Town Meeting vs. City Council: How Local Government Works Near Boston

Who actually decides things in Massachusetts towns and cities, how town meeting differs from a council, and how a resident gets something on the agenda.

Boston Neighbor staffPublished November 9, 20267 min read

A white New England town hall with a clock tower and steeple at dusk, small figures walking in under warm window light on a common with autumn leaves

If you have lived in Massachusetts for any length of time, you have heard someone say “that has to go to Town Meeting” or “the council is voting on it Monday.” Those two sentences describe two quite different systems, and which one your community uses decides who has the power, how you can speak, and where an idea has to go to become a rule.

This is a plain-English guide to how it works, with examples from towns and cities around Boston. Information about counts and rules comes from the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) and the Attorney General’s office, linked below. Local details always control, so check your own charter or bylaws.

Towns and cities: the first split

According to the MMA’s “Local Government 101” (updated September 2023), Massachusetts has 59 cities and 292 towns. The word in a community’s name does not always tell you its form: 14 places with a city form of government still call themselves towns.

A town has a legislative body that is a Town Meeting and an executive body, usually an elected Select Board, often with a professional town manager or administrator.
A city has a legislative body that is a city council and an executive that is a mayor, a manager, or both.

Population matters. A community needs at least 12,000 residents to adopt a city form, and at least 6,000 to adopt a representative town meeting. Municipalities under 6,000 use open town meeting.

Open town meeting

The MMA counts 260 towns with open town meeting. Any registered voter may attend, speak and vote. The town holds one every year (state law requires an annual meeting), and the Select Board can call special meetings. Everything that needs legislative approval, such as the budget, zoning bylaws, major purchases and changes to town rules, is written as an article in a document called the warrant. Voters in the room decide each article.

The upside is that every resident has an equal voice. The downside is that the room is whoever shows up, and in a larger town that can be a few percent of voters.

Representative town meeting

For larger towns, the MMA counts 32 with representative town meeting. Instead of everyone voting, voters elect Town Meeting Members from precincts. Most such bodies range from 50 to 429 members, averaging 214.

Two nearby examples:

Winchester: 192 members, 24 elected from each of eight precincts, per Winchester News. Only members can make motions and vote.
Reading: also eight precincts of 24 members, for 192 total, serving overlapping three-year terms. The town moved from open to representative town meeting in 1944.

If you are not a member, you can still run for a seat, and you can ask your precinct’s members to carry your idea. Rules for non-members speaking at the meeting are set locally.

The Select Board

In a town, the Select Board is the main executive body. The MMA says it is typically three or five members elected at large to staggered three-year terms, and that these are volunteer or small-stipend positions. Its duties include issuing the Town Meeting warrant, making appointments, approving bills and granting licenses and permits. Many towns also have a town manager or administrator as chief administrative officer, but the MMA notes there is no state definition of that role: powers are set locally.

The city council and the mayor

In a city, the council is the legislative body, usually an odd number of members, typically 9 to 13, according to the MMA, with some larger (Newton has 24). Terms are generally two years. Councils can reduce or reject a budget, but they cannot increase it. Mayors are the chief executive in most cities, and the MMA says 47 mayors serve Massachusetts cities, with 24 on two-year terms and 23 on four-year terms.

Melrose, as an example, is a mayor-council city. The city’s website identifies Jennifer Grigoraitis as mayor, sworn in January 8, 2024, and the mayor’s office is at City Hall, 562 Main Street. The Melrose legislature is a City Council, which city notices refer to by name. Older charter descriptions we found described the body as eleven members, four elected at large and seven by ward, so confirm the current roster on the city’s site.

Another detail that surprises people: towns hold their elections in the spring, while cities hold theirs in November of odd-numbered years. Municipal elections are nonpartisan.

What this means for you

	Open Town Meeting	Representative Town Meeting	City Council
Who votes on laws	Any registered voter who shows up	Elected members	Elected councillors
Who runs day to day	Select Board (and manager/administrator)	Select Board (and manager/administrator)	Mayor and/or manager
How often	At least once a year	At least once a year	Set by the city
Best way to influence	Show up, speak, or file an article	Talk to your precinct’s members, run for a seat	Speak at public comment, contact a councillor

How to get something done

1. Start with the right body. A pothole, a crosswalk, a dog park and a zoning change all go to different places. In a town, many requests begin with the Select Board, a department head or a committee. In a city, they often begin with the mayor’s office or a councillor.

2. Learn the Open Meeting Law. Public bodies in Massachusetts must post meeting notices at least 48 hours in advance, excluding weekends and legal holidays, per the Attorney General’s primer. That gives you time to see what is on the agenda and show up. Meetings of boards are public unless they meet the narrow executive-session exceptions. If you believe a violation occurred, you file a written complaint with the public body first; the AG’s complaint form says a complaint generally must be filed within 30 days of the alleged violation. Check the AG’s page for the current steps.

3. Use the warrant, if you live in a town. A citizen petition can put an article on the annual Town Meeting warrant. Local town clerk guides (Brewster’s and others) say ten registered voters can do it for the annual meeting, with higher thresholds for special town meetings, and that the clerk certifies signatures. Gather more than the minimum, because some signatures will not qualify. Deadlines depend on when your Select Board closes the warrant, often months before the meeting. Ask your town clerk.

4. Write it down. Whether it is an article or a letter to a councillor, a clear two-paragraph ask with the problem, the fix and who it affects gets read more often than a long complaint.

5. Talk to people before the meeting. Most votes are decided in conversations in the hallway, in committee, or over email. A Town Meeting member or councillor who has heard about your idea ahead of time is much more likely to vote for it.

6. Show up more than once. Local government rewards regular presence. Attend a Select Board or council meeting, watch how it runs, and then speak.

Where to check your own community

Look at your town or city website for the charter (cities) or town bylaws (towns), the clerk’s page, and the calendar of meetings. The town clerk is the single best person to ask about warrants, petitions and election deadlines, and the clerk’s office answers these questions every day.