Good Morning, Burlington!

Today is Presidential Primary Day in Burlington, and voting will be happening at the high school from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. If you plan to vote in the primary and didn’t take advantage of the Vote By Mail or Early In-Person Voting options, head out to BHS sometime today!

Speaking of voting, as you’ll hear most days for the next month, the local election is coming up on April 6. Between now and then, we’ll talk a lot—in an easily understandable way!—about the way Burlington works. We’ll answer question such as, “Do we have a mayor?” and, “What exactly does Town Meeting do?” and much more.

You’ll also hear from candidates for contested offices in their own words as they share what they hope to bring to the office and why they think they’re the right person for the job. Our first set of podcast interviews is set to come out on Saturday, March 16, but Hive members get early access starting March 9. Join us and be the first to hear from your candidates!

Today, we’ll share with you an answer to the question that started it all, prompting the very first Facebook post two years ago that soon became the Buzz.

Why is Burlington a Town and Not a City?

In Massachusetts, there are cities, and there are towns. But what’s the difference, and how can you tell? And, most importantly, which one is Burlington and what does that mean for its residents?

The first thing you need to know is that Town Meeting is the default legislative body and organizing principle of municipal government in Massachusetts. Town Meeting meets periodically (in Burlington, that’s three times a year) to vote on the town’s operational and capital budgets and updates to the town’s bylaws. Some towns have Open Town Meeting and some (like Burlington) have Representative Town Meeting. Towns also have a Select Board and a Town Manager or Town Administrator who act as the executive branch. Towns don’t have a mayor.

But, as populations grow, Town Meeting can become so large that productive conversations are difficult—and the whole process becomes inefficient. That’s when a municipality can petition the state to change its form of government.

How big is too big? Well, that’s up to the municipality. There’s not a population threshold that triggers a change from town to city. Larger municipalities, though, do tend to be cities, while smaller ones tend to be towns. With the city designation comes a City/Town Council, which takes the place of Town Meeting, and (sometimes, but not always) a mayor.

Read more about the difference in our (edited) original article below!

Local Government

Why is Burlington a Town?

Nicci Kadilak • Feb 26, 2022

I used to think a municipality's population and whether or not it had a mayor determined whether it was a city or a town. While researching local government, I learned I was mostly wrong. So, here's the scoop. The standard legislative body for municipalities in MA is T…

Read full story →

Today in Burlington

Municipal Meetings and Community Events

• 7:00 AM-8:00 PM - ELECTION DAY: Presidential Primary (Burlington High School)
• 10:15 AM-12:00 PM - Foreign Affairs Discussions Group (Library)
• 10:30-11:00 AM - Toddler Storytime - Bring your little adventurer (ages 18-36 month old) to the local library and help develop a lifetime love of learning from the start. (Burlington Public Library; Drop in)
• 4:00-4:45 PM - Paper Llama Craft - Kids in grades K-5 join Miss Nathasha to create a fun llama paper craft. (Burlington Public Library; Register)
• 6:30PM - Human Services Committee will continue to curate and organize the list of human services organizations in Burlington. (Virtual)

Sports and Activities

Tickets for Wednesday’s Round of 16 boys’ basketball game game and Thursday’s Elite Eight girls’ hockey game can be purchased exclusively at GoFan. Get yours now and support our winter athletics!

That’s all we’ve got for you today. Have a great one!

Nicci

Share this with your friend who keeps calling Burlington a “city.”