The Town Moderator’s most public-facing responsibility is chairing sessions of Town Meeting. Town Meeting is Arlington’s legislative body, composed of 252 members elected from Arlington’s precincts. Other important responsibilities of the Moderator include working with Town boards and committees in preparation for Town Meeting, as well as responsibility for appointing members to numerous Town committees. Town Moderator is a town-wide elected office in Arlington with a 3-year term.
For more information about the responsibilities of the Town Moderator, including the office’s appointing authority, see the Town Bylaws. In addition to the Town Bylaws, the duties of the Moderator are determined by the practices contained in the book: Town Meeting Time, A Handbook of Parliamentary Law.