RTM Orientation for Recently Elected Members. Presented by RTM Coordinating Committee 5/23/2017

Transcription

1 RTM Orientation for Recently Elected Members Presented by RTM Coordinating Committee 5/23/2017

2 Allowed Forms of Government in MA Open Town Meeting (e.g. Foxboro/Mansfield/Norton/Plainville) Only form allowed for towns with less than 6,000 residents Registered voters are the legislature and selectmen are the executive branch North had this form of government until 1974 Representative Town Meeting (e.g. North Attleboro/Walpole) Allowed for towns with at least 6,000 residents RTM members are the legislature and selectmen are the executive branch Town Administrator/Manager and Council (e.g. Franklin/Randolph) Allowed for towns with at least 12,000 residents Council constitutes both executive policy and legislature Mayor/Council (e.g. Attleboro/Taunton) Allowed for towns with at least 12,000 residents Mayor is executive and Council is legislature Source: Mass Municipal Assoc. and Mass General Laws 2

3 North Town Government Legislature RTM of 135 authorized members 9 Precincts with 15 members each Elected by precinct for staggered 3-year terms Elected Town Moderator presides at meetings and appoints Fincom Executive Board of Selectmen (BoS) governs all areas not specifically assigned elsewhere 5 Selectmen elected for staggered 3-year terms Town Administrator reports to BoS and executes their policies and decisions Other elected officials: Town Clerk, Town Treasurer/Tax Collector Many other Executive Boards Elected boards are independent of the BoS (e.g. School Committee and BPW) Appointed boards are appointed and removed by BoS (e.g. Cable Commission) Organizing Law in order of Precedence MA Constitution, MA General Laws, RTM Act, Town By-Laws, Town Meeting Time 3

4 North RTM Structure 9 precincts 15 members per precinct 135 total members Elections Staggered 3-year terms Election held annually in April Nomination by 10 registered voters of the precinct Vacancies May be filled by precinct caucus at Annual or Semi Annual Town Mtg. All seats so filled or otherwise open appear on next election ballot 4

5 Open Seats for June 5 Caucuses Precinct 1 Precinct 2 Precinct 3 Precinct 4 Precinct 5 Precinct 6 Precinct 7 Precinct 8 Precinct 9 6 seats 0 seats 0 seats 5 seats 4 seats 3 seats 0 seats 0 seats 0 seat Total = 18 seats 5

6 Role of RTM Approves operating budgets and capital expenditures RTM has visibility to the major line item level within departments Exception: by MA law, school budget is single line item, plus transportation & crossing guard line items Approves Town By-law additions and changes Approves zoning changes and street acceptances Approves funding for union contracts (yes/no only) Contract details are negotiated by the BoS By MA law, Teacher/School contracts negotiated by School Committee and not subject to RTM review 6

7 RTM Duties From the RTM Act: It shall be the duty of representative town meeting members to fully acquaint themselves prior to town meeting with the subject matter of all warrant articles. Members are encouraged to attend any public hearings thereon, given by a town agency or official. Good attendance at Town Meetings Vote at meetings to represent the interests of your precinct Prepare at home using any combination of sources: Review Warrant Articles and Fincom recommendations View information sessions on North TV Town meeting preview Fincom meetings Talk to friends and colleagues on RTM Be open to constituent input RTM members are invited to optional information sessions regarding town affairs Stay informed via the Sun Chronicle, Free Press, and North TV 7

8 What s Refreshingly Unique about RTM? (compared to other elected legislative bodies) Most members win without spending a dime on their campaigns Campaign donations are unheard of Elected members generally have no political debts ($s or votes) Elected members are not beholden to any political party We are efficient We pass a balanced budget ON TIME every year We have no delay tactics or filibusters By our own rules we must act on every matter before us before we can close a Town Meeting We completed our legislative work in ~ 10 hours last year We are not paid Combined RTMCC & Moderator Budget: $1 for FY2017 Our votes count and matter We are perhaps the only legislative body where the incumbents hold an information session on how to run against them Without political parties & campaign contributors we can trust that members, new or old, will be guided by common sense 8

