Respectfully, I don't think this is quite right. If you look at Section III a of the url you sent to everyone, you'll see that the Select Board (or Town Council, if no Selectboard) are the *only* body that can put a Proposition 2 1/2 question on the written ballot for a town vote (overrides, debt exclusions or underrides). Questions may be put on a voting session held only for that town, or it can be voted on at the biennial State election, if approved by the Secretary of State for inclusion on the ballot. The law is explicit that the town meeting may *not* put a question on the ballot. I don't see - and in my time as Selectperson of Belmont I also never experienced - a requirement for a town meeting vote on a Proposition 2 1/2 question, although maybe there is something special in the Lincoln by laws that allows for this. There are other dimensions to town voting which provide additional color. For example, the moderator may call for a voice vote at town meeting on any question that doesn't require a written vote, and if the voice vote does not procure an obvious result, inevitably someone at the meeting (or sometimes the moderator his/herself) may then call for a show of hands. In addition, the election of certain positions in town government require a written vote of the populace, including for example the Select Board and the School Committee. Further, under some town by laws, a Warrant Committee develops a "warrant" - that is a list of questions that will come before the Town Meeting. The state laws pre-empt any contradictory town by laws, but the town may create by laws that apply only to that town provided they don't conflict with state laws.
Anne Warner On Mon, May 29, 2023 at 9:59 AM Andrew Payne <[email protected]> wrote: > Edward Young asked: > > 1. Can someone provide the background for Lincoln’s current system of >> having certain important matters voted on both in live Town Meetings (which >> sometimes involve self-identification by a show of hands) and also by >> written ballot in the privacy of the voting booth? >> > > The written ballot is a state requirement under Proposition 2 1/2. > Certain approvals require BOTH a (a) town meeting vote, and (b) a ballot > vote. It's the state's way of saying, "*are you really sure?*" > > Situations that require both a town meeting vote and a ballot vote > include: > > - *Overrides. * Increasing the base budget by more than 2.5%. > > - *Debt exclusions. * One-time bonding (borrowing), typically for > large projects, such as our school project. > > - *Capital exclusions.* One-time spending, typically for large > capital items (e.g. a fire truck). > > Debt and capital exclusions may only be used for capital projects. > > For more information than you probably want to know, see: > https://www.mass.gov/doc/proposition-2-12-ballot-question-requirement-and-procedure/download > > One "the state sets the rules and we follow them" resident's view, > > -andy > https://payne.org/lt-disclaimer/ > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > > -- Anne Taubes Warner [email protected]
-- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to [email protected]. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
