Town Moderator

The Town Charter specifies that the Town Moderator is a Town official to be elected by the voters of Maynard for a term of three years.

Name

Current Moderator: Richard “Dick” Downey
Term expires: 30 June 2027
Contact: ddowney@townofmaynard.net

Duties

  • Participate in the preparation of Town Meeting along with other town departments and committees.
  • Preside over and regulate the proceedings of Town Meeting.
  • Declares the outcome of all votes at Town Meeting.
  • Appoints the Town Finance Committee [FinCom]
    [interested volunteers can contact the moderator at the email address above].
  • Appoints the Town By-Law Committee
    [interested volunteers can contact the moderator at the email address above].

Mission

Make participation in Town Meeting a positive experience.

Town Charter 

The town was created by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature and must abide by all the laws and statues of the Commonwealth known as Mass General Laws (MGL).  As a result of a home rule petition back in the 20th century, the Town of Maynard was authorized to create a Charter which refers to the written instrument that defines the government structure. The Charter defines how Maynard operates. It creates local offices, distributes powers, duties and responsibilities among local offices, and establishes and defines procedures to be followed by the Town. The Charter must be approved by the Massachusetts Legislature and Maynard Town Meeting. The Charter is reviewed and updated every ten years.

By-Laws

The By-Laws are subsidiary rules and regulations from the Charter defining responsibilities more specifically and only need approval of Town Meeting.

Town Meeting

Town government is divided into two branches: the legislative branch and the administrative (aka executive) branch.  Town Meeting is the legislative branch of town government, used to enact local laws, pass budgets and authorize spending of town money.  The Town Meeting form of local government is only used in New England.

For each Town Meeting, a Warrant is published, listing the date, time and place of the meeting and lists the articles (subjects) that will be discussed and voted upon.  Maynard is an Open Town Meeting format, meaning any voter registered in the town may attend, speak and vote on Articles.

Town Meeting approves department budgets, purchases of equipment, the amount of town personnel, changes to the town's bylaws, the purchase and disposal of property, and bond issues for large purchases or projects.  The meetings continue on successive nights until all business is concluded (meetings are generally complete in one session).

There are two types for Town Meeting – a required Annual Town Meeting which convenes on the first Monday in May each year and Special Town Meetings that are held as needed.  Special Town Meetings may be convened at any time during the year, usually to evaluate subjects not anticipated during the Annual Town Meeting.  As the pace of government has changed over the years, we now typically have a Special Town Meeting in the fall of each year.

Private citizens or groups may call for a Special Town Meeting by collecting the signatures of 200 registered voters and presenting their petition to the Select Board.

Attendance

To attend a Town Meeting, residents must be a registered voter.  (Voter registration information is available on the Town Clerk's Elections & Voting page.)

Non-registered residents and visitors may observe the proceedings by obtaining a visitor's pass upon entering the meeting.

Warrant

The Town Meeting Warrant is issued by the Select Board and lists all the subjects to be acted upon by the Town Meeting.  Articles may be sponsored by the Select Board, town departments or by any citizen who has obtained the signatures of 10 registered voters for the Annual Town Meeting or 100 signatures for a Special Town Meeting.  Articles for inclusion in the Warrant must be presented to the Select Board at least 60 days prior to Town Meeting.  The Warrant is then published.

Process and Definitions

  • Quorum – The minimum number of voters (set by town by-law) required to be in attendance for Town Meeting to act.  The quorum in Maynard is 75.
  • The Warrant – The Warrant acts as the agenda for Town Meeting.  It consists of a series of articles, each of which provides a general description of the action proposed.  The Moderator follows the order of articles as contained in the Warrant, although the order can be changed if necessary.
  • The Moderator – The Moderator presides over and runs the meeting.  Under state law, “The Moderator shall preside and regulate the proceedings, decide all questions of order, and make public declaration of all votes.” [MGL, Chapter 39, Section 15.]
  • Town Clerk – Serves as clerk of the Town Meeting and creates the official record of the proceedings.  The record of the Town Clerk is final and may not be changed or edited by the Town Meeting or anyone else but the Town Clerk.
  • Select Board – Is the top of the executive branch of town government.  As the town’s executives the Select Board takes an active role in presenting motions for various articles and can make recommendations to the meeting.
  • Finance Committee – The Finance Committee is responsible for analyzing the fiscal impact of proposed Warrant articles and making reports and recommendations to Town Meeting. [MGL, Chapter 39, Sec. 16].   They are part of the Legislative Branch and act as advisors to Town Meeting.
  • Others – When appropriate other boards or committees, such as the Planning Board, or Board of Health, will be called upon to give recommendations on articles pertaining to their areas of responsibility within the town.
  • SME – prior to the meeting we identify a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for each article who can answer questions in more detail if necessary.

Prior to Town Meeting, the Finance Committee holds a public hearing to provide an opportunity for town officials and citizens to discuss the articles and the impact on the Town.

In Maynard, the beginning pages of the warrant have detailed information for reference during the meeting.

The Moderator will ask the sponsor of an article to make a motion to be considered.  This is typically the same as the article but may occasionally differ a bit based on more recent information since the printing of the warrant.   The Finance Committee shall make their recommendation.  The sponsor may then speak to the justification of their motion.  The motion will then be open for discussion by those in attendance. We use PowerPoint® slides on a large screen for additional background information.

Any voter may speak to the meeting regarding the motion by requesting to be recognized by the Moderator.   The requester shall state their name and address and confine remarks to the specific motion under consideration.

Voting

Each voter is issued a tablet of ballots upon registration.  Maynard has a By-Law requiring a ‘secret’ ballot be cast on certain topics or amounts of money, such as real estate, salaries, etc.   Otherwise, voting is usually done by a show of hands and most articles are passed by a simple majority.  State law requires a two-thirds vote for bond issues, the acquisition or sale of land and amendments to zoning bylaws.  Prior to taking a hand vote, five or more voters may request the vote be taken by secret ballot.  The ballots are collected by the Town Clerk’s authorized counters who tally the votes. Once the ballots are officially tallied, the Moderator will announce the results and declare whether the motion passed or failed.

Amendments are permitted during the meeting, so long as there is a proper amending motion in writing signed by the proposer, so that the Moderator can read it to the Town Meeting.   Amendments are generally voted on before any other motion.  There are forms available for those interested near the entrance to the meeting hall.

Survey

For results from the 2025 Town Meeting Survey, please view or download the pdf file here.

Democracy

Open Town Meeting practiced in Maynard is the purest form of democracy.  Powers and responsibilities are vested directly in the voters and not through a representative.  It is your opportunity to be part of the community’s policies and plans.