Civics - Municipal Government Vocabulary

School Committee

A body of local government, elected to oversee a particular school district. Members of this group hire the superintendent, set district policies, and approve the school calendar and budget. Schools in Wellesley generally have more local influence from school committees compared to state influence.

Charter

A legal document establishing a municipality. It establishes the municipality's boundaries, and sets up the government.

Town Warrant

A legal document that serves as the town meeting agenda. Issues must first be added to this list in order to be considered,

City

A municipality with over 12,000 residents, with a city council (legislative branch), and mayor (executive branch). There is little direct democracy in this kind of municipality, but decisions are made faster due to fewer officials being in charge.

Town Manager

A paid employee who runs the town's day-to-day operations. This employee carries out the executive branch's operations.

At-Large

A term that means elected by an entire municipality, not just one district.

Town Moderator

An elected official that runs town meetings by helping attendees follow procedures and by declaring the results of votes. This official helps keep things running smoothly during meetings.

City Council

An official elected by the people to hold meetings and vote on community issues. They can represent the whole city of districts. These officials are paid for their work, and work full-time as a member of this group.

Municipal/Municipality

An umbrella term describing the level of local government containing cities and towns.

Bylaws

Local rules for a town.

Town

Municipalities with less/more than 12,000 residents. It's usually overseen by a select board/town council (executive branch), and holds town meetings (legislative branch).

Zoning

Rules that divide up a town into smaller portions, and dictate what kinds of activities/buildings can go where. It sets rules about the sizes and locations of buildings.

Codes

Rules/regulations made by a municipality. They are specific, and designed for safety. Some examples include the fire code, restaurant codes, and sanitation codes.

Subsidize(d)

Something that is discounted because the government pays for part of it.

Norfolk County

The county Wellesley belongs to.

Mayor

The executive branch in a city, with only one person. They are elected directly by voters, and have lots of power to supervise the city's day-to-day operations and appoint officials.

Select Board/Town Council

The executive branch of a town, elected by the people. This group oversees and makes decisions for a town. There are five members in this group in Wellesley, and do not get paid for their work.

Open Town Meeting

The legislative branch of a town, where all residents have an equal opportunity to weigh in. This is usually done in smaller towns, and involves a lot of direct democracy.

Representative Town Meeting

The legislative branch of a town, where citizens elect town meeting members to vote on issues listed in the warrant. This is usually done in larger towns, and involves Representative democracy. Members of this group do not get paid for their work, and serve for three years.

Eight

The number of precincts Wellesley is divided into for voting.

Thirty

The number of representatives per precinct in Wellesley.

Advisory Board

These officials are financial experts on different departments. Budget proposals and other possible bylaws are passed to this group for discussion before being discussed in Town Meeting. This group provides advice, which Town Meeting Members often follow.

Town Meeting: Duties

This gives money to fund all the various town departments, sets local rules (bylaws), and sets/approves the salaries for many town workers.

Select Board: Duties

This group develops polices to build on bylaws passed by the legislative branch of a town. They also lead discussions about long-term planning for a town, and oversee all the town's departments except the schools.

District Attorney

This official oversees legal proceedings for crimes committed within the county, appoints lawyers for cases, as well as sets dates for trials.

Registrar of Deeds

This official oversees property records in the county, such as who owns/owned a piece of property, and what its boundaries are.