Citizen's Petition- Town Meetings

The Town Meeting Warrant is developed by the Board of Selectmen and is generally composed of items, called Articles, brought forth by various Town departments and committees for consideration at and by Town Meeting. Individual citizens can add their own agenda items to Town Meeting through the statutory process called a Citizens' Petition.

The Board of Selectmen, pursuant to MGL Ch 39, §10  insert articles onto the Warrant that have been requested by any elected Town Officer or any multiple member body acting by a majority of its members. Citizens may also petition to get an article on the Warrant 

To insert an article on the warrant for Town Meeting, voters of the Town must file a written and signed petition. The petition must include the actual wording of the article being requested. It is recommended that the language is checked by our Town Moderator, Alan Wilson prior to circulating the petition for signatures. 

Completed petitions are to be filed with the Board of Selectmen who will forward it to the Town Clerk for certification. Once the minimum number of signatures have been certified, the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee will be informed as required in the Manchester-By-The-Sea Bylaws Article 2 Section 3.

ANNUAL TOWN MEETING:

To place an article on the Annual Town Meeting Warrant, submit the petition below to the Board of Selectmen’s Office no later than 60 days prior to the Meeting with at least 10 signatures of Manchester-By-The-Sea registered voters.  (Bylaw Article II, section 3)

SPECIAL TOWN MEETING:

To place an article on the Special Town Meeting Warrant, submit the petition below to the Board of Selectmen’s Office no later than 28 days prior to the Meeting with at least 100 signatures of Manchester-By-The-Sea registered voters. (Bylaw Article II, section 3)

For questions and answers about Town Meetings, click on the link below (Guide to Voting in Town Meeting): http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cistwn/twnidx.htm

Click here for a blank petition form.