Open town meeting
Encyclopedia
An open town meeting is a form of town meeting
Town meeting
A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....

 in which all registered voters of a town may vote (as opposed to having elected town councilmen). This form of government is typical of smaller municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 region of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

In Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, for example, generally the least populous towns have open town meeting form of government. Under Amendment LXXXIX to the Massachusetts Constitution
Massachusetts Constitution
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual state governments that make up the United States of America. It was drafted by John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Bowdoin during the...

, through a town charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...

 revision process, no town with fewer than 6,000 residents may adopt representative town meeting
Representative town meeting
A representative town meeting is a form of municipal legislature particularly common in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont....

 form of government; towns with 6,000 or more residents may optionally adopt the representative town meeting form.

The board of selectmen
Board of selectmen
The board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...

 call the town meeting into existence by issuing the warrant
Warrant (town meeting)
In New England, a warrant is a document issued by the Board of Selectmen to call a town meeting.Warrants essentially list an agenda of items to be voted on by those present. In towns with an open town meeting, those present would consist of any and all registered voters in the town...

, which is the list of items—known as articles—to be voted on, with descriptions of each article. The moderator
Moderator (town official)
A moderator is an official of an incorporated town who presides over the town meeting, and in some cases, other municipal meetings. In the United States, the area of the country best known for the town meeting form of government is New England. The office of moderator exists in at least Connecticut...

 officiates the meeting by reading each article, explaining it, and making sure the rules of parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...

 are followed, interprets voice vote
Voice vote
A voice vote is a voting method used by deliberative assemblies in which a vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding verbally....

s, and counts other votes. The finance committee makes recommendations on articles dealing with money, and often drafts the proposed budget. The town clerk serves as the clerk of the meeting by recording its results. Town counsel
City attorney
A city attorney can be an elected or appointed position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the city or municipality....

 makes legal recommendations on all articles of the warrant, to ensure town meeting is acting lawfully. All registered voters are free to attend and vote on any and all articles in the open town meeting.

Open town meetings function largely the same as a representative town meeting
Representative town meeting
A representative town meeting is a form of municipal legislature particularly common in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont....

, except that in an open town meeting all the registered voters of the town may vote on questions at hand.

Further reading

  • Town meeting time: A handbook of parliamentary law (ISBN 0971167907)
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