Annual Town Meeting Information

Town Meeting

The Town of Saugus has a “Representative Town Meeting” form of government.  The voters of each ten precincts elect five Town Meeting Members to represent them at Town Meeting.  The Annual Town Meeting is always scheduled for the first Monday in the month of May and the Board of Selectmen may call Special Town Meetings at their discretion.

Warrants

The agenda of each Town Meeting is known as a “warrant.”  The warrant includes all articles, which the Town will act upon at a particular Town Meeting, as well as the date, time and location of the Meeting.

Town Meeting Warrants are posted at each polling locations, mailed directly to Town Meeting Members, Finance Committee Members, and various boards and commissions.  The Warrants are also available to the public in the Town Clerk’s Office.

Any resident interested in placing an article for consideration at Town Meeting may do so by preparing a petition which requires ten (10) signatures of registered voters in the Town of Saugus for financial and zoning articles for an Annual Town Meeting Warrant, or one hundred (100) signatures for a Special Town Meeting Warrant.  When the petition is completed it must be submitted to the Board of Selectmen for their approval and acceptance to be inserted in a Warrant.  Upon approval of the Board of Selectmen, all zoning articles will be forwarded to the Planning Board for their recommendation.

Town Moderator

The Moderator’s job is to run the Town Meeting.  Specifically, the moderator assures that the Town Meeting is run according to local Charter and bylaws, maintains order and declares all votes of the meeting.  Town Meeting Members elect the Moderator every two years, following the election of Town Meeting Members.

Currently the Town Moderator is Stephen Doherty, Town Meeting Member from Precinct 4.  Mr. Stephen Doherty was elected as Moderator on November 18th, 2013.

Town Clerk

The Town Clerk is the official recording secretary of Town Meeting; certifies all actions of Town Meeting and works in conjunction with the Moderator to maintain the integrity of the meeting.