Citizen Petition - For Town Meeting

What is a Petition Article?

A Petition Article is a proposal brought to Town Meeting by a citizen or group of citizens. The petition
can be on any topic that is relevant to action by Ashfield town government.

Getting a Petition Article on the Town Meeting Warrant 

Before you begin, consult with the Town Administrator or with any boards or committees who may have jurisdiction over the matter in order to seek feedback, advice, and support. The board or committee may agree that the issue needs to be addressed and may decide to undertake the process of proposing and supporting it; this outcome would make a petition unnecessary. If the board will not propose the idea itself, you will complete the process for submitting a citizen petition.

1. Obtain a copy of the Citizen Petition form and complete it with your information. It is recommended that before going out to get signatures, you review your form with the Town Clerk to ensure that you have entered information correctly and to confirm deadlines and next steps. It is also highly recommended that you have someone proofread the language of your proposed article, as the wording cannot be changed from what you include on the forms.

2. It is recommended (but not required) that when you begin gathering signatures you send a courtesy copy of the proposed article to the Select Board at selectboard@ashfield.org so they know what will be coming in. 

3. Gather signatures from registered Ashfield voters. The voter information on the form must be readable, complete, and correct to facilitate validation by the Clerk's office and Board of Registrars. The number of valid signatures needed is different depending on the type of Town Meeting to which you bring the article. Annual (spring) Town Meetings require 10 signatures for a petition article. Special Town Meetings require 100 signatures for a petition article. It is recommended that you gather more than the minimum number of signatures in case not all signatures can be validated.

4. When sufficient signatures are gathered, turn them in to the Town Clerk's office before the deadline. The Clerk's Office will notify you after signatures have been validated and the form has been signed off by the Board of Registrars.

5. Send a copy of the exact article wording in Microsoft Word (or comparable) format to the Town Administrator. 

6. Stay in touch with the Town Administrator and the Moderator to prepare for Town Meeting. Petitioners will be expected to attend Town Meeting. Once the article is introduced, the Moderator will ask for a motion and a second. Then he will ask if there is any discussion before taking a vote.