Where to Post a Warrant

Training for: Legal Notes

The person to whom a town meeting warrant is directed (either a town constable or a town resident by name) must post an attested copy “in some conspicuous, public place in the town at least 7 days before the meeting” unless otherwise provided by municipal charter (see 30-A M.R.S.A. § 252394)).

There is no legal requirement that a warrant be published, or posted in more than one place, but many municipalities do so in order to reach the greatest number of voters. If this has been traditional practice, it is probably best not to depart from it without some advance notice.

Also, it is customary – but not legally required – for the annual town meeting warrant to be included in the municipality’s annual report (see “What Should/Shouldn’t Be in the Annual Report,” Maine Townsman, Legal Notes, December 2010). For the record, though, the “official” or legal warrant is the posted one, not the one published in the annual report (see “Town Meeting Warrants – Posted Versus Published,” Maine Townsman, Legal Notes, January 2010).

For more on what must be in a warrant, who can post it, and when to post it, see the last three issues of this magazine. (By R.P.F.)

The person to whom a town meeting warrant is directed (either a town constable or a town resident by name) must post an attested copy “in some conspicuous, public place in the town at least 7 days before the meeting” unless otherwise provided by municipal charter (see 30-A M.R.S.A. § 252394)).

There is no legal requirement that a warrant be published, or posted in more than one place, but many municipalities do so in order to reach the greatest number of voters. If this has been traditional practice, it is probably best not to depart from it without some advance notice.

Also, it is customary – but not legally required – for the annual town meeting warrant to be included in the municipality’s annual report (see “What Should/Shouldn’t Be in the Annual Report,” Maine Townsman, Legal Notes, December 2010). For the record, though, the “official” or legal warrant is the posted one, not the one published in the annual report (see “Town Meeting Warrants – Posted Versus Published,” Maine Townsman, Legal Notes, January 2010).

For more on what must be in a warrant, who can post it, and when to post it, see the last three issues of this magazine. (By R.P.F.)