STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT 

ORANGE AND THE STATE

Under the Township Act of 1631 and subsequent amendments, the General court granted communities the authority to manage their own affairs, to make and enforce ordinances and to choose their own officials.  Although towns select their own officials, they are subject to the Laws of the Commonwealth, specifically Chapters 39, 40, 41, and 44 of the General Laws.  Since the passage of the Home Rule amendment in 1966, towns may exercise the option of adopting a charter, thereby giving them a greater degree of autonomy.  Orange has elected not to do that, and therefore must go to the State Legislature for permission for any action not already specifically delegated to the Town.  State law places restrictions on towns and cities in the fields of education, health, welfare, voting procedures, public safety, highway maintenance and especially in relation to financial matters.  On the other hand, the State extends assistance to towns for some activities, the amounts varying according to statutory provisions for a particular activity.  Examples are aid for highway construction and maintenance, for public works and educational items.

The Town of Orange is in the Second Franklin District that elects one Representative to the General Court of Massachusetts; the Worcester, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire Senatorial District that elects one State Senator to the General Court and part of the Seventh Councilor district that elects one member to the Governor’s Council.  The State of Massachusetts is represented in Washington by two U. S. Senators and eleven Representatives and Orange is a member of the First Congressional District.

 ORANGE AND THE COUNTY

Massachusetts is divided into 14 counties.  In New England, counties are not important political divisions as they are in many states.  Records relating to deeds, wills, settlements of estates, divorces, plans and other papers concerning the title in property within the county are on file at the Franklin County Register of Deeds and Probate in Greenfield.  The District Court serving the Town of Orange, is in Greenfield with a branch in Orange.

 TOWN GOVERNMENT

TOWN REPORT

At the end of the year all Boards, Commissions, Committees, Officers and Agents of the town, submit a written report to the Board of Selectmen giving an account of the business transacted during the preceding year.  The Board prepares the town report for publication each Spring.  Annual Town Reports are available at the annual town election in March and at the Town Hall.

 TOWN MEETING

The town meeting form of government is unique to New England.  Although its origin can be traced to English traditions and the Puritan Congregational Church, it developed in wholly new ways in the New England State.  Orange has maintained town meetings, the policy and law-making body of the Town, in its simplest and most democratic form-open town meeting; every registered voter in the Town has the right to attend, to participate in debate, and to vote.  The Annual Town Meeting is held the first Monday in May.  A quorum of 75 registered voters is necessary to transact business at the town meeting.  If the business of the meeting is not completed on the first night, the Moderator will continue the meeting until all of the articles of the warrant are disposed of.  Special town meetings are called at the discretion of the Board of Selectmen or upon written request of 200 registered voters.  Proceedings recorded at the meeting by the Town Clerk are published in the annual Town Report. 

WARRANT

The warrant of the Annual Town Meeting contains the agenda of the meeting (articles), including the budget proposed, the time and place of the meeting, and any special articles requested by ten or more voters in writing.  It is prepared by the Board of Selectmen and posted in several places around town.  No action of the town meeting will be valid unless it shall have been taken under an article set forth in the warrant.  Each article will be considered in the order in which it appears in the warrant, unless the meeting shall have voted to do otherwise.

 MODERATOR

The Moderator, under State law, is an elected official who presides and regulates the proceedings, decides all questions of order, makes public declaration of all questions of order, and makes public declaration of all votes.  All rulings of the moderator are final and customs unique to town meeting permit the Moderator to use his judgment in applying rules of parliamentary procedure, except where State Laws or Town by-laws specifically regulate.

 TOWN MEETING

Call to Order:  The Moderator will call each session of town meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. or as soon as the Town Clerk has determined that a quorum is present.  All persons who have not registered to vote in Orange must sit in the section reserved for non-residents, unless the Moderator has authorized them to sit with the voters.  The Moderator will announce the number of each article about to be considered and invite a motion.

