Westborough resident urges town to add local initiative and referendum procedures to charter

Wilford Savoy, speaking during public comment to the Finance Advisory Committee, urged support for two articles on the special town‑meeting warrant that would add citizen initiative and referendum procedures to the Town of Westborough charter. "Article 15 calls for the establishment of a local initiative petition," Savoy said, and Article 16 would authorize a referendum petition to allow the broader electorate to overturn a town‑meeting decision.

Savoy described how the process would work under state law: a local petition generally requires 200 registered voters (with at least 25 from each precinct) to place a binding question on the ballot; a referendum on a town‑meeting vote requires 200 registered voters to file within seven days of the close of the town meeting, and the resulting election is decided by majority vote with at least 20% turnout. He cited examples of similar petitions elsewhere in the state and said the home‑rule route would add the procedure to Westborough’s charter.

Committee members asked for clarification on which items may be excluded from petitions and whether the measure would duplicate existing town procedures. Savoy and others noted that state constitutional and statutory rules limit certain topics—emergency borrowing and some other categories are not petitionable—and that the warrant language reflects those limits. The committee deferred final recommendation on Articles 15 and 16 until staff and counsel (including Christie) can present the town’s position at an upcoming meeting.

The committee said it will hear Christie on the home‑rule items at a later meeting before recording a formal AFC recommendation for the warrant book.