EAST BRIDGEWATER — September 14, 2026 — The Select Board will not touch the citizens’ petition that would regulate automatic license plate readers in East Bridgewater. It goes on the Special Town Meeting warrant exactly as its signers wrote it, as the first article of the night, and the board moved the meeting from Oct. 5 to Oct. 7 so that at least one member could be in the room for it.
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More than 250 registered voters signed the petition, which is enough to force a special town meeting on its own. Town Administrator Charlie Seelig told the board the article will appear in the warrant as filed, and that the board has no intention of amending it from the floor. Town counsel is reviewing whether parts of it are enforceable — a local bylaw cannot override state law — and that opinion is due by the board’s Sept. 28 meeting. Whatever town meeting passes then goes to the attorney general, who has 90 days to approve it, strike sections of it, or reject it outright.
“We don’t have the power. That was a petition article. We don’t have the power to change. We wouldn’t anyways, but I mean, even if we wanted to, we couldn’t.” — Chair Carole Julius
Residents can still amend it on the floor, and Seelig urged that anyone planning to come with an amendment in hand, in writing. The board also offered to meet with the petition group once counsel’s opinion lands.
The petition was filed with the town clerk, starting a 45-day clock that expires Oct. 8, so the meeting could not be pushed past that week. All three members had conflicts with Oct. 5; Peter Spagone will attend on the 7th. The warrant carries 21 articles, which Spagone called a lot for a special.
Residents pressed on whether the Flock camera on West Street is actually off. Seelig said the contract was canceled Aug. 21, the last image was recorded Aug. 25, and the camera has been inactive for about three weeks, though it is still physically mounted. One resident said she did not doubt the police chief but had read of cameras being reactivated elsewhere after contracts ended, and asked that this one be covered. Julius said residents are free to call the chief and ask him directly. Whether the town owes Flock anything for ending the contract early is still unresolved, and counsel is working on it.
