Candidate Profiles for Town Meeting are now published and ready for you to take a look. Each precinct has 6 or more open seats for Town Meeting, and you get to vote for who will best represent your precinct.
But what is Town Meeting, and how do the actions of these 126 citizens affect your life on a daily basis?
Broadly, the charge of Town Meeting is to manage the town’s finances and bylaws. As the town’s legislative body, Town Meeting approves changes, additions, and deletions to the town’s general and zoning bylaws, and they also have to approve every aspect of the town’s operational and capital budget.
Should the town pay for a new music room floor in the high school? A sun shade at a local park? Upgrades to the schools’ security system? Town Meeting votes to answer questions like these.
Should the town change the zoning bylaws to allow fitness centers larger than 5,000 square feet, or change the stormwater management bylaws or dimensional requirements for digging a foundation? Town Meeting is responsible for deciding these kinds of things, too.
Many consequential decisions come out of Town Meeting, and the 126 representatives who are elected to represent our 7 precincts fit all that work into three Town Meetings each year, plus committee meetings if they’re on one. The time commitment isn’t as intense as some other Boards and Commissions in town, which is often used as a selling point to encourage candidates to run.
Learn more about Town Meeting below, and read all about your 2024 candidates. If you’re a candidate who hasn’t yet filled out your profile, don’t forget to do that ASAP so your constituents know who they’re voting for!
