Annual Town Meeting Warrant Open
At the Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday, January 13, 2025, the Board voted to open the warrant for the FY26 Annual Town Meeting. The deadline for submission of town articles for the Annual Town Meeting is by 4:30 pm on Monday, February 10th.
As outlined in our Town by-laws, Town Meeting will be held on the first Monday of April, which is Monday, April 7, 2025.
What does that mean exactly?
Abington's form of municipal government is 'Open Town Meeting'. A Town Meeting is both an event and an entity. As an event, it is a gathering of a town’s eligible voters, and is referred to as “the Town Meeting.” As an entity, it is the legislative body for towns in Massachusetts and is referred to simply as “Town Meeting.”
What is decided at the Town Meeting?
Town Meeting decides three major things:
It sets the salaries for town officials.
It votes to appropriate money to run the town.
It votes on the town’s local statutes, which are called by-laws.
What is a Warrant?
In the simplest terms, a Warrant is the meeting agenda for Town Meeting. A Warrant is the written notice drafted and prepared by the Board of Selectmen which provides voters with notice of the date, location and time of the upcoming Town Meeting. The Warrant also contains a list of Articles to be considered and debated at Town Meeting.
What is an Article?
Residents could think of an Article is an agenda item or proposal to be addressed at Town Meeting.
How are Articles added to the Warrant?
Articles are added to the Warrant in two ways.
Submitted by any board, committee or official for consideration by the Selectmen. Articles are inserted to the Warrant by a vote of the Board of Selectmen
- Residents may file an article by petition and it must be then inserted into the Warrant. For an
Annual Town Meeting,
a submitted petition article must be supported by the signatures of
10 registered Abington voters
; for a
Special Town Meeting, 100 signatures
are required.
How does a resident submit a Resident Petition?
If you wish to submit a citizen petition article please contact Scott Lambiase, Town Manager at slambiase@abingtonma.gov to set up a time to discuss your article. A form template is available. Read more about the process.
Timeline
January 13, 2025 - Town Meeting Warrant open
February 10, 2025 – Warrant Closes, Deadline for submission of Town articles
March 24, 2025 - Board of Selectmen considers and votes on submitted articles
March 27, 2025 - Warrant with Finance Committee recommendations posted with the Town Clerk.
April 7, 2025 - Annual Town Meeting is held
April 26, 2025 – Annual Town Elections at Beaver Brook Elementary School