Representative Town Meeting - Massachusetts

Massachusetts

Massachusetts towns having at least 6,000 residents may adopt a Representative Town Meeting system, known in state law as Town Meeting Limited, through acceptance of an act of the legislature, or they may petition the legislature to enact a Special Act which applies solely to the individual town, or they can use the Home Rule Charter process. Under the Special Act or charter enactments, even communities of less than 6,000 may adopt a limited town meeting if the residents vote to accept the Special Act or approve a new charter-change process. Depending on population, a town may have anywhere from 45 to 240 Town Meeting Members under the acceptance act statute. Framingham, the largest town in the state by population, has 216 representatives in Town Meeting, twelve from each precinct.