A moderator is an official of an

incorporated town An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation. Canada Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government. United Kingdom United States An in ...

who presides over the

town meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

, and in some cases, other municipal meetings. In the United States, the

New England town The town is the basic unit of Local government in the United States, local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England towns ...

is best known for the town meeting form of government. The office of moderator exists in at least

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

(Mandell c. 2007),

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

(Advisory Opinion No. 2009-5 2009) and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

Maine

The moderator serves for the duration of the meeting at which he or she is elected. The election of the moderator is presided over by the town clerk. (Maine Moderators Manual 1989)

Massachusetts

Massachusetts moderators serve a term of one or three years, depending on the choice of each town. Vacancies in the office of moderator are filled by the voters. If the moderator is absent from a meeting, the voters elect a temporary moderator. (Moderators; election; tenure; vacancies; assistant moderators n.d.) Some town moderators have the ability to directly appoint the town's finance committee; and in other towns, appoint a committee to appoint the finance committee.

New Hampshire

Moderators serve for two years, beginning at the conclusion of the meeting at which they are elected (or when they qualify, if later). (Government of town meeting: moderator 1996) In addition to presiding at town meeting, moderators are the chief election officials. (''Exercising a Public Trust: Voting'' October 2008)' In cities, moderators are in charge of polling places.

Vermont

Before there were selectboards, clerks or treasurers in Vermont, even before there were established towns, there were moderators. When Governor Benning Wentworth chartered the first Vermont town in 1749, he appointed Col. William Williams to be the moderator of Bennington's first meeting, "which he is to Notify and Govern according to the Laws & Custom of our Said Province." (Colbert 2008)

Vermont town meetings usually include two phases. The open discussion and voting by voice vote (with occasional paper ballots) occurs the first day, and is presided over by the moderator. The

Australian ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

generally occurs the next day, and is presided over by the town clerk. In addition to town meetings, "moderators are needed by town school districts, union school districts, villages, and fire districts."(Colbert 2008) Town moderators are elected at the annual meeting and serve a one-year term. Usually towns have only one town meeting per year; this is the annual meeting. The moderator of a meeting will have been elected at the previous annual meeting. (Colbert 2008) It is important for moderators to be familiar with ''

Roberts Rules of Order ''Robert's Rules of Order'', often simply referred to as ''Robert's Rules'', is a manual of parliamentary procedure by U.S. Army officer Henry Martyn Robert. "The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish the work for whic ...

'' because these rules govern the town meeting (except when superseded by state law). The voters may appeal a ruling by the moderator and vote to overrule the moderator. (Colbert 2008)

References

''Advisory Opinion No. 2009-5.''
(2009). Rhode Island Ethics Commission. Retrieved August 10, 2009. * Colbert, G. (2008)

Montpelier: Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved August 10, 2009.
''Exercising a Public Trust: Voting.''
(October 2008). New Hampshire Local Government Center. Retrieved August 10, 2009.

(1996). Revised statutes 40:1. New Hampshire General Court. Retrieved August 10, 2009.

(1989). Town of Raymond, Maine. Retrieved August 10, 2009. * Mandell, J. (c. 2007)
''Town Moderator''
Town of Simsbury. Retrieved August 10, 2009.

(n.d.). General Laws of Massachusetts Ch. 39 Sec. 14. State of Massachusetts. Retrieved August 10, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moderator (Town Official) Meetings Local government in the United States Local government in Maine Local government in New Hampshire Local government in Vermont Local government in Massachusetts Local government in Connecticut Local government in Rhode Island New England towns New England