After the meeting has been called to order by the Moderator and the Town Clerk has read the posting of the Warrant, the articles of the Warrant are considered in order.

Early in the meeting, usually article 3 or 4, comes the "OMNIBUS BUDGET" article. This article is for consideration of the budgets (less special articles) of all town departments. The normal procedure is to go through this article, one budget at a time. If anyone has a question on anything that deals with that department, they need only call out "HOLD". Note will be made of the "hold" and when all the budgets have been considered, the Moderator will revisit the budgets that were "held" asking the nature of the question. The voter is then free to ask questions on the budget item or to offer a new dollar value by way of an amendment. If the amendment is seconded, it is then voted on. More than one amendment can be considered, but largest dollar value or shortest time will be voted on first. If a budget is amended, then the new budget must be voted "as amended." (see section on "Amending a Motion")

After the Omnibus Budget article, the rest of the warrant will be considered in order. It is acceptable, however, to make a motion that an article be taken "out of sequence". On occasion, there may be a consultant present or other extenuating circumstances that would make this desirable. The maker of the motion will be allowed to make his/her case for moving the article and a vote will be taken on the motion. As simple majority vote will prevail.

It is customary at our meeting that no article be introduced after 11:00 PM. If all business has not been concluded by 11:00 PM, the Moderator will entertain a motion to RECESS (not adjourn) to a time and place certain. This will usually be the following evening. If the motion carries, the meeting will reconvene when directed.

DISCUSSION:
As each article is presented, any registered voter (and special guests with permission of the majority of voters present and voting) may rise to speak to the subject. All speakers must use a microphone and identify themselves the first time they speak. (Plympton speakers, by custom, also give the street on which they reside to help us better get to know one another.) Care should be taken that all questions and comments deal directly with the article under consideration. All questions will be addressed through the Moderator, and one will speak only after being recognized to do so by the Moderator. All voters are encouraged to ask relevant questions to their satisfaction and need not fear being ridiculed or heckled by the audience. There are no stupid questions. Just remember to always keep the discussion on the principles under consideration and not personalities.

AMENDING A MOTION:
If the article under consideration is not worded to the satisfaction of a voter, the voter may be recognized to offer an amendment. If the amendment is seconded, and submitted to the Moderator in writing shortly thereafter, discussion and a vote will be held on the amendment as offered. If the amendment passes, discussion will return to the amended motion and finally to a vote. If it fails, other amendments may be considered, or discussion and a vote on the original motion will follow.

MOVING THE QUESTION:
Once in a while, when discussion seems to be repetitive or going nowhere, or if someone does not want to hear another side to the debate, you will hear a call to "move the question". If this is made from a seated voter who has not been recognized, it will be ignored, but it can be a clue to the Moderator that it is time to "wrap it up" on this article. If the motion is made by a recognized voter and seconded, it can not be ignored because it is a legal call to terminate debate.

A motion to terminate debate requires a 2/3rd recognized or counted vote and can be made at any time. The motion is not debatable and must be acted upon immediate. Most fair and just Moderators will not recognize a motion to "move the question" when there are voters' hands raised who are waiting to speak. In the same vein, the maker of the motion can usually be persuaded to allow those waiting to speak if assured that the vote on the motion is forthcoming. Treating each other in a civil manner is paramount in Town Meeting procedure.

MOTION TO PASS OVER WITHOUT ACTION:
Once or twice during every Town Meeting, the Moderator's reading of an article will be greeted by "Motion to Pass Over: usually from the Selectmen or the author of the article. This is often an indication that the maker of the original request for the article no longer deems it necessary to make the request. It may be that the conditions have changed or the presenter was not ready to make her/his case for the request. The Moderator usually allows a brief explanation of the circumstances before calling for the vote.

MOTION TO TABLE: (To time certain)
Although this is a legal motion, it is rarely heard due to the fact that it can only be used in town government to postpone action to a time certain (example: after consideration of a future article at the same meeting). It may not be used to "kill" an article as is often done in State Government. On rare occasions articles may be linked:, in that there is only so much money passing of one article may depend on defeat of another. In this case, the voters may elect to table the vote on one article in order to determine the outcome of another.

POINT OF ORDER:
Once in a while (especially as Plympton is breaking in a new one) the Moderator may do something that a voter considers to be illegal or at the very least deserves explaining. In this case, the voter may "Rise to a Point of Order".

(The voter is offered) immediate service by the Moderator and the voter is offered an opportunity to explain what it is that is bothering him/her. The Moderator must then respond by defending or explaining his/her action or decision. The voter is not allowed to debate the point but is faced with the choice of accepting the Moderator's position or calling for a vote of the whole body to overturn the action. This is one of those times when Town Counsel can be of service.

MOTION TO RECONSIDER:
A "Motion to Reconsider" an article that has been previously accepted requires a 2/3 majority vote. It can be made at any time. Such a motion has been used in the past to "finalize" a vote, to allay fears that someone will reconsider a controversial vote after the makeup of the audience has changed or on a different night when there are more or fewer voters of a particular persuasion. In the absence of new or compelling information that would affect the view of the average voter, the Moderator will deny such a motion. This allows a voter to rest easy once an article has passed with an assurance that someone will not attempt to resurrect an article at some later time. However, the Motion to Reconsider, can be a valuable tool in the event that someone discovers at a later time in the meeting, an error in procedure that may make an article invalid.

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