DOCSLIB.ORG

Why Town Meeting Matters Now: Holding Town Meetings During a Pandemic Michele E

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Why Town Meeting Matters Now: Holding Town Meetings During a Pandemic Michele E Cape Women’s Coalition in collaboration with CCYP 1 May 20, 2020 Why Town Meeting Matters Now: Holding Town Meetings During a Pandemic Michele E. Randazzo, Esq. Disclaimer 2 This information is provided as a service by KP Law, P.C. This information is general in nature and does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Neither the provision nor receipt of this information creates an attorney-client relationship between the presenter and the recipient. You are advised not to take, or to refrain from taking, any action based on this information without consulting legal counsel about the specific issue(s). History of Town Meeting in Massachusetts 3 A town meeting is when members of a community come together to enact legislation and adopt budgets for local government. Town meeting, called under the warrant of the Board of Selectmen, is the element that distinguishes a city from a town, regardless of the name used. New England town meetings are an outgrowth of Puritan parish meetings during Colonial times which were conducted in meetinghouses used for worship and town business. Initially, Town Meeting attendance was mandatory; there was no requirement to warn voters in advance of the topics or business to be conducted at the meeting. In later years, the number of meetings per year multiplied, becoming a burden to attend (for example, in Boston in 1780, there were 11 meetings lasting 40 days!) Eventually, voters objected to attending numerous special town meetings, only to find that the subjects were of no concern to them. Use of a warrant, or a “warning”, became the norm for both special and annual town meetings. Warrants are now required by law. Open vs. Representative Town Meeting 4 Currently, 259 towns have an Open Town Meeting; 33 towns have a Representative Town Meeting Open Town Meeting – any registered voter can vote Representative Town Meeting – only elected Town Meeting members may vote Available if population exceeds 6000 By Charter or special act 1915: Brookline first to become Representative Town Meeting Members are elected by voting precinct When Must a Town Hold a Town Meeting? 5 By law, a town must hold at least one town “annual” town meeting, between February – June; an essential subject of this meeting is the approval of the budget for the next fiscal year (which starts July 1) Other meetings may be scheduled throughout the year, as determined by the select board, and, in some instance, where required by citizen’s petition A significant amount of work that goes into preparing for a Town Meeting There are usually several “pre-town meeting” meetings that address specific issues to be considered at the Town Meeting Why Should I Participate in Town Meeting? 6 From the Maine Municipal Association (https://www.memun.org/Training-Resources/Local- Government/A-Guide-to-Town-Meeting): “The best and perhaps most colorful answer to this question appeared in the Biddeford Journal Tribune in March 1994: ‘If you ask why town meetings are so poorly attended, people will tell you they go if there’s something exciting on the warrant. They’ve been watching too much television. When it comes to doing your civic duty (which is the key to accountability in self-government) there’s no room for channel surfing. On town meeting day, town meeting is the only show in town.’ ‘Or they’ll say town meeting is held at the wrong time, … or that the selectmen do what they want no matter what people say. Well, the way to get things changed … is to attend town meeting and put up a fuss. And it’s no wonder the selectmen and other officials take control of municipal affairs. Somebody has to….’ ‘The purest form of democracy is participatory democracy, in which you put your butt in the chair at the meeting house or the high school gym and you have your say and you cast your vote on every last blessed item on the warrant…You might slip out for a coffee but you don’t slip out for the whole day. If you do, you’re part of the problem and somebody else is going to solve it….’” Holding Town Meeting During a Pandemic 7 The Governor’s current ban on gatherings of more than 10 people does not apply to Town Meetings There is no legal authorization to hold a “virtual” town meeting (at least not yet!), and no ability to vote on Town Meeting matters by ballot at a local election If Town Meeting is to be held during the current State of Emergency, local officials and staff are working hard to ensure that social distancing and safety protocols are observed. But this requires creativity, flexibility, and cooperation Resources 8 “Citizen’s Guide to Town Meetings,” published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Citizen Information Service: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cistwn/twnidx.htm www.governing.com: https://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/267-year-old-community-tradition- Massachusetts.html The American Archivist: “New England Town Meeting,” by Benjamin W. Larrabee (1962): https://americanarchivist.org/doi/pdf/10.17723/aarc.25.2.a41x928626p71t16 Massachusetts Municipal Association: “Forms of Municipal Government”: https://41g41s33vxdd2vc05w415s1e-wpengine.netdna- ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/FormsofGov2019-2020MassMuniDirectory.pdf “Facts about Town Meeting”: https://41g41s33vxdd2vc05w415s1e-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp- content/uploads/2018/07/facts_about_annual_town_meetings_0.pdf Questions? 9 Michele E. Randazzo, Esq. KP|LAW, PC 101 Arch Street, 12th Floor Boston, MA 02110 [email protected] www.k-plaw.com.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • ACIR Best Practices Guidelines - Public Meetings
