Town of Milton to explore an alternative for delivery options for Town Meeting Warrants

The Town of Milton is exploring alternative delivery options for Town Meeting warrants. An Article has been submitted by the Select Board for the May 2020 Annual Town Meeting as a proposal to amend the Town’s current warrant delivery Bylaws.

Background:

• Milton has a Representative Town Meeting. Town Meeting Members are voted into office and represent their precincts as the only residents allowed to vote at Town Meeting, hence they, along with other elected Town Officials are the persons most in need of the warrants. Milton has 279 Town Meeting Member seats with varying terms.
• The Town of Milton spends thousands of dollars each year producing and mailing approximately 10,000 warrants for every Town/Special Town Meeting to each home in Town.
• Amending the current production/delivery practice would mean significant savings for the Town and would also cut unnecessary waste with these excessive mailings.
• In the 2019 fiscal year the Town spent approximately $23,000 to print and mail warrants.
• If the Town were to rely more on electronic delivery and print only 500 to 1,000 copies it would cost approximately $1,200 as opposed to the $9,500 it cost to print and mail for the October 2018 Special Town Meeting warrant alone.
• The goal would be to print 500 to 1,000 warrants. Warrants would still be mailed to EVERY Town Meeting Member and certain other Town Officials.
• The warrant is published in a PRINTABLE PDF format on the Town’s website and sent out as a newsflash to current subscribers several days before residents ever receive it by mail in their homes.
• Printed copies of the warrant will still be available for non-elected/non-appointed residents at the following locations: Town Hall, the Library and the Council on Aging.
• The Select Board Office will offer “print on demand” in person, and if absolutely necessary, mailing requests for constituents in Town that are unable to visit one of the listed locations in person.
• The Town currently has a total of approximately 8,600 residents subscribed to various email subscription services from the Town with many people subscribing to more than one service.
• Several Towns have already transitioned to electronic and “print on demand” warrant delivery.

  If you have any questions or comments about this proposal, please contact Jennifer McCullough of the Select Board Office at [email protected] or (617)898-4846.