Moderator Ellis encourages all to attend Town Meeting and shares Rules of Order highlights
February 23, 2026To the Community:
Looking forward to Waterbury's Town Meeting on Tuesday, March 3, at 9 a.m. at the Brookside Primary School gym, the warning and town annual reports can be found at several locations around town, and on the Town of Waterbury website.
I encourage you to participate in Town Meeting! If you don't understand what is happening during the meeting, or if you want to ask how to move your idea into action, please feel free to raise your hand. The Moderator’s job is to help.
The meeting articles are in the town warning, which is in the town report. Meetings are run under Robert's Rules of Order as modified by Vermont law, and here are some of the basic rules:
Discussion begins after a motion on an article is made and seconded.
In order to speak, you must be recognized by the moderator. Please direct your questions to the moderator.
Each person may speak once until all who want to speak have spoken.
Motions can be amended. Amendments must be germane to the motion. An amendment can be amended once.
A motion to call the question (limit debate) requires a 2/3 vote and is non-debatable.
Votes are usually taken by voice vote.
If the moderator or the public are unsure of the outcome of a voice vote, the moderator or any person may call for a division of the house, i.e. a show of hands to determine the vote.
Seven voters are needed to request a paper ballot vote on a question.
A motion to reconsider is not in order after discussion has begun on the next article. The person bringing a motion to reconsider must have voted on the prevailing side of the motion to be reconsidered.
If you wish to amend an article, it is very helpful to write out the amendment and present it to the clerk or moderator.
Photo by Gordon Miller
If anyone has questions about Robert's Rules of Order prior to the meeting, please feel free to email me at ellisvermont@yahoo.com.
Rebecca Ellis
Waterbury Town Moderator