Frequently Asked Questions

The Town of Tewksbury has an Open Town Meeting form of government meaning that any registered voter may vote at Town Meeting.  Town Meeting is the legislative body of the Town. 

In the government structure of Tewksbury, registered voters attending TM are the "legislators." Town Meeting members are vested by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Tewksbury's Charter with the traditional powers of the legislative branch of any level of government: the power to make laws (in this case, called Bylaws) and the power to approve the expenditure of money. No money can be expended by the Town without the approval of Town Meeting. No general or zoning bylaws can be enacted by Tewksbury without the approval of Town Meeting. 

You can read these Zoning Bylaws, General Bylaw, and Tewksbury's Charter on the town website: https://www.tewksbury-ma.gov/696/Charter-Bylaws

Town Meeting considers and adopts an annual operating budget. It also considers and acts upon other matters which require Town Meeting action such as zoning changes, street acceptances, by-law additions and amendments. The business of each Town Meeting is contained in a document known as "the Warrant" which includes all matters on which the Town will act. The Warrant is posted on the Town website and mailed to each dwelling two weeks before any town meeting. Articles are inserted in the Warrant by the Select Board or by Citizen Petition. 

All registered voters may participate in Tewksbury’s Open Town Meeting. Participants display prominently ribbons which are given out at check-in before the beginning of the meeting and returned at its conclusion.  

Only Tewksbury residents who are registered voters are allowed in the voting sections of Town Meeting. Unregistered voters and non-residents may request admission by signing their names and addresses on the Visitor’s Log at the entrance of Town Meeting. The Moderator shall designate a place set apart from the general assembly where such persons may sit. The Moderator shall also set apart a space where accredited representatives of the press shall sit.

The Town Meeting form of government "speaks for the belief that a society is safer and freer when the bulk of its citizens understand the programs and goals that their government has chosen and when they have achieved this understanding because these programs and goals have been honestly discussed in public." Quote from Town Meeting Time: A Handbook of Parliamentary Law, published by the Massachusetts Moderators Association 2001

When we are removed from the decision-making process it is easy to feel that we have no control over the how and why of government. Attending TM gives us the opportunity to vote on local expenditures - for schools, roads, police, water/sewer, fire, etc., and to decide how we want to regulate our town through bylaws. We get to know our elected and appointed officials and town employees and they get to know us through our participation.

"Freedom in the concrete, freedom as it is experienced in daily life, is the experience of having a hand in the determining of issues that touch the individual closely and intimately." From Rockefeller Panel Report on American Democracy: The Power of the Democratic Idea

The Annual Town Meeting for the election of Town Officials shall be held on the first Saturday of April, and polls shall be open from 8 am to 8 pm, except when Easter Sunday falls on the day following the first Saturday of April the said election shall be held on the second Saturday of April as above provided.

The Annual Town Meeting for consideration of warrant articles shall begin on the first Monday in May at 7:30 pm and conclude at 11 pm, except as provided below. Subsequent meetings shall begin at 7:30 pm on Wednesday and Thursday of the same week and conclude at 11 pm, except as provided below. The same schedule shall be observed in the following weeks, if necessary. No business shall be conducted after 11 pm, at any session except to complete action on the article or departmental budget than under discussion.

The Annual Town Meeting shall be divided into three sections.

Section One

• Article 1. Annual Town Election - Accomplished in April

Section Two 

Section Two shall begin on the first Monday in May at 7:30 pm and shall include the following articles:              

• Article 2. Elected official salaries
• Article 3. Consent calendar
• Article 4. Budget article
• Article(s). Budget related articles
• Article(s). Amend Personnel bylaws
• Article(s). Amend Town bylaws
• General articles

If Section Two is completed before 11 pm the Annual Town Meeting shall adjourn to Wednesday at 7:30 pm to act on Section Three articles.

Section Three 

• Amend Zoning bylaws

Special Town Meetings

Special Town Meetings are at the call of the Select Board and typically occur on the first Wednesday in May & the first Tuesday in October at 7:00 pm.  Warrants will be issued in accordance with MGL Ch. 39, Section 10. 

Town Meeting is the business meeting of the town and TM members are the legislative branch of the town government. Only registered voters of the town are allowed to vote. 

Other interested persons may attend TM - residents who have not registered to vote, town employees, and business owners for example. When they arrive at TM, they will check in at the desk and will be required to sit in a separate "Visitors" area where votes will not be counted. The Moderator and Town Clerk will determine the location of the appropriate area based on the space needs of voters.

