Voters are at top and the source of the towns authority.
Use your authority wisely. Get involved. Vote.
Below are the four citizen petitions now being signed:
(1) No Secret Deals.
(2) No Chemical Manufacturing.
(3) Saturday Town Meetings.
(4) Meeting articles/agenda in random order.
Sign. Go to meeting, vote yes, no, or amend. Easy!
(1) No Secret Deals
Purpose of this petition: Non-disclosure agreements limit the public’s right to be informed about the actions and decisions of its government and therefore erode public trust and are largely inconsistent with the transparency requirements of the public records law. Therefore, nondisclosure agreements are prohibited by adding the phrase,”except contracts containing a nondisclosure (NDA) or confidentiality agreement”. These agreements are well known to be deployed in small towns by potentially harmful industries such as Data Centers; this is completely against voters interests. Please add your signature to prevent this. To see the current bylaw 14-1 saying Select Board can sign any contracts deemed “appropriate”, click: https://ecode360.com/32838842#32838842
Citizen Petition to Amend §14-1:
We, the undersigned, are qualified voters of the Town of Templeton and request the subject below be acted upon at the next Town Meeting.
To see if the Town, in keeping with the spirit of transparency and open communication, will strike the current first sentence and amend the first sentence of town bylaw Chapter 14 Contracts §14-1 as follows:
Unless otherwise provided by the General Laws or a vote of Town Meeting, the Select Board (Board) is authorized to enter into any contract, except contracts containing a nondisclosure (NDA) or confidentiality agreement, for the exercise of the Town's corporate powers on such terms and conditions as are deemed appropriate.
Or taken any action relative thereto.
(2) Saturday Town Meetings
Purpose of this petition: While there is no way to please everyone, at least this deserves to be voted upon at town meeting because Wednesday nighttime meetings are not as accessible to students needing to study, parents needing to feed their kids and get them to bed, seniors with transportation or other issues, voters commuting home from Boston etc., and so many others. https://ecode360.com/32838848#32838848
Citizen Petition to Amend Chapter 22, §22-2 Annual Town Meeting date.
We, the undersigned, are qualified voters of the Town of Templeton and request the subject below be acted upon at the next Town Meeting.
To see if the Town will strike current language and amend § 22-2 Annual Town Meeting as follows:
All business of the Annual Town Meeting, except the election of such officers and the determination of such matters as are required by law to be elected or determined by ballot, shall be considered on the Saturday preceding the election of Town officers and shall commence within two hours of noon, at a place designated by the Select Board (Board). Special Town Meetings will also be held on a Saturday and commence within two hours of noon.
Or taken any action relative thereto.
(3) Meeting articles/agenda in random order.
Purpose of this petition: Random order of articles is needed because in previous meetings the order/numbering of articles has been manipulated to stick citizen petitions at the end all the time and also in anticipation that people will go home after a certain article has been voted on - leaving the way clear to pass/fail something else with a smaller number of voters. In general, this does not seem to favor the needs of the voters. https://ecode360.com/32838848#32838848
Citizen Petition to Amend Chapter 22, §22-5 Warrants.
We, the undersigned, are qualified voters of the Town of Templeton and request the subject below be acted upon at the next Town Meeting.
To see if the town will amend §22-5 by adding the following sentence:
Warrant Articles will be inserted on the warrant, numbered, in an order determined by chance, by drawing numbers at random, such as from a bingo ball.
Or taken any action relative thereto.
Note: The zoning article to prohibit Chemical Manufacturing of fuels in CIA zones (Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural) has been set aside. This article was voted down by only a handful of votes at May 2026 town meeting and deserved another chance. After gathering many signatures, a double check of Chapter 40A § 5 showed that once a zoning article has been unfavorably voted on, it can’t be brought back for two years. Unless Chair of Planning Board supports it. Apologies.
Here is the petition form, front & back. Print it, and print petitions above. Staple. Gather signatures. Have a signing party! Easy. Be a citizen, not a subject. Set a good example for youth, value rights and privileges of being a citizen and also duties: “With great power comes great responsibilities.”
Fall town meeting October 21, 2026 to take place at Narragansett Regional Schools’ Safka Auditorium.
There will be voting on stuff affecting your health, environment, and finances. Be there; use your constitutional rights to participate in town matters, and vote. Just a few hours a year will improve your quality of life. If you don’t get involved, a small number of people make decisions for you. See https://www.templetonma.gov and watch TCTV.
Narragansett Regional School's Safka Auditorium 460 Baldwinville Road, Baldwinville, MA. 01436. Contact Jill Blood Select Board office for accommodations: Jill Blood, Executive Assistant, 160 Patriots Road Templeton MA. 01438 978-894-2753 jblood@templetonma.gov