Town Moderator

The Town Moderator presides over Town Meeting. Until the early 1900s a moderator was chosen at the start of each meeting, usually a respected citizen and often the same man for years. From 1902 state law let towns elect a moderator for a one-year term, and Billerica elected one on the annual town ballot from about 1906. The term became three years in the 1970s, and under the representative town meeting and later the Town Charter the moderator also appoints several committees.