A look at the previous Longmeadow Town Meeting on May 12.
Reminder Publishing file photo
LONGMEADOW — With Longmeadow’s Annual Town Meeting and town elections complete, attention now turns to the Special Town Meeting.
Longmeadow Town Manager Lyn Simmons has announced the town’s key dates and submission deadlines for this year’s fall Special Town Meeting, taking place at Longmeadow High School on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
A June 29 press release detailed the guidelines and due dates for town departments, boards and committees looking to submit articles and residents looking to submit citizen petitions.
Town departments, boards and committees must submit all proposed warrant articles to the Select Board’s office, 231 Maple Road, no later than noon on Sept. 25. Zoning and other bylaw proposals requiring drafting and review must be submitted earlier and may require a public hearing.
Citizen petitions are due at the Select Board’s office as well, but have a separate submission deadline of Oct. 2 at noon. Petitioners should also email their article as a Word document to the town manager by the deadline.
A petitioner must collect 100 names, signatures and addresses of registered town voters for a petition to be included in the warrant. All signatures must be certified by the Town Clerk before the submission deadline.
The town’s petition instruction form states, “proponents of a petition article are encouraged to secure more signatures than necessary, in the event the signatures are disqualified for any reason.” Things that can cause signature disqualification include a non-registered voter signature or an ineligible signature.
The town is also reminding residents that citizen petitions are printed in the warrant exactly as received, including spelling and punctuation. Petitioners are encouraged to consult with an attorney to ensure proper wording and to carefully review all forms and instructions before submission.
Articles that request an appropriation of funds will be subject to review by the Finance Committee. Likewise, the Planning Board will review zoning-related articles. The Select Board will review all other articles. Lead petitioners of an article will be notified of a hearing or deliberation date by the appropriate board.
If the appropriate board supports an article, the town will prepare the motion for Town Meeting. However, lead petitioners are responsible for moving their own articles at Town Meeting.
The Select Board will review the draft warrant on Oct. 5 and finalize it on Oct. 19. The warrant will then go to Town Counsel for review and to the Finance Committee , which will vote on funding recommendations between Oct. 20-26.
Other important dates include the Nov. 2 deadline to post the warrant and the Nov. 6 voter registration deadline, if residents aren’t already registered.
More information and access to the required forms and instructions can be found at longmeadowma.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/1290.
