10/16/2006 Annual Town Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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ILA TOWN MEETING RULES AND DEFINITIONS 1. The conduct of Mashpee's Town Meeting is governed by State Law, the Town's Charter, Bylaws and the publication Town Meeting Time. 2. Quorum. One hundred (100) registered voters shall constitute a quorum of a Special Town Meeting. Quorum for an Annual Meeting shall be zero (0). 3. The Moderator presides over the Town Meeting, decides all questions of order and procedure, and announces the results of all votes. The results of all votes are announced by the Moderator, shall be final except on a voice vote which may be questioned by any voter standing in his/her place and questions any oral "yea" or "nea"vote. In such case, a hand-counted vote shall be taken without debate. 4. The main body of the house shall be reserved for registered voters; non-voters will be seated in a special section. 5. Articles in the Warrant give notice of the issues subject to discussion at a Town Meeting and establish the parameters of matters that can be debated and acted on. Amendments, motions and/or debate determined by the Moderator, with the advice of Town Counsel, to be "beyond the scope" of the Articles may not be permitted. 6. In order for the Town Meeting to act on or discuss an Article, a motion must be made. The Moderator will call for a motion on each Article and, if no motion is made after the second call, the Moderator will "pass over"the Article and move on to the next Article. In order to bring back a"passed over"Article for a motion and discussion, there must be an approved"motion for reconsideration". 7. Articles may be postponed by a majority vote or advanced by a 2/3 vote. 8. To address the Town Meeting, a speaker must be recognized by the Moderator and once recognized, a speaker should first give his or her name and address for the record. No speaker will be recognized while another person is speaking except to raise "a point of order", which is used to question a ruling of the Moderator or the conduct of Town Meeting. Points of Order are not to address the subject matter being discussed. 9. All matters shall be decided by a majority vote unless a 2/3 or greater vote is required. If more than a majority vote is required, the Moderator shall announce the required percentage for passage before calling the vote. v 11