Frequently Asked Questions

A Town Meeting is both an event and an entity. As an event, it is a gathering of a town’s eligible voters, and is referred to as “the Town Meeting.” As an entity, it is the legislative body for towns in Massachusetts, and is referred to simply as “Town Meeting.” 

Town Meeting decides three major things: • It sets the salaries for the elected officials. • It votes to appropriate money to run the town. • It votes on the town’s local statutes, which are called by-laws.

An open Town Meeting means that all of the town’s registered voters may vote on all matters. 

The minimum number of registered voters that must be present to start the meeting.

A quorum is the minimum number of voters needed to conduct business at Hudson Town Meeting. Hudson’s Town Meeting quorum is 150 registered voters. Non-voters must sit in the visitor section.

Hudson’s annual Town Meeting occurs the first Monday in May, while the special Town Meeting is held the third Monday in November.

Each town must hold an annual Town Meeting. Additional Town Meetings are called special meetings. They may be called as many times during the year as necessary.

The warrant lists a meeting’s time, place, and agenda. A warrant is also known as a warning. A Town Meeting’s action is not valid unless the subject was listed on the warrant.

Articles are items on the warrant. Appropriations for each town function or department may be in separate articles. Or one article on the warrant may propose appropriations for all necessary town expenses.

A petition article is a proposal brought before Town Meeting by a citizen or group of citizens. The petition can be on any topic that is relevant to action by Hudson town government. Petitioners are required to get 10 signatures of registered voters to place an article on the annual Town Meeting warrant, and 100 signatures of registered voters to place an article on the special Town Meeting warrant. Petitioners will be expected to attend Town Meeting to present and make a motion for their article.