1.       What form of government does Charlton, MA have?

Open Town Meeting

2.       Who can participate in Open Town Meeting?

 All registered Voters of Charlton

3.      Where are our Town Meetings?

Charlton's Town Meetings are held in-person only, at Charlton Middle School, 2 Oxford Rd

4.      When is our next Town Meeting?

The next Annual  Town Meeting will be in May 2026 on the 3rd Monday at 7PM a couple of weeks after the Town Election.  

Charlton also typically has a Special Town Meeting in the Fall. Our 2025 Fall Town Meeting was Monday October 20th at 7PM. It can be watched at YouTube TVCharltonMass and the results of the Warrant votes can be found on the Town Website.

5.   What happens at Town Meeting?

Town Meeting is your opportunity as a Charlton voter to vote on items called Articles that are listed on an official document called a Warrant. Budgets, appropriations, Citizen’s Petitions, zoning and bylaw changes or possibly approving a new Senior Center are all examples of Articles you might see on the Warrant. It is recommended you read through the Warrant before attending to prepare for the discussion and your votes. Town Meeting documents can be found here.

When you arrive you must show your ID and you will be given a voting clicker and a copy of the Warrant if you need one. You can sit wherever you would like; only non-Charlton voters as guests must sit in a designated area. 

You will see the Select Board, the Finance Committee, the Town Administrator, Town Counsel and Town Clerk seated on stage in front. The Moderator will also be in front at the podium and is the person who runs the meeting. 

You will also see microphones placed on the floor at the front. All discussion must be done through the Moderator. A carefully worded Motion will be read for each Article describing what will be voted on. There will be an opportunity for discussion or questions or even suggested amendments before each vote is taken. 

To participate in the discussion voters must use a microphone, give their name and street name and direct their comments to the moderator, who will determine who best can address your issue. Voting is done with the clicker and is therefore private. For anyone who has not attended Town Meeting in some time you will notice this technology speeds up the meeting significantly over hand counts.

6.      Why is attending Town Meeting important?

You have elected the Select Board as your representatives, meaning YOU the voter must provide the direction for them to govern or represent you. You the voters are the decision makers and our elected officials are there to implement that vision within the law. 

Much of what happens at Town Meeting may just seem like recordkeeping, transferring money from this account to that, but it all describes how you want your money spent and what kind of town you want to be. For example, regarding Economic Development, Charlton has 2 goals of increasing tax revenue and creating new jobs. A step along the way to achieving that are zoning changes, particularly in the Business and Industrial areas along Route 20, which must be approved by you.

7.      When do we elect our Town representatives?

The Annual Town Election is typically the 1st Saturday in May 8am to 8pm at Charlton Heritage School, 34 Oxford Rd.

You can find info about Elections at TownofCharlton.net under the Government tab, including info about voter registration, absentee voting, early voting etc. Find more on how and where to vote here.