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Minnesota Township News
Did You Know
Troy Gilchrist
November -- December 2005
Did You Know . . .
MODERATORS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE
AT ANNUAL AND SPECIAL TOWN MEETINGS
From the very first meeting of a newly organized town, the moderator plays an important role in
facilitating the electors in conducting the town’s business. The town meeting is a unique
characteristic of the township form of government. Part of why town meetings are so unique is
the fact that those in attendance select among their number someone to actually run their
meeting. This person, called the moderator, is recognized in statute and is often pivotal to the
effectiveness and productivity of the meeting. Those selected as moderators are often longstanding members of the community and usually have some experience moderating past annual
town meetings. However, there are always those who are new to the position and want to make
sure they do a good job despite being a little uncertain of what they are supposed to do. This
article will discuss the role of the moderator and offer some suggestions for how to best prepare
the person selected as moderator at an annual or special town meeting.
As all town officers know, the annual town meeting is held on the second Tuesday in March.
Once the town clerk calls the meeting to order at the appointed time, the next item of business is
for the town electors (i.e., residents who are eligible voters in the town) to select a moderator to
serve as the presiding officer of the meeting. Minn. Stat. § 365.54, subd. 4. The selection is to
occur by “acclamation.” Selection by acclamation means by informal voice vote. As such, the
selection process should occur by motion rather than by nominations which could necessitate a
ballot vote if more than one person is nominated. There are no specific eligibility requirements
to being selected moderator, but typically a moderator should be a resident and eligible voter of
the town. This would mean the electors could select a supervisor to serve as moderator, but
should not select the clerk since, as the clerk of the meeting, that person already has an official
role to serve at the meeting.
Once selected, the “moderator shall state the order of business.” Minn. Stat. § 365.56, subd. 1.
To help the moderator accomplish this task and to help with the proper facilitation of the
meeting, town boards should consider having a packet of information prepared in advance of the
meeting that can be given to the moderator once selected. The clerk may even want to take a few
minutes with the new moderator to explain their role and review the agenda and other prepared
documents.
The contents of the information prepared for the moderator will vary depending on the town and
the items of business at hand, but it generally could include the following: agenda; copy of the
previous annual meeting minutes; the past and current treasurer’s reports; any town meeting
procedural rules previously adopted by the electors for the meeting, including any rules of
parliamentary procedure (Robert’s Rules does not automatically apply, neither do any rules the
town board may have adopted for its meetings); a copy of Minnesota statutes section 365.56
which lists a few statutory rules the moderator should know; proposed budget; previous year’s
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certified levy amounts; and the proposed levy amounts to be voted on at the meeting. The board
should also have reference materials available at the meeting site that may be useful to help
answer questions that may arise from the floor (e.g., Town Law Book, Manual on Town
Government, Election Laws, financial records, etc.).
Keep in mind that if the meeting essentially grinds to a halt because those in attendance cannot
determine the answer to an important issue or question, it is possible to continue a town meeting
to a later time to provide an opportunity to find the answer or bring in professional assistance to
help resolve the issue. In such cases, it is critical for the clerk to record the specific date, time,
and place where the meeting will be reconvened. It is also important to be clear whether the
meeting is being continued for one or more specific issues or if the meeting generally is being
continued. By being clear about the topics to be discussed the electors can make an informed
decision about whether to attend the reconvened meeting and the discussion can be focused
accordingly.
It is difficult to say much about how to actually conduct the meeting since each town has its own
history and practices the electors have likely become accustom to. The moderator works through
the agenda, giving people a fair opportunity to ask questions and speak to the issues before the
assembly, and declares the result of the votes taken. Moderators who are eligible voters of the
town have the right to make and second motions as well as vote; however, moderators may want
to voluntarily choose not to make motions to maintain an appearance of neutrality.
Statutory guidance on how to conduct a town meeting is limited to the following:
•
“A proposition to vote a tax must not be acted on out of the order of business stated by
the moderator.” Minn. Stat. § 365.56, subd. 3.
•
“A motion to reconsider a vote must be made within one-half hour of the vote. To pass,
a motion to reconsider must be favored by a majority of the electors entered on the
election register when the motion is made.” Minn. Stat. § 365.56.
•
“All questions on motions except a motion to reconsider are decided by a majority of the
electors voting on the question.” Minn. Stat. § 365.56, subd. 5.
•
“The moderator shall decide and declare the vote on each question.” Minn. Stat. §
365.56, subd. 6.
•
“At a special town meeting, business is limited to the business in the meeting notice.”
Minn. Stat. § 365.56, subd. 2.
Finally, town boards are required to decide how much to pay the moderator. Minn. Stat. §
365.54, subd. 4. Towns seem to differ somewhat in how they treat this payment, but since the
amount is usually small and the service provided limited, it is generally recommended the
payment be considered the equivalent of a one-time service charge.
Town officers with questions about the role of the moderator are welcome to contact the
Association.
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