The patriotic song America was written in 1831 by Samuel Francis Smith while attending the Andover Theological Seminary. Andover is often referred to as the "Home of America". Andover's 250th Anniversary Banner, 1896, Click for larger image
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Suggestions for submitting Warrant Articles

You have taken papers to present an article to an Annual or a Special Town Meeting.

The following are some suggestions that we feel will be helpful to you as you proceed with this process:

  1. Make sure you check the date that the warrant closes -- the Town Clerk's Office will have these dates. Allow time to gather the necessary signatures in support of your article. You will need 10 certified signatures of registered voters for an Annual Town Meeting, 100 for a Special Town Meeting.
  2. Any warrant that is received after that date will be held for the next town meeting that is called.
  3. Any registered voter that signs your article to be placed on the Warrant must be able to read the article as they sign.
  4. Private articles must be moved by a registered voter at the meeting. The name of the person that is petitioning the Town Meeting to place the article on the Warrant appears on the written warrant ("On petition of Mary Smith and others"). If the person who will move the article is different than the petitioner, we ask for this information so that the Moderator may call on the person by name at the Meeting.
  5. If you are offering a financial article for the Town Meeting to consider, we suggest that you contact the appropriate Department for help with the wording of the article. We encourage you to do this early so that Departments can effectively help you through the process.
  6. If you are petitioning for a private street to be accepted by the Town Meeting, please visit the Planning Department for instructions on how this process works and ask their help with the proper wording of a street acceptance article.
  7. If your intention is to change the General or Zoning Bylaw with your article, you must reference the bylaw in the warrant article. Example: "To see if the Town will vote to amend the General (Zoning) Bylaw by....". Consult with your Town Clerk to help you with the wording of this type of article.
  8. You may write a brief explanation of your warrant article for the Finance Committee Report. Please file the explanation of your article when you return your papers for certification. This explanation will be published in the Finance Committee report which is distributed to all residents at least ten (10) days before an Annual Town Meeting and seven (7) days before a Special Town Meeting.
  9. To withdraw an article from the warrant after it is submitted and certified, a petitioner must withdraw it on the floor of Town Meeting and a vote will be taken at Town Meeting to withdraw the article.
  10. If you need more space to write your article than appears on the front of the form, attach it to the back of the first page and make sure that you clearly indicate on the front page that the warrant article continues to another page.

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