What Is Town Meeting? 

Natick's Spring Annual Town Meeting begins on the second Tuesday of April, or two weeks after the town election. 

 

For your reference   The following is intended to be as accurate as possible, but it is not official information.  For more information: Charter and By-Law Review Committee - includes links to the latest Town Charter and By-Laws, as well as discussions about recent and proposed changes Town of Natick Web Site - contains public notices, meeting calendar, and information from town departments. Town Clerk's Web Page - includes Voter Registration Information.  The Town Clerk's Office is located at Natick Town Hall, 13 East Central Street, Natick, MA 01760, and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and until 8 p.m. on  Wednesdays.  Telephone (508) 647-6430.

In towns throughout Massachusetts, town meetings have legislative powers, which include the powers to adopt town Bylaws and to appropriate money. 

Natick has a representative town meeting with 180 members.  Each of Natick's 10 precincts elects 18 representatives.

Town Meeting Members are normally elected for three-year terms.  The seats are staggered, so that each year voters elect 6 members per precinct, or 60 members total.

• An exception to this rule was the 2002 election, when all 18 members from each precinct, except precincts 1 and 10, were elected. This is because the Board of Selectmen changed precinct boundaries based on the 2000 Census so that the precincts have equal populations.  (The boundaries did not need to be changed for precincts 1 and 10.)

Town Meeting members are elected, along with other town officers, at the annual town election, held the last Tuesday of March each year.

To appear on the ballot for Town Meeting, a citizen must submit Nomination Papers signed by at least 10 voters in his or her precinct to the Town Clerk. 

Write-in candidates may also be elected if they receive at least 10 votes.  This typically happens when there are fewer candidates on the ballot than available positions. 

If not enough candidates receive 10 votes to fill the available positions, or if a vacancy occurs between elections, the Town Clerk fills the vacancy from a list of unsuccessful candidates from the prior three elections.  (If necessary, she may consider write-in candidates who received fewer than 10 votes.) Anyone appointed to fill a vacancy serves only until the next Town Election, at which time the voters elect someone to complete the remainder of the term.

Town Meeting has two regular sessions each year, plus occasional special sessions.  The Spring Annual Town Meeting is held  two weeks after the town election, i.e. the second Tuesday in April, at 7:30 p.m. The Fall Annual Town Meeting is held on the third Tuesday in October, at 7:30 p.m. [Note: the Fall Town Meeting time was changed beginning in 2002, in prior years, the Fall Town Meeting was held the first Tuesday of October.]

The text of the Articles to be debated at Town Meeting is called a Warrant.  The Warrant is published in a local newspaper several weeks prior to the Town Meeting, and is posted on the Town's web site. 

Each Town Meeting typically lasts from two to four evenings, continuing on subsequent Thursdays and Tuesdays.  Meetings are normally held in the High School Auditorium. Any resident may speak on any issue, but only Town Meeting members may vote.