Your Voice in Action: How Holbrook Town Meeting Works

HOLBROOK — From approving the town budget to deciding local bylaws and major community projects, Holbrook's town meeting gives residents the final say on some of the town's most important decisions.

Twice a year, more than 100 Holbrook residents and town employees gather in the Holbrook Middle-High School auditorium to discuss and debate issues affecting the community.

According to Town Clerk Meaghan Harrington, Holbrook holds two types of town meetings: annual town meetings and special town meetings.

Annual town meetings are held at least 21 days after the annual town election, typically in April or May. Their primary purpose is to discuss and approve the town budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Special town meetings address outstanding articles from previous meetings, consider budget transfers and corrections during the current fiscal year, and take up other matters requiring voter approval.

Each annual town meeting is preceded by a caucus, which serves as both a formality and an opportunity for residents interested in becoming town meeting members. During the caucus, current members check in and meet with fellow members and committee representatives.

Residents seeking appointment to vacant town meeting seats may nominate themselves if vacancies exist in their precinct. Otherwise, candidates must collect 10 signatures from registered voters in their precinct to appear on the ballot during the town's annual election. Town meeting members must be Holbrook residents and registered voters.

Once the caucus concludes, town meeting members convene for the official meeting. Following introductions of town boards and committees, members vote to induct new town meeting members and grant participation privileges to nonresidents who may need to address the body, such as school officials, public safety officials and other invited participants.

Throughout the evening, the moderator presents each article before members vote to approve or reject it. Before a vote is taken, attendees are encouraged to debate each article and ask questions.

A defining feature of Holbrook's town meeting is that it is representative rather than open. While all residents may attend and participate in discussions, only elected or appointed town meeting members may vote.

Even so, current members encourage residents to attend.

"When you pay your mortgage, your tax bills, even when you shop in town, money that you're spending goes back to the town," said Ann Poppenga, a town meeting member since 1992. "If people are going to delegate where your money goes, you should make sure you're aware of that process or at least try to have a say in it."

Although town meetings are typically held only twice a year, they represent the culmination of months of work by boards, committees and town departments.

Holbrook's annual budget includes funding for schools, public safety, Town Hall and public works. Throughout the year, residents and department heads work with the Finance Committee and other boards to develop and negotiate spending plans.

"All these committees have been making decisions and have people raising concerns or advocating for someone," Poppenga said.

"Today's the day where these things are voted on or passed or not passed," she added. "If the town meeting decides that this budget is not appropriate, it will not pass. They have the final say."

For Terry Wnek, who has served as a town meeting member for about three years, participation is about staying informed.

"If nothing else, you do know what's going on," Wnek said. "You understand where your money is going, and you understand some of the things that people are voting down as well."

"It was eye-opening to me the first time I came, the decisions that are made in one day," Harrington said. "It is a yearlong decision-making process in one day."

Over the years, town meeting members have approved a variety of changes affecting the community.

Katie Goldrick, a former Select Board and Board of Health member and current town meeting member, recalled articles that increased the number of Board of Health members, established a noise bylaw, funded hazardous waste disposal programs and addressed development proposals involving the town forest.

Even residents who are not town meeting members can play an important role in the process.

When reflecting on significant decisions in Holbrook's history, both Poppenga and Goldrick emphasized the impact of public participation. One example was the debate over the construction of the current high school, during which residents of all ages attended meetings to share their perspectives.

While some view serving as a town meeting member as a civic responsibility, others see it as an opportunity to learn more about the town's inner workings.

"It could be a stepping stone, too," Goldrick said. "If you don't know what you want to do, if you don't know what area you want to work in, this will be a nice introduction to what different departments do as well."

For many participants, town meeting offers a firsthand look at how local government functions and how decisions are made.

"If you want a say in changes that you want to make to the town, this is where you do it," Goldrick said. "And if you don't come here to do it, if you don't participate, you're going to get what other people decide for you."

Residents interested in contacting town committees and elected officials or learning about upcoming meeting dates can visit holbrookma.gov.