039 --> 00:27:48,960 and Town Meetings in general. Before I end, I just want to point out a few very 353 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:52,880 important resources to get more information. One is the secretary of 354 00:27:50,799 --> 00:27:57,279 state citizens guide to town meetings. It is an important document that really 355 00:27:54,720 --> 00:28:00,399 gives a high level overview of how town meetings work. There's also the 356 00:27:58,559 --> 00:28:05,679 Massachusetts Municipal Association which is the organization that 357 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:09,760 represents all 351 cities and towns. There's a wealth of information there 358 00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:13,120 including about town meeting but even more importantly about municipal 359 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:18,000 government in general. the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local 360 00:28:14,799 --> 00:28:23,039 Services, they have an enormous amount of financial information uh about 361 00:28:21,279 --> 00:28:27,200 communities. So, for the town of Fair Haven, if you want to know what the 362 00:28:25,039 --> 00:28:31,440 budget is that was finally approved or what state aid is, the Division of Local 363 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:34,240 Services has that information. And then, of course, there's always the Town of 364 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:38,399 Fair Haven website. There are a number of different pages on that website, 365 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:44,799 including the moderator page and town meeting page that have older versions of 366 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:48,799 the warrants, minutes from town meeting, town meeting materials. So, it's a good 367 00:28:47,039 --> 00:28:53,120 resource to go back and see what's been done previously, but also what's 368 00:28:50,799 --> 00:28:58,000 available for upcoming town meetings. So, that's the overview of Fair Haven 369 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:02,240 Town Meeting. I really appreciate the opportunity to share this information 370 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:07,360 with all of you. Um, as always, you can contact the town moderator to get more 371 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:09,919 information or the town clerk's office as well.