    ACIR Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations Best Practices Guidelines Updated 1-28-2021 - Declaration of Public Health and Civil Preparedness Emergencies Public Meetings Public meetings are gatherings of public bodies - social and recreational gatherings, to which multiple Executive orders address are not. Accordingly, municipal officials should, when contemplating a municipal meeting, adhere to the Executive Orders (including remote access) addressing public meetings only. • Public meetings bring diverse groups of stakeholders together for a specific purpose. Public meetings are held to engage a wide audience in information sharing and discussion. They can be used to increase awareness of an issue or proposal, and can be a starting point for, or an ongoing means of engaging, further public involvement. When done well, they help build a feeling of community. (EPA) • The Office of Legislative Research (OLR) in a 2016 report (2016-R-0099) identified 149 instances in the statutes that required some form of public notification by a municipality. There are multiple instances where public notification is optional or where the statutes apply to a specific entity - including municipalities. - Three basic types: Regular, Special and Emergency. Statutory References of Note • Chapter 14 - Freedom Of Information Act, Sec. 1-200 - 1-242 Inclusive • Title II of the ADA which covers activities of State and local governments requires that State and local governments give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from all of their programs, services, and activities .. • Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance.
    [Show full text]
  • 16 Things Every Citizen Should Know About Town Meeting
    16 Things Every Citizen Should Know About Town Meeting By H. Bernard Waugh, Jr., with 2015 Update by Cordell A. Johnston This article, written by H. Bernard Waugh, Jr., then NHMA Legal Counsel, first appeared in Town and City magazine in February, 1990. It has been updated by Cordell A. Johnston, NHMA Government Affairs Counsel, where necessary. Although this article was first written before the adoption of “SB 2,” and therefore contemplated only the “traditional” form of town meeting, almost everything in it applies to SB 2 town meetings as well. * * * * * * We keep hearing it in New Hampshire: “Town meetings don’t work anymore.” “They’re an anachronism.” “They’re rigged.” “Nothing important is decided there.” But these are self- fulfilling prophesies. Local voter apathy feeds on itself. It’s not all apathy, either. This article assumes that part of the problem is good old honest ignorance: people who’ve moved in from places without town meetings; young people who grew up in families with no tradition of participation for them to absorb; people who for years have heard their cynical friends telling them they can’t make a difference and never bothered to find out the truth. This is for them, and you. Officials and others receiving this magazine should feel free to share or reproduce this article for other voters. An informed town is in everyone’s interest. In the end, nobody benefits from voter ignorance. 1. Every Voter Is a Legislator. Those quaint sayings about town government being a “pure democracy” are true! State law refers to the town meeting as the “legislative body” (RSA 21:47).
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to the Rules of Town Meeting
    Introduction to the Rules of Town Meeting Southborough’s Town Meeting is an open town meeting in which all registered voters may participate. Town Meeting is a deliberative assembly, conducted via a defined process, charged with considering a maximum number of questions of varying complexity in a minimum amount of time and with full regard to the rights of the majority, strong minority, individuals, absentees and all of these together. In other words, we gather for the purpose of conducting the Town’s business thoughtfully and efficiently. AUTHORITY The three elements of authority at Town Meeting are a quorum of one hundred (100) registered voters or more, the Clerk and the Moderator. Of these three, the quorum is the most important. The Town Clerk is responsible for voter registration, certification of a quorum, setting up the hall and keeping the record of the proceedings. He may also officiate Town Meeting in the absence of a Moderator. The Moderator presides at and regulates the proceedings, decides all questions of order, and makes declarations of all votes. No one may speak on an issue without being recognized by the Moderator. It is the Moderator’s responsibility to approve the distribution of materials, and persons wishing to do so must seek his permission. The Moderator appoints Tellers and alternates for the purpose of counting votes of the meeting. THE WARRANT All matters to be considered at Town Meeting must be published in the Town Meeting Warrant, which is the responsibility of the Board of Selectmen. The primary and most important purpose of the Warrant is to notify voters in advance the nature of the business to be taken up at Town Meeting.
