2013-04-29 Annual Town Meeting Minutes

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ANNUAL TOWN MEETING Reading Memorial High School April 29, 2013 Preforming Arts Center The meeting was called to order by the Moderator, Alan E. Foulds, at 7:37 PM, there being a quorum present. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was said by the members of Town Meeting. ARTICLE 24 John Arena, Board of Selectmen moved that the Town vote to amend Article 2 -15 of the Reading Home Rule Charter as follows (language with all ketHrengh shows deletions / words in bold denotes new language): No final affirmative vote of a Town Meeting on any Warrant Article shall be operative until after the expiration of seven (7) days following the dissolution of the Town Meeting except the following: (a) a vote to adjourn or dissolve, (b) votes appropriating money for the payment of notes or bonds of the Town and interest becoming due within the then current fiscal year, (c) votes for the temporary borrowing of money in anticipation of revenue, or (d) a vote declared by preamble by a two- thirds vote of Town Meeting to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the peace, health, safety or convenience of the Town. If a referendum petition is not filed within the said seven (7) days, the votes of the Town Meeting shall then become operative. (a) Referendum Petition - If, within said seven (7) days, a referendum petition signed by not less than three (3) percent of the voters certified by the Registrars of Voters containing their names and addresses is filed with the Board of Selectmen requesting that any question of affirmative vote of Town Meeting be submitted to the voters in the form of a ballot question, such ballot question to be in the form required in (b) herein, to the voters, then the operation of the Town Meeting vote shall be further suspended pending its determination as provided below. The Board of Selectmen shall, within ten (10) days after the filing of such referendum petition, call a Special Election that shall be held within thirty (30) days or such longer period as may be required by law after issuing the call, for the purpose of presenting to the voters any such ballot question. If, however, a regular or Special Election is to be held not more than sixty (60) days following the date the referendum petition is filed, the Board of Selectmen may provide that any such ballot question be presented to the voters at that Election. (b) Form of Referendum Petition /Ballot Question - Each ballot question submitted shall appear at the top of each referendum petition and shall be presented in the following form which shall be placed on the official ballot: - "Shall the Town vote to approve the action of the representative Town Meeting whereby it was voted on (insert date of town meeting) to (insert complete language of the vote in the same form in which it was stated when presented by the Moderator to the Town Meeting, and as It appears in the records of the Clerk of the meeting) "? The form of the referendum petition shall be In conformance with this section. The circulator(s) of the referendum petition may make additional copies of the petition form, but such copies must be an exact duplicate thereof. The petition form may not be altered in any way. No extraneous - markings, such as underlines, highlighting, erasures, marking out or insertion of words, or other Information, are allowed on any area of the petition form. Any such extraneous markings on, or alterations of the petition form, or copies of the petition form that are not exact duplicates, will result in the invalidation of all signatures contained on that petition form. Extraneous markings do not include signatures or addresses. Each petition form shall include language informing voters that additional markings will disqualify the signatures on the petition form; that for their signature to be valid, they must be a registered voter of the Town of Reading; that their signature shall be written as they are registered; that they should not sign the petition more than once; and that if they are prevented by physical disability from writing, that they may authorize some person to write their name and residence in their presence. The back of each petition form where signature lines appear shall include the following instruction: "ATTENTION VOTERS: Before signing, read signer Information on the other side ".