SABATTUS — Traditional town meeting is over.

In a 220-60 referendum vote on Tuesday, residents decided to start holding the town meeting on a weekday evening instead of a Saturday, according to results from Town Clerk Suzanne Adams.

By a 227-65 vote, they also agreed to trim the size of the warrant for those meetings.

Attendance has been sparse the past few years. Two weeks ago, 38 people turned out for town meeting. Sabattus has 3,819 registered voters.

Town officials thought a shorter, weekday meeting might increase participation.

On another question, voters widely approved a citizen-initiated effort that blocks the town from adopting policies or ordinances that restrict the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The vote was 204-90. David Marsters and Amedeo Lauria had gathered 240 signatures to get the question on the ballot.

Marsters had originally wanted the town to adopt an ordinance requiring every household to own a gun. This ordinance was a compromise approach. The new, revamped proposal included a clause that would maintain the town’s right to prohibit employees from carrying guns on the job or the public from carrying guns on town property.

“Maybe next year it’ll force more, try to get more done, if we still have a country left,” Marsters said last week.

By a 214-64 vote residents also agreed to start setting aside 25 percent of excise tax revenue each year for road projects.

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