town meeting

1. a general meeting of the inhabitants of a town.

2. (esp. in New England) a legislative assembly of the qualified voters of a town.

[1630-40]

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Legislative assembly of a U.S. town in which all or some voters are empowered to conduct the community's affairs.

Town meetings first took place in New England in the colonial era and are still largely a New England phenomenon, partly because the region's towns tend to hold powers that are granted to counties elsewhere. The meetings are normally held annually. Executive authority is usually held by a three-or five-member board. Open town meetings, which are widely regarded as an exceptionally pure form of democracy, allow all registered voters to vote on articles listed on the agenda, or warrant; representative town meetings allow only elected members to vote.

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▪ United States local government

      in the United States, an assembly of local qualified voters in whom is vested the governmental authority of a town. Town meetings are a particularly popular form of governmental administration in New England, where a town is a geographic unit, the equivalent of a civil township elsewhere. In New England, towns are granted powers that are granted only to counties elsewhere, as well as their ordinary municipal powers. County government is therefore comparatively insignificant.

      At the meetings, which may be held periodically or on demand, officials and school boards may be elected or chosen to govern between meetings; ordinances may be adopted; and taxes and expenditures may be debated and voted upon. Because of the extraordinary autonomy granted each town, New England state legislatures end up being among the largest in the United States.

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