Reading Officials Host Town Meeting 101 Ahead of Annual Session Opening Monday

READING — April 25, 2026 — Reading holds Town Meeting 101 orientation ahead of annual session opening Monday. Town Meeting Member Jen Pillory of Precinct 4, Town Moderator Alan Fultz, and Finance Committee Chair Joe Carnahan led the public session Saturday, walking residents through the procedures, budget timeline, and warrant articles for the upcoming annual Town Meeting, which opens April 28 at Reading Memorial High School. The 192-member representative body will take up articles including funding for new turf at Parker Middle School, Community Preservation Act appropriations, and a proposed stabilization fund for unified sports, in addition to the annual town and school budgets. Fultz explained that indefinite postponement "actually kills an article" despite its name, and described instructional motions — non-binding resolutions directing other town bodies — as a Reading tradition dating to at least 1895 that he believes exists nowhere else in the state. A quorum of 97 members is required to open proceedings at 7:30 p.m., and any registered voter may petition to overturn an affirmative Town Meeting vote within seven days of adjournment.