Citizen petitions can now be submitted at any point in the year, marking a significant change from previous policy when they could only be submitted after a Town Meeting warrant had been opened.
Additionally, petitions will now instead be delivered first to the Select Board, rather than the Town Clerk’s office.
“I think it changes a lot about how we talk about citizen petitions in Belmont,” said Select Board member Matt Taylor.
Town officials voted the policy into effect this fall following some confusion around the petition process.
Taylor said he wrote the new policy — which was originally approved a few weeks ago and then revised recently and approved again — to align with state law. Included in that is a process for petitions being delivered first to the Select Board.
“The old version, in some sense, was there was [no policy],” said Select Board member Matt Taylor. “There was a convention around how people described it … People brought it directly to the town clerk’s office, and the town clerk would pass it along.”
Essentially, citizen petitions can be brought to the town administrator’s office, during public comment, or any time the Select Board agenda says the board is accepting petitions.
“Once it’s certified with the signatures, it will go on the next warrant it qualifies for,” Taylor said.
According to Taylor, the new policy helps to ease the burden of town staff by spreading out the workload associated with petitions throughout the year.
“We are already seeing positive benefits to that,” he said. “People are reaching out, saying I have an idea for a petition; the town administrator is able to connect them with staff … or find other ways to address what they’re hoping to accomplish.”