Social Studies - How do laws & regulations get passed or rejected in towns

Question

1. How do laws & regulations get passed or rejected in towns - specifically Arlington, Massachusetts?
2. What is the legislative body in a town (town meetings?) and what is the role of the legislative body in a town?

Answer 1

TK,

I found a good source for information about the Town Meeting (legislative body) in Arlington, MA: https://www.wyzant.com/calendarsync?key=2tSEOkKK6kWYX53DenM%2biaa84V9w6F98. According to that source, there are 21 districts in the town of Arlington. Each of the districts gets to vote for 12 people to represent them. This collection of 252 people meets once per year to discuss and vote on articles submitted by citizens, committees, and other groups that are put on an agenda called the "Warrant." Special Town Meetings can occur more than one time per year if issues come up that need to be addressed without waiting for the next regular meeting. Each article on the Warrant can be discussed. Citizens can speak as well as members of the Town Meeting and other people. The site that I mentioned above says that there is a good book describing the Town Meetings: "a great reference is Town Meeting Time by Johnson, Trustman & Wadsworth, which is published by the Massachusetts Moderators Association."