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Town attorney says charter, not Robert's Rules, controls rescinding prior council actions
Summary
The council's legal adviser told members the town charter (section 3.10) controls rescinding prior actions, a point contested by other members who cited Robert's Rules and a two-thirds threshold.
As council members debated whether a rescind motion required a two-thirds vote, the meeting's legal adviser told the chamber that the town charter provides the controlling process.
The attorney said the motion to rescind is "controlled by the charter, section 3.10," and that Robert's Rules do not govern those aspects where the charter and statutory rules apply. Other participants countered that Robert's Rules require a two-thirds threshold to rescind or amend certain actions.
The competing interpretations of procedure and threshold contributed to the disagreement that followed the roll-call vote on the rescind motion and left members disputing whether the July decisions were properly reversible under local rules.
The exchange focused the dispute on legal and procedural interpretation rather than the underlying personnel facts and suggests that council minutes and an official legal opinion will be material to any subsequent challenge.
