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Final budget vote when an adjourned, rather than recessed, meeting produced a final number.


Guest Kat

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The school budget in our town goes through 3 votes; Board of Education approves, Town Council debates then sends it on to the Representative Town Meeting for final debate and approval. Budget meetings are recessed for each body, rather than adjourned, until a final number is approved. During Town Council consideration of the school budget, an amount was approved, meeting adjourned then the Town Council reconvened the same night to consider other budget items. A vote to reconsider the school budget was made, approved, and funds were restored thus increasing the school budget. When the Town Council approved the budget as a whole, it was not realized the meeting was adjourned rather than recessed so the restored amount was approved. Due to the restored amount being included, does the number stand or is it removed? 

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The methods may have been improperly applied, but I don't see anything in the nature of a continuing breach that would invalidate any action taken.

The Town Council approved whatever the chair stated when the question was put, as long as the reconvened meeting was properly called with a quorum present.

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I would add that if all council members were present, notice to the participants may be moot, but notice to the public might be a factor, taking your state's sunshine laws into account, which might affect whether the meeting would be considered "properly called".  Given the circumstances, I'm, still leaning toward no continuing breach, but it sounds like this is worth a call to your council attorney, who, if a breach is evident, could advise how to cure it.

Ratifying the action at the next regular meeting should be enough to solve the problem, should one actually exist.  

A final thought: it's possible that instead of Adjourning the council moved to Adjourn to a future time, which would imply everything is in order. Much depends on what the understanding of the council participants was at the time.  Did they understand that the meeting would pick up later?

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