Town Meeting Facts

League of Women Voters^®
of Falmouth

Learn about Town Meeting

Information. Procedures. Precinct Organization.

Town Meeting Information

Fall Town Meeting will start on November 7, 2011. The Town Clerk has posted a lot of information on the Town of Falmouth website.
Click here to access that Town Meeting Information, including the warrant.

Town Meeting Procedures

The Falmouth Town Meeting is held annually in the spring on a date fixed by bylaw, and annually in the fall on a date chosen by the Board of Selectmen. The standing and powers of both these meetings is that of an Annual Town Meeting. The Board of Selectmen shall notify members of the next annual Town Meeting before the completion of each annual Town Meeting.

Special Town Meetings are called by the Selectmen when considered necessary or upon written request of at least 100 registered voters. Town Meeting consists of 27 members elected from each of the nine precincts for three year overlapping terms.

The Warrant is the agenda for Town Meeting. It consists of articles that merely stake out the limits of the area within which the meeting may act. A motion must be made in order for action to be taken on a warrant article. All motions must be within the scope, or four corners, of the article.

Town Meetings begin at 7:00pm each night. Town Meeting members must check in with attendance takers each evening. Attendance is public record and is published in the Enterprise.

A quorum of one half plus one of the total members is necessary to conduct Town Meeting. (243 elected members + 1 Moderator = 244 / 2 = 122, 122 +1 = 123. Note: the Moderator is ex officio member and any members of the General Court residing in Falmouth are also ex officio - currently the one member of the House of Representatives in the General Court residing in Falmouth is also the Moderator.)

The Moderator presides over every session of Town Meeting with exclusive authority over the conduct of the meeting. The Moderator only votes when members present and voting are equally divided. The Moderator also appoints the Town Meeting Rules & Procedures Committee that is responsible for periodically meeting with the Moderator to review the procedures and related bylaws of Town Meeting.

The Moderator may begin the review of the Warrant with a blanket vote. During the blanket vote the Moderator reads each article and any member who wishes to discuss or disagree with the printed recommendation may shout "HOLD." The articles that are not held are then unanimously voted on in a blanket vote that enacts the measure "as recommended." Articles that were held are then taken up one by one.

Town Meeting may make the following motions to dispose of articles:
as recommended
amend
refer to committee
put to a town-wide referendum (although selectmen set the ballot)
indefinite postponement (only when no positive motion is made)

Voting is done by voice vote. However, when the Moderator can not determine a majority by voice vote, the members must stand and be counted. Upon the request of 20 Town Meeting members, the ayes and nays of members shall be ascertained and recorded.

Only Town Meeting members are allowed to make motions. Others must ask a Town Meeting member to make a motion for them. After the motion has been made, any registered voter, resident, or taxpayer of the town may speak. Persons who are not voters, residents, or taxpayers of the town may address town meeting with a majority vote of members present.

Town Meeting adjourns at 11:00pm unless a motion to continue is made and approved by a 2/3 vote. According to town bylaw, in no event shall consideration of a new article begin after 12:00am midnight.

Precinct Organization

PRECINCT ORGANIZATION
The purposes of the precinct organization effort.

Strengthen the Town Meeting process.

Have well attended meetings in each precinct or joint meetings prior to each Town meeting.

Elect a Captain, Deputy, and Clerk in each precinct willing to organize a meeting prior to each Town Meeting.

Support the precinct meeting with notices, organizational assistant, and encouraging attendance from town boards and committees.

The goals of the precinct meetings.

Increase and improve communication to all Town Meeting members.

Allow Town Meeting Members to reach out for broader community input.

Involving more town residents in Town Meeting process.

Inform Town Meeting Members on the issues relating to the current Town Meeting.

Prepare Town Meeting Members to actively contribute to Town Meeting.

Contacts for assistance
Michael Palmer, Town Clerk 59 Town Hall Square Falmouth, MA 02540 508-495-7353 mpalmer@falmouthmass.us
David T. Vieira, Town Moderator 221 Teaticket Hwy Teaticket, MA 02536 508-563-7292 vieiradt@capecod.net
MEETING LOCATIONS
Town Hall 508-548-7611
Gus Canty 508-457-2567
Teaticket Elementary School 508-548-1550
East Falmouth Elementary School 508-548-1052
Morris Pond School 508-548-7300
Lawrence School 508-548-0606
School Administration Building 508-548-0151
North Falmouth School 508-563-2334
West Falmouth Library 508-548-4709
Senior Center 508-540-0196

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: January 31, 2012 13:15 PST.