Town Meeting

About Town Meeting

Date Held

The annual Town Meeting is held the second Wednesday of May. 

Public Petitions

Public petitions of no fewer than 10 registered voters must be submitted to the Selectboard no later than 60 days prior to the annual town meeting; and in the warrant for Special Town Meetings articles requested by petition of no fewer than 100 registered voters or by 10% of the total number of registered voters of the Town, whichever number is the lesser, and submitted to the Selectboard no later than 28 days prior to the Special Town Meeting. 

Petitions for insertion of an article shall include the name and residence (street and number) of each petitioner. Upon receipt of any such petition, the Selectboard shall forward the petition to the town clerk, who shall forthwith check the names and certify which are registered voters. Only the names of certified voters shall be counted.

Budget and Financial Information

Reports from the Appropriations Committee, historical budget books, bonding schedules, and Town Meeting warrant presentations/information can all be found on the Budget and Financial Information page

Members

The 120 elected Town Meeting members from five precincts serve as the South Hadley Town Meeting, sixty-one elected members serve as a quorum to conduct the business of the town at an annual or special town meeting.

View the past and present Town Meeting members.

Session Agenda

At the heart of town government in South Hadley, as in all New England towns, is the Annual Town Meeting. This meeting is essentially a legislative session, at which the policies and the budget for the ensuing year are voted. Town Bylaws may be added or changed. Other actions affecting the town may be taken. Schools, highways, sewers, and recreation are some of the areas of daily life controlled by the budget decisions made here, which in turn affect the property tax rate. Zoning questions often come up for consideration.

Special Town Meeting

The results of this meeting together with funds from the state and federal government, generally determine the tax rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1. However, sometimes labor contracts are unsettled at this time and a special town meeting may be necessary when negotiations are completed, or nearly so, to complete the forthcoming town budget. After the tax rate is set, no action may be taken by a special town meeting to affect that rate. Special town meetings may be held at any time, but any monies voted after the tax rate is set must be transferred from available funds by a vote of the meeting.