How to Request an Article on the Town Meeting Warrant by Petition
Action may be taken at town meeting only on items appearing in the warrant (agenda) for the meeting.  Consultation with the Town Manager is recommended for form and procedure.  Such consultation should take place early in the calendar year for the annual and May special town meetings.  Citizens are encouraged to bring such ideas to the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen.  By doing so, they may be able to avoid the need for formal petitions.Items for the warrant which have not received prior approval from the Selectmen may be included according to the following procedure:

  1. Petitions must contain the wording that will appear on the warrant.
  2. To include an article on the warrant for annual town meeting, signatures of 10 or more registered voters are required.
  3. To include an article on the warrant for a special town meeting, signatures of 100 or more registered voters or 10% of the Town’s registered voters, whichever is less.  As of December 31, 2008, there were 7673 registered voters; therefore, 10% would be 767.

To petition the Selectmen to call a special town meeting not already scheduled, signatures of 200 or more registered voters, or 20% of registered voters, whichever is less, are required.  The meeting must be held not more than 45 days after receipt of the petition.  It is strongly recommended that more than the minimum number of signatures be obtained, to allow for the fact that some signers may not turn out to be registered voters.