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Date: 6/20/2022
Town meeting season is largely over and once again many of the communities that still use that form of government continue to see a minority of voters actually attend their town meeting.
The question I have is, why is that?
I’ve written about this subject in years past and it is increasingly clear that this form of government only works in the smallest of communities.
Even then, many voters seem to avoid it.
I know the logic: it’s the oldest form of American democracy. People get a romantic Norman Rockwell kind of feeling about town meetings. Respectful and sincere people gather to affirm how the town’s money is to be spent, which determines the direction of the town’s governance as well as its culture.
That’s the legend. Legends are supposed to be based in fact and I’m sure when communities were small enough to have voters all gather in one spot it made sense.
The issue is whether or not in the 21st century this model still is valid.
The problem with town meetings is that a majority of residents should turn up and they should know what is going to be discussed, but do they?
This newspaper group does a lot of stories about the town warrants, the actionable items a community must discuss and on which they vote. We do our part to assist in the process.
The responsibility of the voter is to be engaged in their part of the process. The town government has determined the questions to be asked and the voters are supposed to have an answer.
Having spent my high school and college years in Granby, MA, I can tell you town meeting has no nostalgic vibes for me.
They can be unreasonable even with a skilled moderator, the most thankless job in small town government.
One year the police budget was up for a vote. Part of it was at least one new cruiser – memory is failing me right now if it was more than one – and one resident stood up and advocated for a “no vote” on the cruiser and instead the Granby Police should drive a motorcycle with a sidecar. The resident was not joking and a member of the police force had to be restrained as he was so angry at the suggestion.
Move to the present day and one local town has a resident who feels compelled to talk about every subject that is put to a vote. In fact, there is undoubtedly more than one person in more than one community who has this distinction.
That is their right at town meeting, but this person hasn’t won many friends through their incessant filibustering. You can recognize this person by the way he or she always brings every issue back to one of several points that may or may not actually have any relevance to the question at hand.
Another standard attendee at the town meeting is “the expert.” Sometimes self-appointed, sometimes with credentials, both types aspire to move the audience in the direction of their beliefs.
That is their right at a town meeting, for sure, but I have to say, as someone who has reported on several town meetings, this particular voter also tends to want to hijack the direction of the meeting. He or she can be spotted by the pile of documents they usually bring to the lectern to bolster their case.
While I might be critical of these types of voters, I will give the devil his due: at least they turned up to participate in the process while other people have stayed home. Bless them for that, I suppose.
I realize today many people believe that complaining through social media about some activity of their own local government is being “active.” It is not. There is a certain lack of courage in assuming the role of armchair pundit.
The most thankless job is that of the town moderator, the ringmaster who must keep the meeting on track and still satisfy the desire of the people to speak. Bless them as well.
I doubt these thoughts will make any difference. The town meeting is still entrenched in many towns, but perhaps someone might want to consider a different form of governing.
President Abraham Lincoln is attributed to have said, “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
Even if Lincoln hadn’t said it, the statement still applies.