Town Meeting

Billerica is governed by a representative town meeting, its legislative body. In 1953 the town was asked to petition the General Court for representative town government, and in 1955 the voters accepted "An Act establishing in the Town of Billerica representative town government by limited town meetings." Town Meeting members were first elected at the 1956 annual election, and the first representative meeting was held on March 10, 1956: 202 members elected from five precincts plus 20 members at large, 222 voters in all. Members are elected by precinct for three-year terms, about a third each year; any registered voter may attend and speak, but only members vote. As the town grew the number of precincts rose (13 in the 1970s and 1980s, 10 in the 1990s, later 11 and 12); after the 2022 redistricting there were 240 elected members in 12 precincts. Thousands of residents have served over the years, so only people who also held other offices are listed here.