HomeMy WebLinkAboutInstructions for Completing 2004 Annual Town Meeting Submission Forms - Departments and Boards Instructions for Completing
"Request to Include Article for May 10, 2004 Town Meeting"
Forms
Background:
In an effort to standardize the process and format for submitting articles for inclusion on
town meeting warrants, two similar but different forms have been developed. One form
will be used for articles that are requested by Town Departments and/or divisions (2004
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING DEPARTMENT SUBMISSION FORM) and the other will be
for articles that are requested by Town Agencies, Boards or Commissions (2004
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING COMMITTEE SUBMISSION FORM). Copies of both forms
are attached to these instructions. While both forms are basically the same, these
instructions will provide direction as to when the two forms are different.
The forms have been developed using Microsoft Word, and the text boxes may be
expanded as necessary to accommodate additional wording. Electronic blank forms can
be found on the "S" Drive under S:\2004 Annual Town Meeting\Article Submission forms
& Instructions.
These forms are not to be used for articles that are submitted via citizen petitions.
Citizens wishing to submit petitions for articles for town meetings should be directed to
the Town Clerk.
The deadline for submitting articles to be included in the warrant
for the May 10, 2004 Annual Town Meeting by vote of the Board
of Selectmen is February 12, 2004.
The deadline for submitting articles by citizen petition is 4:30
P.M. on Friday, March 19, 2004 in the Office of the Town Clerk.
Instructions for each Section:
Submitted by.
Provide the name of the Department, Division, Agency, Board or Commission submitting
the article.
For articles submitted by a Division, the name of the division director should be provided.
For articles submitted by a Department, the name of both the department director and
the division director should be included. By including the name of the division director, it
is assumed that division director has approved the submission by the department
director.
For articles submitted by an agency, board or commission, list the members of the
committee who voted to submit the article. It is necessary that a majority of the
committee vote at a public meeting to submit the article for the warrant and the date of
the public meeting where the vote was taken should also be included on the form where
indicated.
Submitted Article:
Please provide the exact wording of the article, as you would like to see it included in the
warrant. You may want to refer to previous warrants for examples of wording of articles
that are similar to the article(s) you wish to submit. The Town Clerk and Town Counsel
are available to assist you in preparing articles for submission. It is highly recommended
that you contact them early on in the process when seeking their assistance.
Draft Motion:
The purpose of the warrant and the articles included therein is to warn the voters of the
Town that action may be taken at the Town meeting regarding the subjects contained in
the warrant. The actual action of the town meeting is contained in the motion that is
presented at town meeting. So as to understand the intent of the article and to insure
that the motion is within the "four corners" of the article, you are also requested to
provide a draft motion for the article. Recognizing that all the necessary information to
draft the final motion may not be available when the article is submitted please indicate
whether or not the motion is complete or incomplete. If incomplete, please state what
information is missing and when it may be forthcoming. Town counsel prior to town
meeting will also review motions.
Reason(s) for Article:
In this section please provide justification for the submitted article, answering such
questions as to why the article is needed, what benefits will accrue and to whom
because of the article and, if a monetary article, an explanation as to how the dollar
amounts were developed. Should there be a deadline as to when the action being
contemplated must take place that deadline should also be provided as well as the
consequences if the deadline is not met. In addition, you may want to include a voter
summary statement explaining the purpose of the article in laymen's terms.
Attachments:
You may also want to include in your submission additional background or related
information such as reports, letters of support, etc. that serve to further explain or justify
the article being submitted. Please list the attachments in this section of the form.
Reviews and Approvals:
The Town Manager must approve all articles submitted by departments and divisions. If
the article is from a board, commission or agency, the town manager will review the
article, but his approval is not required.
Town Counsel, and if necessary, Bond Counsel will review the article as to form to
insure that its wording is correct and in compliance with state law.
The Board of Selectmen will, by majority, vote to include the article in the warrant. By
voting to include the article in the warrant, the Board of Selectmen is not necessarily
voting to support the article, only to include it in the warrant.
It is the Selectmen's decision to include or not include an article
in a town meeting warrant using these procedures. Individuals
or organizations that do not wish to rely on the Board of
Selectmen to include an article in the warrant should avail
themselves of the petition process as provided for in MGL.
Chapter 39, Section 10. The Town Clerk is available to explain
the petition process to those who may wish to pursue that
avenue.
The purpose of these procedures is only to provide a
mechanism to have articles included in a town meeting warrant.
Once an article is included in the warrant, other approvals may
be necessary in order for Town Meeting to vote on the motion
such as a Planning Board report on zoning articles or Finance
Committee approval for appropriations at special town
meetings. The proponents for the article are responsible for
insuring that these additional requirements are met.
Submission of Articles
Please submit one electronic copy of the proposed article using the appropriate article
submission form by accessing the following file: S:\2004 Annual Town Meeting\Articles
In addition, please submit one hard copy of the proposed article with any attachments to
the Town Clerk's office. You can e-mail me atjbradshaw @townofnorthandover.com.
The deadline for submitting articles to be included in the warrant
for the May 10, 2004 annual town meeting by vote of the Board
of Selectmen is Thursday February 12, 2004.
It is the date and time of the submission of the hard copy to
Town Clerk's Office that will determine adherence to the
submission deadline.
Instructions for completing 2004 forms