9 Common Abbreviations and Acronyms RTM = Representative Town Meeting BoS or BOS = Board of Selectmen FinCom or FinComm= Finance Committee RTMCC = RTM Coordinating Committee IP = Indefinite Postponement ATM = Annual Town Meeting SATM = Semi-Annual Town Meeting STM = Special Town Meeting FY = Fiscal Year CY = Calendar Year MGL = Massachusetts General Laws. Standing laws passed by the legislature. CMR = Code of Massachusetts Regulations. Administrative laws created by the executive branch as authorized by the legislature. 9

10 Key Terminology Article an item to be voted upon at a town meeting Warrant the list of all articles to be considered at a town meeting FinCom Booklets a compendium of all articles on a warrant along with the Fincom recommendation and some supporting documents Fiscal Year the town s financial budget year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. It is named according to the calendar year in which it ends. E.g. FY 2016 ends on June 30, Do NOT call it a physical year. Free Cash funds appropriated for a prior fiscal year, but never used or collected in excess of budget projections. The Commonwealth must audit and certify the amount of Free Cash before it may be reallocated in the current fiscal year. At the SATM, RTM typically appropriates some Free Cash and transfers the balance to the Stabilization Fund. Stabilization Fund a general purpose reserve fund of the Town, sometimes referred to as the rainy day fund or savings account. Removing funds from the Stabilization Fund requires a 2/3 vote. 10

11 Terminology (continued) Recognized by the Moderator means the same as called on by the Moderator General Court official name of the state legislature in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 11

12 RTM Coordinating Committee Consists of the Chair and Vice Chair from each precinct, who are elected at the ATM caucus to serve for one year RTMCC elects a Leadership Committee consisting of Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary and may appoint ad hoc and sub-committees Primary functions of the RTMCC are: Recruitment Orientation of new Members FinCom booklet and supporting document distribution Information sharing Town meeting rules not otherwise specified (e.g. seating arrangement) Critique of town meetings See RTM Handbook pages 7 9 for more detail Chairman of the RTMCC is only RTM Member authorized to seek opinion from the Town Counsel 12

13 Town Meetings When? By town by-law RTM meets as follows: Annual Town Meeting (First Monday in June) Semi Annual Town Meeting (Third Monday in October) Special Town Meetings (as called by the BoS or by petition of 200 registered voters) BoS announces the opening and closing dates for submission of articles for the warrant The warrant announces the time, date, and location of the meeting Articles may be submitted by town departments, officials, boards, committees or by petition of registered voters (10 for ATM or SATM and 100 for STM) or 36 RTM Members for STM 13

14 Town Meetings FinCom Role FinCom reviews all articles on the warrant Holds open meetings where article sponsors may advocate, explain, and defend their article Votes on the recommendation for every article Affirmative recommendations may modify/reduce the request of the sponsor Negative recommendations are called indefinite postponement or IP. Indefinite postponement may sound indeterminate or innocuous, but actually means the same thing as permanently defeat. Publishes their recommendations at least 14 days before the town meeting FinCom members Appointed by the Town Moderator for 3-year terms May not hold any other position in town except RTM 14

15 Town Meetings Night of Meeting Town Clerk notifies each RTM Member by postal mail of date, time, and location of meeting. Typically: Meetings are held at Middle School Cafetorium Start at 7:00 PM on a Monday night 6:30 PM for ATM and any meeting where precincts will be required to caucus to appoint Members or elect Chair/Vice Chair Be sure to sign in and wear your badge. Sign-ins needed to confirm quorum and badge required to vote. Sit with your precinct this is a by-law! Moderator calls the meeting to order at 7:00 PM or later if the Town Clerk has not yet declared a quorum is present Moderator runs the meetings & is the arbiter of parliamentary issues The parliamentary conduct of town meeting is governed by Town Meeting Time and not Roberts Rules of Order Meetings require a vote of RTM to go past 10:00 PM and seldom do Meetings that continue over to another night continue on Wednesday/Monday/W/M, etc. until all articles have been considered and voted 15