    [Show full text]
  • KYT Guide to South Hadley Town Meeting
    KNOW YOUR TOWN A Guide to South Hadley Town Meeting To educate and participate Founded in 1947 by Margaret Saunders, Know Your Town (KYT) is a nonpartisan organization that seeks to acquaint townspeople with the resources the Town of South Hadley has to offer and the various issues and functions of town government. KYT A Guide to South South Hadley Town Meeting A Guide to South Hadley Town Meeting I. HISTORY The Town Meeting has remained the basis of town government in New England and parts of New York State since early colonial times. South Hadley’s elected Town Meeting representatives have the privilege and responsibility of being involved in town government through their participation in Town Meeting. South Hadley changed its Town Meeting from an open form to a representative form in 1933. II. QUALIFICATIONS and ELECTION A. Any registered voter may run for election as a Town Meeting member from his/her own precinct. Nomination papers, obtained from and returned to the Town Clerk, must be signed by at least 50 registered voters. At least 10 of these registered voters must be from your own precinct. B. Town elections are held every year on the first Monday in April. One-third of the total number of precinct representatives is elected each year to three-year terms. C. Town Meeting members serve without pay. III. THE TOWN REPORT The Town Report gives a complete account of the previous year’s Town Meeting, including the budget and voting results for each article. The Report also includes similar information from any special town meeting, as well as the annual reports from department heads, boards, committees and commissions.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 121. MEETINGS and ELECTIONS
    MRS Title 30-A, Chapter 121. MEETINGS AND ELECTIONS CHAPTER 121 MEETINGS AND ELECTIONS SUBCHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS §2501. Applicability of provisions Except as otherwise provided by this Title or by charter, the method of voting and the conduct of a municipal election are governed by Title 21‑A. [PL 1989, c. 6 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 9, §2 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. C, §§8, 10 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. D, §2 (RPR).] 1. Clerk to perform duties of Secretary of State. When Title 21‑A applies to any municipal election, the municipal clerk shall perform the duties of the Secretary of State prescribed by Title 21‑A. [PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. C, §10 (NEW); PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. D, §2 (NEW).] 2. Qualifications for voting. The qualifications for voting in a municipal election conducted under this Title are governed solely by Title 21‑A, section 111. [PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. C, §10 (NEW); PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. D, §2 (NEW).] 3. Determining and counting write-in votes. A municipality may choose the method of determining and counting write-in votes according to this subsection. Once a municipality has voted to accept the option under this subsection, the option applies to all municipal elections until the municipal officers hold a public hearing and the legislative body of the municipality votes to rescind the option at least 90 days before the next election of candidates by secret ballot. A. After the municipal officers hold a public hearing, at least 90 days prior to an election of candidates by secret ballot, the legislative body of a municipality may vote to be governed by the provisions of Title 21‑A, section 696, subsection 2, paragraph C and Title 21‑A, section 722‑A.
