Town Meeting

The Town of Erving was formally incorporated as a town in 1838, formerly the tract of land called "Erving's Grant."  With this incorporation, the Town adopted a Town Meeting format of government.

View Upcoming and Archived Town Meeting Warrants

Town Meeting Structure

The Town of Erving maintains the long standing New England tradition of governance through Town Meeting. The registered voters of Erving fulfill the role of the legislative branch of governance with the authority to approve bylaws, adopt local option statutes, and to approve the operating budget of the Town.  All town meetings must be called by a warrant that state the time and place of the meeting and lists all items of business to be acted upon.  The warrants are prepared and approved by the Select Board and posted by a constable.

Voting at Town Meeting

Town meetings are governed by Chapter 39 of the Massachusetts General Laws and do not allow for absentee voting or proxy voting at a Town Meeting, like it does for elections with the attendant controls in place to run the election.  Town Meeting is designed to have open discussion before every article is voted on so that people can hear both sides and get their questions answered before making a final decision of how best to vote.  Moreover, during the process of discussion, amendments may be made that drastically alter the article, and should that occur, what you thought you were voting on is no longer exactly what the article was that you voted on via absentee.  If discussing the articles (as well as allowing amendments to be put forth) wasn't an option at town meeting, then all articles could simply appear on a ballot, and you would just run another election.  It's also noteworthy that even in the State Legislature they cannot vote by absentee but must be present, and since the town meeting is actually the legislative part of town government, it makes sense that it is modeled after the State Legislature.

Annual Town Meeting

The Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for the first Wednesday after Town Elections, in May of each year.  This is the meeting that the Select Board present the proposed operating and capital budget requests for the coming fiscal year.  The warrant must be posted seven (7) days prior the Annual Town Meeting. 

Special Town Meeting

The Select Board can schedule a Special Town Meeting, as necessary, throughout the year when financial and regulatory matters require legislative review.  The warrant must be posted fourteen (14) days prior to a Special Town Meeting.