Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Barnstable, Southborough and Tisbury took the top prizes in their respective categories in the MMA’s Annual Town Report Contest, the winners of which were recognized during the MMA Annual Meeting & Trade Show on Jan. 20.
The following nine communities received awards:
Category 1 (population more than 15,000)
1st place: Barnstable
2nd place: Arlington
3rd place: Burlington
Category 2 (population between 5,000-15,000)
1st place: Southborough
2nd place: Maynard
3rd place: Littleton
Category 3 (population 5,000 and under)
1st place: Tisbury
2nd place: Brookfield
3rd place: Truro
Serving as judge for the contest was John Petrin, a retired town manager and coordinator for the MMA-Suffolk programs.
Judging criteria include layout and cover design, arrangement of material, presentation of statistics and data, summary of the year’s achievements, evidence of local planning for the future, and the report’s usefulness.
State law (Ch. 40, Sect. 49) requires towns to prepare and publish an annual town report prior to the annual town meeting. The reports typically include financial information, highlights of the previous calendar year, reports from major boards, committees and key officials (including the select board), election results, and town meeting information.