    [Show full text]
  • Know Your Town Government
    Town of Woodstock, Connecticut KNOW YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT www.woodstockCT.gov January 2020 Prepared by Judy E. Walberg, Town Clerk Phone: 860-928-6595 ext. 320 Fax: 860-963-7557 E-mail: [email protected] 1 Table of Contents Town Government ........................................................ 3 Board & Commission Table ............................................ 8 Policy & Procedures ...................................................... 9 General Meeting Schedule ........................................... 12 Quick Reference Filing Requirements ........................... 13 Proper Agenda & Minute Format .................................. 13 2 TOWN GOVERNMENT Structure Woodstock’s Town Government structure is the traditional New England Selectmen-Board of Finance- Town Meeting format. This means the electors and/or Property owners of the Town decide on issues that affect the Town, elect Town Officials and vote on the fiscal budget. The Town of Woodstock’s operations are subject to the Connecticut General Statutes, Town Special Acts & Ordinances, Planning & Zoning Regulations, Inland Wetland Regulations, Subdivision Regulations and Water Pollution Control Authority Policies and Procedures. All applicable regulations and policies are on file in the Town Clerk’s office for public inspection. You may also purchase copies of these regulations and policies at the Town Hall. The Special Acts and Ordinance book contains copies of the ordinances that the Town of Woodstock has adopted at Special Town Meetings. The Town’s Zoning Regulations
    [Show full text]
  • Citizen's Guide to Town Meetings
    Citizen’s Guide to Town Meetings An Important Message for all Massachusetts Town Residents 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. This booklet outlines the forms and procedures used in Massachusetts Town Meetings. As the Commonwealth's information officer, I urge you to read it and make use of it as you engage in the debates and votes that give shape to your Town Government. William Francis Galvin Secretary of the Commonwealth Introduction Each town has a different way of running its Town Meeting, depending on its bylaws or charter. Sometimes the customs and traditions are written down; sometimes they are not. This guide is a general outline of the Town Meeting Basics, some of the procedures may be used in one town and not another. This guide is not intended to be an all inclusive text, but a broad overview designed to encourage you to find out more and attend your own Town Meeting. If you have any questions regarding the specific procedures employed by your town, please contact your Town Clerk or Town Meeting Moderator. Questions and Answers about Town Meetings Town Meeting Basics What is a Town Meeting? A Town Meeting is both an event and an entity.
    [Show full text]
  • THE ESTTYICS of the NEW ENGLAND TOWN COMMON By
    THE ESTTYICS OF THE NEW ENGLAND TOWN COMMON By Alfred Howe Todd B.S. Lehigh University (1947) Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in City Planning at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (1950) Signature of Author City Planning Dept. May 19, 1950 Certified by Thesis Supervisor Chairman, Departmental Cohaittee on Graduate Students V, The Graduate House Mass. Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, Mass. May 19, 1950 Professor Frederick J. Adams Department of City and Regional Planning Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts Dear Professor Adams: In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in City Planning, I submit this thesis entitled "The Esthetics of the New England Town Common". Respectfully, Howe Todd ACKNO LEDGENTS The author wishes to express his gratitude to Dean Wurster, Prof. Kevin Lynch, and Prof. Gygorgy Kepes for their inspiration and assistance in the accomplishment of this thesis, and to Dr. Sigfried Giedion for his persistant emphasis upon the social values of the Civic Center. He also wishes to thank Mrs. Louise A. Kent, author of "Village Greens in New England", and Mr. B. A. Benjamin, of the Massachusetts State Planning Board, for their suggestions as to the best towns to visit on the survey tour. The generousity of George Nez in lending the author valuable camera equipment for the aerial photographs is also deeply appreciated. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Introduction 1 I The To*sn Common 3 II The Esthetic Experience 6 III Procedure 10 IV Conclusions 13 Appendix A. 24 Washington Connecticut 25 Grafton Massachusetts 29 Framingham " 34 Shirley Center " 39 Longmeadow " 44 Boston " 48 Bedford New Hampshire 52 Waltham Massachusetts 55 Upton " 60 Leominster " 64 Appendix B.
    [Show full text]
  • The Long-Ago Squadrons of Cambridge
    The Long-ago Squadrons of Cambridge Michael Kenney Cambridge Historical Commission January 2017 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was triggered by noting a curious description of early land divisions in Cambridge — “squadrons” — while reading an early draft of Building Old Cambridge. Co-author Charles M. Sullivan suggested that I investigate the use of that term in colonial Massachusetts. The results of that investigation are presented in this paper. Thanks are due to Sullivan, and also to his British colleague Roger Thompson. Others who aided my research with their comments included Christopher J. Lenney and Brian Donahue whose contributions are noted in the text. The reconstructed map appears in Building Old Cambridge. Sara Kenney gave a careful reading and many helpful suggestions. “Squadrons” is a curious term that shows up in the early records of Cambridge and a number of other towns in Middlesex County and eastern Worcester County. Its curiousness comes from the fact that not only is it a term that had disappeared from use by the late 1700s and apparently appears nowhere else, but also that its origin is obscure. In Cambridge it was used in 1683, 1707 and 1724 to describe divisions of land. Recent research in other town histories finds that “squadron” was used either for that purpose or to describe what soon became known as school districts. In only three of the towns studied so far did it have the military significance which it has today, and which it had in England as early as 1562. Left unanswered is the question of why this term appeared in New England by 1636 (in Watertown) and had disappeared by 1794 (in Chelmsford) — and why it was apparently used only in Middlesex County and nearby Worcester County, as well as one very early use in New Haven, Connecticut.