16 Town Meetings Speaking Strictly optional. Watch replays on North TV to find your style. Speakers must be recognized by the Moderator: Preference given to RTM Members Town officials with information Town residents at the discretion of the Moderator INTRODUCE YOURSELF EVERY TIME WITH NAME & PRECINCT Speakers limited to 10 minutes per recognition Speakers limited to once per article if other Members have not had a chance to speak Any speaker recognized by the Moderator may cede their time to a constituent who wishes to speak Speaker should address their comment & questions to the Moderator. E.g. Madam Moderator, I believe that. or Madam Moderator, can anyone tell me.? Personal attacks at named individuals are out of order Address other by title rather than by name. E.g. I disagree with my colleague from Precinct X, as the Town Administrator has stated 16

17 Town Meetings Order of Business Call to order Pledge of allegiance/moment of silence Reading of Warrant notification Preliminary motions Bourne Amendment Super-Majority Vote Procedural Rule Consideration of Articles In numerical order unless voted otherwise Recess (sometimes) Adjourn: Sine Die (Latin for without [another] day ) To Fixed Time and Place (e.g. to Wednesday 7PM at NAMS Cafetorium) 17

18 Motions A Motion is a proposal for action that regulates the procedures for Town Meeting. In North Attleborough, the main motion on the floor to be discussed is the recommendation of the Finance Committee. All other motions must be made by RTM members after they are recognized by the Moderator. A Second is a 2 nd member agreeing it should be discussed 18

19 Preliminary Motions Bourne Amendment I move that the Town Meeting adopt the Bourne Amendment: That any motion to increase the amount of money recommended for an article must specify where the additional monies will come from. Super-Majority Vote Procedural Rule I move that the Town Meeting adopt the procedural rule: That the count of a super majority vote, when declared obvious by the Moderator, shall not be taken unless requested by seven or more RTM members. 19

20 Warrant Article Consideration FinCom Chairman makes motion for affirmative action or IP on each Article. FinCom motions are automatically seconded If the FinCom recommends an IP, the IP must be overturned before any affirmative action from the floor may be considered Different types of votes require different majorities to pass and vote recording methods (majority vs. 2/3, show of hands vs. roll call) as governed by MGL 20

21 Types of Motions There are four types of motions that are used during Town Meeting. They are: Main Motions -These are made only when there are no other motions active. These may be made before the start of business in Town Meeting, at the end of business, or between articles. If an article is still active, a Main Motion will not be accepted. Subsidiary Motions These are made while an article is being discussed and the motion pertains to the article. Incidental Motions These are made while an article is being discussed, but are procedural in nature and may not pertain directly to the article. Privileged Motions These motions pertain to the conduct of Town Meeting and have priority over all other motions 21

22 Common Examples of Parliamentary Procedure Affirmative Action A main motion to approve an Article, either by the Finance Committee or by an RTM Member after the defeat of the Finance Committee s recommendation of an Indefinite Postponement must be in writing and seconded Indefinitely Postpone A main motion to reject or disapprove an Article. A Yes vote agrees to reject the Article. Move the Question -- A subsidiary motion to end debate on a motion Amend A subsidiary motion to make a change to the motion on the floor 22

23 Common Examples of Parliamentary Procedure (cont.) Point of Order (Incidental Motion): This is not really a motion, but rather a question that is so important as to justify the interruption of the speaker. The point of order is decided by the Moderator without debate. The three reasons that are acceptable for a Point of Order are: 1. Is the speaker entitled to the floor (ex. is he a non-voter, or has he gone over the entitled amount of time)? 2. Is what the speaker saying or proposing offensive, frivolous, irrelevant, illegal or contrary to proper procedure? 3. Is any pending action frivolous, irrelevant, illegal or contrary to proper procedure? This motion should not be confused with the Question of Privilege or Privileged motion which should be used for non-parliamentary matters such as: I can t hear the speaker?, Can we take a 10 minute break?, etc. 23

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