Information for Meeting of By-Law Review Advisory Comm
Thursday September 28, 2017 6:00 PM EDT

By-Law Review Advisory Committee
Thursday, September 28, 2017
6:00 p.m.

AGENDA

Note:  This is a joint meeting with the Select Board.

1.	Ask the Select Board to vote to tentatively approve the Draft of Article III – Select Board. 

2.	Ask the Select Board to vote to tentatively approve the Draft of Article IV – Town Clerk.

3.	Ask the Select Board to vote to tentatively approve the Draft of Article V – Treasurer/Collector.

4.	Ask the Select Board to vote to in favor of adding a new article to the By-laws entitled Budget Process.

Rationale:  There are multiple people or groups involved in the Budget Process, such as departments, Town Administrator, Accountant, Treasurer/Collector, Finance Committee, and the Select Board.  It will be best to have the process identified, deadlines stated, and the roll of all involved described in one place in the document.  (We have previously sent you a draft of a timeline that may inform your discussion.)  

5.	Vote to add an additional article to the warrant for the upcoming Town Meeting.  We recommend that the quorum needed for Town Meeting be increased from 25 to 50.  

Rationale:  For our population, a quorum of 25 registered voters for Town Meeting is low, as can be seen in the attached table.  For example, the populations and quorums, respectively, for several comparable towns are: Hadley (5,000, 100), Hatfield (3,400, 75) and Williamsburg (2,600, 60).  Also, according to the Town Clerk, we currently have 3,933 active registered voters and a population of 6,252.  Attendance at the Annual Town Meeting is around 245, and at Special Town Meetings around 90.  Based on these data, a change from 25 to 50 seems warranted, not too drastic a change, and should not present a problem, as it is lower than our usual attendance.   

Article I   Town Meeting

Existing language in current By-laws
Sec. 6.  At all Town Meetings, except such parts of meetings as are devoted exclusively to the election of officer, twenty-five (25) legal voters shall be necessary to constitute a quorum; provided that a number less than a quorum may from time to time adjourn the same.
Suggested New Version
Sec. 6.  At all Town Meetings, fifty (50) registered voters shall be necessary to constitute a quorum to conduct business; provided that a number less than a quorum may from time to time adjourn the meeting.