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Date: 3/30/2022
PELHAM – The battle over warrant articles at the last Town Meeting was so contentious, and confusion so prevalent, the Selectboard is looking for ways to make the issues more transparent and the arguments shorter.
Robert Agoglia, chair of the board, took responsibility for his share of the confusion.
“Our Town Clerk Sandra Burgess took me aside during the meeting and showed me that we were under the impression it was one thing when it was, in fact, another,” Agoglia said. “Frankly – and I’ll own what I think is my responsibility – I should’ve known and I didn’t.”
Dog control bylaws were on the warrant of Town Meeting last fall, an issue the town has been working to settle for two or three years. Language in the bylaws, past and present, have similarities, which may have led to some confusion, further animating a hot button discussion. Board members, hoping to avoid overly long and repetitive arguments in the future, discussed ways to clarify the issues, pro and con, and to better manage Town Meetings.
“It’s about not having the same thing by the same person said over and over again,” said board member Tara Loomis. “Certain people will dominate the meeting, [but] if it’s run in an orderly fashion and people are given the opportunity to speak, people won’t call the question until everyone’s been heard.”
Some residents were dismayed when questions were called, ending discussion, before all the voters who wished to speak got their chance. The problem at the meeting, according to Loomis, was that Town Moderator Daniel Robb did not adhere to the agreed upon rules for debate.
“I’ve seen the moderator take liberties with Robert’s Rules of Order and not follow them because he wants to make sure that everyone is heard,” Loomis said. While she didn’t have a problem with the intention, “I don’t want people to stop coming to town meeting because it’s too painful, or too long, or too [much of a] roll-your-eyes experience.”
Selectboard member David Shanabrook raised a legal issue. If the moderator violates the rules of order stipulated by the town’s bylaws will any decision by voters be legitimate?
“It says right in the town bylaws,” Shanabrook said, “if there’s a ‘call the question’ immediately the moderator must accept that, must have a vote, and [it] must be passed by three quarters … That is not open to discussion, that is not arbitrary. We have to do that or our meetings, it’s breaking our town bylaws.”
Shanabrook also pointed out that according to town bylaws no speaker is supposed to address the same issue more than once. A clarification or an aside may be allowable — but Shanabrook said only if the moderator “goes to the town and gets a vote to allow” it can a speaker respond to a question more than once.
Shanabrook also noted there is a time limit for comments. While that wasn’t a big problem at the last Town Meeting, Shanabrook said, “Those three rules are part of our bylaws … So we [will] have problems here if those rules are broken.”
Resident Stacey McCullough straddled the issue. She agreed that voters need to be heard and rules need to be followed.
“It’s really important to stick to the rules and do everything legally, (but) I also think it would be really helpful if there was some way, at Town Meeting, to encourage people not to call the question just because they’re getting bored,” McCullough said. “There are higher principles than refraining from boring people. I think the chance to be heard is really important, especially when you’re about to be voted down.”
Agoglia lauded Robb’s performance as moderator, but agreed that if he erred it was to let speakers become repetitive. Earlier he voiced the opinion that people were hoping for shorter Town Meetings. The three board members and Selectboard Assistant Susannah Carey all agreed the presentation of information about the articles under discussion would help streamline the proceedings.
Agoglia said an animal control bylaw change is on the warrant, which may incite discussion, as well as an article requested by the regional school district. The article requested by the school will need some explanation. The article seeks to alter the formula for calculating the school levy, the town’s contribution to the regional district, a bone of contention with many residents.
The Selectboard voted to include the school funding article on the warrant. There was no discussion, but board members did not appear to understand all the ramifications of the article, which are significant. They seemed to tacitly acknowledge that specialized information will be provided at Town Meeting, scheduled for May 14 at 9 a.m.
The need for specialized knowledge may be the crux of the difficulties at Town Meeting.
“In some ways,” Agoglia said, “it doesn’t make sense that a Town Meeting, a group of people, have to try to understand what has taken all kinds of experts hours and hours to frame. Then we’re supposed to digest it and vote on it, and that takes forever to explain and understand.”
The Selectboard took no action on the issue and will discuss it further.