HOLDEN – Residents voted Tuesday to adopt their first town charter in a local referendum that drew more than 600 voters.

The charter received widespread support, with 466 residents voting in favor and 155 opposed.

For the referendum results to be valid, at least 30 percent of the 1,083 residents who voted in the last gubernatorial election, or 325 residents, needed to participate in the vote, Town Manager Larry Varisco said last week.

The product of more than 20 work sessions, the town’s first charter was developed in part to counteract what some characterize as “voter apathy” as evidenced by low participation at selectmen’s meetings, town meetings and local committee and board meetings, a citizens group charged with exploring forms of government concluded more than a year ago. Another impetus was the need for timeliness in the area of economic development.

The 24-page document outlines the powers and duties of elected officials, the town manager and the town meeting, according to Dr. Edward David, the former selectman and longtime resident who chaired the town’s nine-member charter commission.

In addition to David, the commission consisted of Robert Harvey, Joy Knowles, Dion Seymour, Lewis Payne and Jonathan Dearborn, who were elected last November, and appointed members James Ellis, Harris Madson and Irvine Marsters. Kevin Cuddy was added to the panel after Madson left it in June. In his final report, David said that the charter retained some of the traditions that served Holden well, the annual town meeting chief among them.

The town manager will continue to serve as chief administrative officer, but the town will replace its selectmen with the same number of town councilors.

The new charter becomes effective and selectmen become councilors July 1 of next year.