Information on upcoming Special Town Meeting on July 28, 2020

The upcoming Special Town Meeting on July 28, 2020, as a Virtual Town Meeting (VTM) via Zoom. The Annual Town Meeting in June operated well under this model and the Town Moderator is confident that it will be successful again.

Below are actions that must be taken before you are able to participate in the VTM.

1. If you did not do so for the June Town Meeting, complete the Zoom registration
2. If you require assistance in advance, please read below for the specific person to contact
3. Such assistance could include questions on the Warrant articles, a request for training, request for a PC for use at home or request to use a PC at the Council on Aging
4. Complete Zoom Registration (only if you have not already done so)

There are three steps:

1. Each Town Meeting Member will need to create a Zoom account using as your user ID the email address you have on file with the Town Clerk
2. Down the Zoom application to the computer/device you will use for the VTM
3. Register for the training and Town Meeting by clicking on this link

Note: If you don’t have an email address, please contact Michael Lynch at [email protected] or by calling 617-898-4960 and he will assist you with the registration.

You will be able to attend Town Meeting with full functionality on a smartphone, tablet, MAC, or PC. If you have none of those, we have arranged access to computers at the Council on Aging the night of Town Meeting. If you have a device but a weak/poor internet connection, you can also attend Town Meeting by going to the Council on Aging.

If you need access to the Council on Aging, please contact Hilary Waite at [email protected] to reserve a spot.

Every Town Meeting Member needs to sign into the Zoom Webinar separately in order to vote. If you need to borrow a PC, please contact Mike Lynch at [email protected].

If you believe you will be unable to operate the video conferencing system on a smartphone, tablet, MAC or PC, you may access Town Meeting using a touch-tone phone, however, some of your functionality will be limited. If you believe you need an accommodation due to a disability, please contact Robert Hiss at [email protected] so he can work on accommodation.

Attend Training

If there is demand, I will conduct a training session on the night of Sunday, July 26, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. using the Zoom Webinar technology. Please email Robert Hiss at [email protected] if you would like to attend the training.

If you register with Robert Hiss for training in advance, you will receive an email from the Zoom Host prior to your training session that will contain a link to the training session. Please click on that link at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, 2020, and the Zoom Host will admit you to the training session.

Please register in advance. There are 288 voting members of the Town Meeting. Robert Hiss will start the meeting on time at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. To ensure that you can access the VTM on time, please complete the registration. There will be help desk personnel available on the night of Town Meeting, but the meeting will start as soon as we have quorum. The help desk personnel will work to resolve any last-minute problems you have, but Town Meeting will go on.

Amendments and Questions about the Warrant Articles

If you have questions about the Warrant, you may either submit them to Robert Hiss or directly to the chair of the board that sponsored the article.

If you have amendments, Robert Hiss will accept them in writing until midnight on Friday, July 24, 2020. He will post any amendments he receives in time to the Town Meeting page on the Town’s Web site.

Robert Hiss said the following:

“We have all experienced the difficulty of incorporating amendments from the floor during the Town Meeting. There are always scope, legal and language issues that make it extremely difficult to accept a complex amendment from the floor. They require consultation with the sponsoring board, Town Counsel, and the Warrant Committee. They frequently require numerous wording changes to make them clear. None of the other Town Meeting Members has seen floor amendment language in advance. I will reject out of hand complex amendments submitted from the floor during Town Meeting if I have not received them in advance by midnight Friday, July 24, 2020.”

Attend Town Meeting

On Monday, July 27, 2020, if you have registered, you will receive an email from the Zoom Host with a link inviting you to attend the VTM on July 28, 2020. When you click on that link, if you have registered in advance, you will be admitted to the meeting. If you have not registered in advance, our help desk will attempt to admit you.

Questions and Help

The VTM Advisory Committee has prepared training materials and a Frequently Asked Questions document to help you. There will be help desk staff available during the registration process and during Town Meeting to help you. The phone numbers you can call the night of the Town Meeting to help you resolve problems will be published closer to the VTM.

Please email Robert Hiss at [email protected] with any other questions.

Special thanks to the advisory committee who have been extremely helpful.

Frank Schroth – Chair
Michael Lynch – Zoom Host
Hilary Waite – Zoom Co-Host
Rob Mallet – Zoom Co Host
Gayle Neville – Zoom Co Host
and Susan Galvin – Town Clerk.

They have each given generously of their time and worked many hours to design a VTM experience for everyone.

Americans with Disability Disclosure:

If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to attend and/or participate in this meeting, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact Joseph Prondak, Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator, at 525 Canton Avenue, Milton, MA 02186 or call Joseph Prondak at 617-898-4925.

If you are hearing or voice impaired, please call 711.