To Address the Meeting:  No person may address a town meeting until he or she shall have been recognized by the Moderator and stated his name and address.  If a non-resident seeks permission to address the meeting, the Moderator will ask if there are any objections.  If there are any, he will immediately call for a voice vote.  If the majority shall vote to hear the non-resident, the Moderator will give him/her the floor.

Debate:  Voters may obtain recognition from the Moderator (giving their name and address), and may speak on the subject matter of the motion and may offer a motion, an amendment, an argument, a comment, a point or a question.

Motions:  The Moderator will announce the first article under consideration and ask for a motion under it.  Motions are usually offered by the town official, committee or individual responsible for placing the article in the warrant, but is permissible for any voter to obtain recognition from the Moderator and make a substitute motion pertinent to the article under discussion.  The Moderator requires that motions exceeding ten words in length be in writing and that they be within the scope of the article under which they are made.  After a motion is made and seconded, the Moderator places it before the meeting and calls for discussion.

Amendments:  A motion may be amended by moving to add and/or delete words to and/or from the main motion or by substituting a new motion therefore; but the Moderator permits no more than two amendments to the main motion.  A motion to amend is debatable and requires only a majority vote, even though the main motion may require a two-thirds vote.  No amendment that exceeds ten words in length will be accepted, unless it shall have been offered to the Moderator in writing.

Voting:  After discussion, and before calling for a vote, the Moderator will repeat the motion under consideration.  A simple majority is required on most motions.  A voice vote is called for and the Moderator declares the result of the vote.  If the Moderator is in doubt, or if seven or more voters immediately question the vote, the Moderator shall call for a standing vote.

 ELECTIONS

Annual Town Election:  In accordance with the General Laws of Massachusetts, notifications of a forthcoming local election must be given at least seven days in advance.  The warrant, calling the election is posted at Wheeler Memorial Library, Post Office, Town Hall and Moore-Leland Library in North Orange.

Qualifications for Voting:  A person must meet the following qualifications on election day in order to vote:

  1. Citizen of the United States
  2. 18 years of age by election day
  3. Resident o a Massachusetts city or Town
  4. Registered voter

Registration for Voting:  A person meeting the first three qualifications above may be registered at the following places:

            In person

            At any registration event, at any local election office, and at the following state agency offices:  Registry of Motor Vehicles, Food Stamp Program, AFDC, WIC, Medical Assistance Program, Commission for the Blind, Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, Department of Mental Health, Department of Mental Retardation, and Secretary of the Commonwealth.  You may also register by mail.  Registration is permanent unless the voter changes their residence to another town or changes their name by marriage or court action.  Once voters are registered, their names are officially added to the voter’s list.

Board of Registrars:  This Board consists of three members, each appointed by the Board of Selectmen on a bipartisan basis, one each year to serve for a three year term, plus the Town Clerk who is an ex officio member of the Board.  In addition to the registration of voters, the Board is responsible for maintenance of voter lists, elections recounts, certification of nomination papers and the compilation of the annual street listing of all residents from the census.

Absentee Voting:  Absentee voting is allowed in local, state and national elections as well as in the primaries, but not in town meetings.  Applications for absentee ballots are available at the Town Clerk’s Office and are available to those who will be absent from Town on election day, the physically disabled who have filed a medical form with the Town Clerk and those who have certain religious beliefs.

Candidates for Local Office:  Any interested citizen who is a registered voter may become a candidate for any office where there is a vacancy to be filled by taking out nomination papers obtained from the Town Clerk and securing the required number of signatures.  Nomination papers must be filed with the Board of Registrars for certification of signatures.

Election Dates

State Primaries            Every two years                     7th Tuesday prior to State Election

State Election               Every two years (even #)         1st Tuesday after 1st Mon. in Nov.

National Primary            Every four years                     1st Tuesday after 1st Mon. in March

National Election            Every four years                     1st Tuesday after 1st Mon. in Nov.

Town Election              Annual                                      1st Monday in March

The Massachusetts General Laws pertaining to elections are amended frequently.  Please contact the Town Clerk’s Office for additional information or if you have any questions.