10/04/1999 Annual Town Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Section 113. Motion passes at 8:53 p.m. Article 15 To see if the Town will vote to add the following Section 5 to Chapter 40 of the Town Bylaws: Consent Calendar: The Board of Selectmen, at its discretion, may designate certain Warrant articles that it believes to be non-controversial, to be part of a Consent Calendar. Early in a Town Meeting in which a Consent calendar has been designated, the Moderator shall advise the meeting that he is about to call that calendar. Before calling the calendar, however, the Moderator shall give the Board of Selectmen an opportunity to offer a single motion to amend, as to dollar amount only, any or all of the designated articles. That motion shall not be debatable. The Moderator shall then call the calendar. If a voter objects to any particular Article being included in the Consent Calendar, they should say the word "HOLD" in a loud voice when the number is called. If two (2) or more voters object to inclusion of an article in the calendar, the article shall then be removed from a the Consent Calendar and restored to its original place in the Warrant to be thereafter moved, debated and voted upon in the normal order. After the completion of the call of the calendar, all remaining articles on the calendar shall be moved and voted as a group, without debate. Submitted by the Town Clerk Explanation: Developing a consent calendar would allow the Town to streamline Town Meeting and therefore make it more inviting to voters. A "Consent Calendar" system would be used at Town Meeting with selected articles. The Board of Selectmen would determine which articles qualify for inclusion on the "Consent Calendar." The system is clearly defined in a separate section of the warrant and voters would be encouraged to review this section carefully so that they would understand what would be happening. This system would allow for more discussion time on key issues. Motion made by Selectman Blythe. Motion: I move Article 15 be voted as printed in the warrant, except that the "a" in line 11 be deleted. Motion passes at 8:58 p.m.