Groton Ordinance Process

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Groton has a slightly more complex process to create an ordinance than most other towns, and this is a good thing. Were this any other town, the ordinance would be final, and Hassam would be looking for a new town to move his business to. Fortunately, Groton has a system that allows a larger group of representatives to review any ordinance that is passed before it goes into effect.

After the Town Council passes an ordinance, a body of elected citizens called the Representative Town Meeting has 45 days in which to veto it.

The Representative Town Meeting (RTM) is made up of 1 member for every 1000 residents of Groton, including both the town and the city, meaning we have 41 total seats. They are apportioned into 7 districts. You can find a map of the districts here.

The meeting at which the RTM will consider this ordinance will be Wednesday, September 12th at 7:30 PM at the Groton Senior Center.

Any citizen may speak during a Citizen's Petition period for up to 10 minutes.

A 2/3 vote of representatives in attendance is required to veto an ordinance, meaning that between 15 and 27 votes will be required depending on the number of representatives in attendance.

If the veto vote passes, the ordinance is dead and cannot be reconsidered by the Town Council for 6 months.

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