Town Meeting - General Information & Citizens' Petition

From the Secretary of the Commonwealth:

"The purest form of democratic governing is practiced in a Town Meeting. In use for over 300 years and still today, it has proven to be a valuable means for many Massachusetts taxpayers to voice their opinions and directly effect change in their communities. Here in this ancient American assembly, you can make your voice heard as you and your neighbors decide the course of the government closest to you."

Town Meeting is where three major things are decided: the appropriation of money to run the town, the salaries of elected officials, and the Town's by-laws. How Freetown runs is directly in the hand of our voters.

Who Can Attend Town Meeting? 

There are two types of Town Meetings: an Open Town Meeting and a Representative Town Meeting (or a limited Town Meeting). The difference is who is allowed to vote - in an open Town Meeting, all of the Town's registered voters may vote on all matters, whereas only Elected Town Meeting Members can vote in a Representative Town Meeting. Freetown has an Open Town Meeting form of government.

Any voter registered to vote in Freetown by the appropriate voter registration deadline can attend and vote at Town Meeting. The final voter registration deadline is 5pm on the 10th day before a Town Meeting - if the 10th day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is the preceding Friday (exact deadlines are advertised by the Board of Registrars once specific Town Meeting dates are set). You can check your voter registration status at any time at VoteInMA.com.

Non-Voters

Non-Voters, except for town department heads and the Superintendent of Regional Schools, are not entitled to attend Town Meeting. As space allows, non-voters will be escorted into the meeting room and seated in a designated location. There are no exceptions to this rule, including for children. 

Citizens' Guide to Town Meetings

The Secretary has put together a Citizen's Guide to Town Meetings website that contains a great Question and Answer section about everything Town Meeting-related. There is also a downloadable booklet version of the guide as well.

Freetown's Town Meetings

Annual Town Meeting

In accordance with Article 1, Section 3 of the Town's bylaws, Freetown's Annual Town Meeting (also known as the Annual Business Meeting) is held on the first Monday in June at 7:30pm. A copy of the Warrant, which contains all the articles to be voted on at the Annual Town Meeting, is required to be produced by the Board of Selectmen and available to the voters at least fourteen days ahead of the Town Meeting.

Special Town Meetings 

Special Town Meetings can be called at any time by the Board of Selectmen or by a petition of 200 or more voters registered in Freetown. Freetown does not have a regularly scheduled Special Town Meeting, but in recent  years, we have held one on the same evening as the Annual Town Meeting and also another one in the fall. 

The Role of Town Officials At Town Meeting

Town Clerk

During the meeting, the Town Clerk is responsible for recording all votes of Town Meeting. Following the meeting, the Town Clerk is responsible for submitting general and zoning by-law changes to the attorney general's office for approval. The Office of the Town Clerk works cooperatively with the Moderator, who runs the meeting itself, to ensure all statutory requirements and procedures are adhered to.

Office of the Town Clerk Staff

Ahead of the Town Meeting, Office of the Town Clerk staff is responsible for checking in voters.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee studies the budget in the weeks and months ahead of the Annual Town Meeting, making recommendations on the articles on the Warrant. At a Town Meeting, the Finance Committee appears in their official capacity. In Freetown, the Finance Committee is an elected committee, with seven members serving three-year terms each.

The Moderator

The Moderator's role is to be the presiding officer of Town Meeting, and must decide all questions of order and must make public declarations of all votes. In Freetown, the Moderator is an elected position, elected to a three-year term. Since 1983, Freetown has had three Moderators:

The Moderator has his own section of FreetownMA.gov. Please click here to visit.

Town Counsel

Town Counsel is a lawyer who works for the Town. Town Counsel is appointed by the Board of Selectmen.

Board of Selectmen

The Board of Selectmen are authorized to call for Town Meetings by the issuance of the Warrant. At Town Meeting, the Board of Selectmen appear as voters, and are represented by the Town Administrator. In Freetown, the Board of Selectmen is a three-member Board, with each member being elected to a three-year term.

Citizen Petitions

The general guidelines for citizens petitions appears in Massachusetts General Laws, Ch. 39, § 10, and also Article 1, Section 4 of the Town's Bylaws:

Each of the articles, unless inserted by the Selectmen shall be signed personally by not less than ten (10) registered voters for the Annual Town Meeting and not less than One hundred (100) registered voters for a Special Town Meeting.  The Selectmen shall call a Special Town Meeting upon request in writing of Two hundred (200) or more registered voters, said meeting to be held not later than forty-five (45) days after receipt of such request and shall insert in the Warrant therefor all subjects the insertion of which shall be requested by said petition.

A blank sample form that can be used to submit a petition can be found below. Exact verbiage must be printed on each of the petition forms so that signatories are aware of what they are actually petitioning for. If all requirements are met and the minimum number of signatures are certified, the article on the Town Meeting Warrant will appear exactly as submitted -- the submitted written verbiage cannot be edited once submitted. Spelling and/or grammatical errors will appear exactly as submitted for certification.

Potential petitioners should confer with the Town Administrator at the earliest opportunity in order to insure a timely and effective effort (though they are not required to). Citizens' Petitions must be submitted to the Board of Selectmen's Office prior to the advertised closing date of the Warrant. The Board of Selectmen's Office will forward the petition to the Board of Registrars Office, located in the Office of the Town Clerk, to begin the process of certifying the signatures.

Town Meeting Turnout

Helpful Links

• Citizen's Guide to Town Meetings (Secretary of the Commonwealth)
• Downloadable booklet - Citizen's Guide to Town Meetings (Secretary of the Commonwealth)
• MGL governing the Warrant and its contents: Massachusetts General Laws, Ch. 39, § 10