    [Show full text]
  • The Forests of Presettlement New England, USA: Spatial and Compositional Patterns Based on Town Proprietor Surveys Charles V
    Journal of Biogeography, 29, 1279–1304 The forests of presettlement New England, USA: spatial and compositional patterns based on town proprietor surveys Charles V. Cogbill1*, John Burk2 and G. Motzkin2182 Walker Lane, Plainfield, VT, USA and 2Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, MA, USA Abstract Aim This study uses the combination of presettlement tree surveys and spatial analysis to produce an empirical reconstruction of tree species abundance and vegetation units at different scales in the original landscape. Location The New England study area extends across eight physiographic sections, from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The data are drawn from 389 original towns in what are now seven states in the north-eastern United States. These towns have early land division records which document the witness trees growing in the town before European settlement (c. seventeenth to eighteenth century AD). Methods Records of witness trees from presettlement surveys were collated from towns throughout the study area (1.3 · 105 km2). Tree abundance was averaged over town- wide samples of multiple forest types, integrating proportions of taxa at a local scale (102 km2). These data were summarized into genus groups over the sample towns, which were then mapped [geographical information system (GIS)], classified (Cluster Analysis) and ordinated [detrended correspondence analysis (DCA)]. Modern climatic and topo- graphic variables were also derived from GIS analyses for each town and all town attributes were quantitatively compared. Distributions of both individual species and vegetation units were analysed and displayed for spatial analysis of vegetation structure. Results The tally of 153,932 individual tree citations show a dominant latitudinal trend in the vegetation.
    [Show full text]
  • New England Town Government: a Model for Popular Assembly in Two-Tier Metropolitan Government
    NEW ENGLAND TOWN GOVERNMENT: A MODEL FOR POPULAR ASSEMBLY IN TWO-TIER METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT By Moshe ben Asher, Ph.D. Since the founding of New England towns nearly comparable to the New England model. Many are not four centuries ago, many political scientists have com- directly democratic but representative. mented on them. This examination of town govern- While the lineage of New England towns has been ment, as an organizational model for urban social infra- traced to settlements in ancient “Germania,” the form of structure, is a selective survey of those historical com- political institutions in the colonies was due less to his- mentaries. For convenience and because of the availa- torical precedents than to local economic conditions, bility of relevant literature, many examples are drawn direct experience in public life, and the land system and from the history of Massachusetts. We begin with an church government that were expedient. In any event, overview of the origins and general characteristics of the geography of New England promoted coastal and open town government, proceed to the viewpoints of river-based settlements of population clusters, and un- Jefferson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Tocqueville, and like colonies in the South where public authority was James Bryce, then to the municipal reformers of the more centralized and monopolized by the upper class, early 1900s, and lastly, to present-day political scien- in New England the control of public affairs was seized tists. very early by the general citizenry. In these historical perspectives there are shifting The penchant for direct self-government must have styles of political science: from a non-theoretical, action stemmed in part from necessity.
    [Show full text]
  • From Mill Town to Mill Town
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Faculty Publication Series January 1986 From Mill Town to Mill Town: The rT ansition of a New England Town from a Textile to a High- Technology Economy John Mullin University of Massachusetts - Amherst, [email protected] Jeanne Armstrong Jean Kavanagh Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/larp_faculty_pubs Part of the Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Recommended Citation Mullin, John; Armstrong, Jeanne; and Kavanagh, Jean, "From Mill Town to Mill Town: The rT ansition of a New England Town from a Textile to a High-Technology Economy" (1986). Journal of the American Planning Association. 8. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/larp_faculty_pubs/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Faculty Publication Series by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. From Mill Town to Mill Town: The Transition of a New England Town from a Textile to a High-Technology Economy John R. Mullin, Jeanne H. Armstrong, and Jean S. Kavanagh This article describes and analyzes the economic transformation of Maynard, Massachusetts. Located twenty-six miles west of Boston, Maynard was the home of the world’s largest woolen mill.
    [Show full text]