Only TM members, i.e. voters, can speak at TM. On occasion, someone else would like to bring some information to the attention of TM members or would like to share their opinion with TM. In that case, it is preferable for the person to make themselves known in advance to the Town Clerk or the Moderator. In any case, when the person steps to the microphone and is otherwise not eligible to speak, the Moderator can ask TM if they want to grant permission to the person to speak. If there is no objection from the voters, the Moderator will recognize the speaker.

The rules for the Town Meeting are in State law and also, in order of precedence, Tewksbury Town Charter, The Town General Bylaws, Town Meeting Time published by the Massachusetts Moderators Association, and custom of the Tewksbury Town Meeting.

In accordance with Massachusetts General Laws, the Town Moderator shall have complete jurisdiction over any Town Meeting held for the transaction of the Town's business. The Moderator runs the meeting and enforces the rules of Town Meeting.

Chapter 2.04 of the General Bylaws of the Town of Tewksbury lists Town Meeting Procedure in detail. These procedures outline in detail motions that can be made and action that can be taken by Town Meeting.

Click here to view the General Bylaws of the Town of Tewksbury.

Click here to view A Citizen's Guide to Town Meetings published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Town Meeting Time: A Handbook of Parliamentary Law is available from the Bedford Public Library or you can order a copy from the Massachusetts Moderators Association.

The Warrant is a notice to all voters of the town as to the time and location of the TM. The warrant must state the subjects to be acted upon so that every voter knows what is being proposed. No action can be taken by TM unless the subject matter is contained in the Warrant.

The wording of the warrant does not have to be the exact wording of the motion at TM, but it must contain a sufficient description of what is proposed so that voters are aware of the subject matter.

So why would it be different? The Warrant has to be finalized to be sent to the printer more than one month before TM begins. In the intervening month, motions are fine-tuned for proper wording and dollar amounts are made most accurate, based on up-to-the-minute data in some cases.

And, in some cases, boards and committees concerned with the content of the warrant article have not come to a decision as to what they will recommend at TM. Printed copies of Finance Committee and Planning Board recommendations are available at TM on a table on your way into the gymnasium past the check in tables.

One Warrant will be mailed to each dwelling in the Town two weeks before any town meeting. In addition at the time of the posting the Warrant shall be placed on the Town Meeting Information page on the town website. Copies are also available for viewing at the Tewksbury Public Library, Senior Center, and Town Hall at the Town Clerk's Office. 

Warrants shall be available at the check-in tables before each town meeting

1.  Am I a registered voter?

Check your VOTER STATUS online.  

The deadline to register to vote to be eligible to vote at any town meeting is 10 days prior. Call the Town Clerk's Office at 978-640-4355 with any concerns.

2.  Is my voter status "active"?

Per state law, voters must return their signed census forms annually to the Town Clerk’s office to maintain an active voter status. Inactive voters are still eligible to vote but will be required to complete additional forms and show an ID at check in. 

When you arrive for Town Meeting and reach the teller you will need to tell them Your Name, then confirm Your Address. 

YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE WILL ALLOW A FASTER LOOK-UP. This is only an OPTION and NOT being used for ID purposes, but merely as a LOOK-UP TOOL.

Petitioner's articles shall be submitted in written form. Ten signatures are required on a petition for the Annual Town Meeting Warrant and 100 signatures for the Special Town Meeting. The Town Clerk will verify the signatures. Please use this form: 

Warrant Article Submission Form with Instructions (PDF)

If you have a question about the article being discussed or if you want to share your thoughts, please go to the microphone in the center aisle. Wait in line until you are at the microphone and are recognized by the Moderator.

Speaking in public is not something that comes naturally to most of us, so before you get to the mic, take a few moments to think through the point you want to make or the question you want to ask. If someone else has already made the same point you wanted to make, it is fine for you to say, "I agree with the previous speaker and I support the passage of this motion." Please do not go over what has been already stated.

Town Meeting is not a debate so there is no back-and-forth conversation allowed between you and another speaker or presenter. You can make your point, or ask your question. The Moderator will not permit a debate.

Please also keep in mind the guidelines for civil discourse that are recommended for Town Meeting. In short, they are:

• Recognize a person's right to advocate ideas that are different from your own
• Show respect for others -discuss policies and ideas, not people
• Speak as you would like to be spoken to
• Speak for yourself, not for others