SAUGUS — Voters passed a bylaw to fix what they call a “free speech problem” at Town Meeting, but Attorney General Maura Healey rejected it.
A Special Town Meeting was called in June to amend the town’s bylaws on resolutions so that members are allowed to read non-binding resolutions with as little as two days notice.
“Because the town cannot by bylaw provide for a process to allow Town Meeting to consider and vote on subjects (even non-binding resolutions) that were not included in a properly posted and noticed warrant … we are required to disapprove and delete it,” said Healey in a letter.
At an annual meeting in May, precinct 5 Town Meeting member Ron Wallace was told by moderator Steve Doherty that he could not read a non-binding resolution that supported 21 school custodians, who lost their jobs to privatization, because the matter did not appear on the warrant.
Wallace was outraged and said that he was being “silenced.” Other Town Meeting members requested the rules be suspended so their fellow board member could make his statement. But that request was denied too.
“The idea of a resolution being presented on the night of a meeting kind of goes against the state’s and the town’s intent to give fair notice to the citizens and allow those who have a stake in the conversation to come forward and speak about it,” said Doherty.
The incident sparked a grassroots effort to hold a Special Town Meeting before the end of the fiscal year so that members could pass the resolution. Members also adopted a new section in the town’s bylaws that says that any Town Meeting member can propose a non-binding resolution within 48 hours of written or electronic notice.
It specifies that resolutions may not seek to appropriate funds, propose zoning or general bylaw changes, or have any binding effects on the operations of town government. Resolutions will not be considered actions of the Town Meeting, as defined by Massachusetts General Law, according to the bylaw. They will be considered statements of opinion and will require a majority vote.
“Even though this has been a privatization issue as it began, as we all know, the more important thing was freedom of speech,” said resident Corinne Riley, who presented the citizen petition.
But according to Healey, the article conflicts with Massachusetts General Law by authorizing Town Meeting to vote on an item not included on a warrant.
At least seven days of notice must be given before an annual meeting and at least two weeks before Special Town Meeting. The warrant for all town meetings must state the time and place of the meeting and the subjects to be acted upon. No action will be considered valid unless the subject matter is listed on the warrant.
“We emphasize that our disapproval of Article 3 in no way implies any position on the policy views that lead to the passage of the by-law amendments,” said Healey in the letter. “The Attorney General’s limited standard of review requires her to approve or disapprove by-laws based solely on their consistency with state and federal law, not on any policy views she may have on the subject matter or wisdom of the bylaw.”
