Town Meeting Representatives Gathering Info?

by Not Signed In | Questions & Answers | 2106 Views

Are any Town Meeting representatives surveying their constituents? Are any of the district reps planning on holding meetings to discuss the revised budget?

Comments | 11

  • Submitted by cgrotke on May 28, 2014 at 10:06 am

    Not sure

    I haven’t heard of any RTM meetings other than the town’s informational meeting for representatives last night.

    Another question would be whether Reps plan to let voters vote on this revision as they did the original.

    If not, why?

    • Submitted by spoon on May 29, 2014 at 7:26 am

      Dear Not Sure,

      It has been the understanding, since Representative Town Meeting was established, that that body would have the responsibility and power to approve the budget. Thus, when the Town Meeting Members voted on the first budget they were not planning on a town-wide vote.

      The Charter also recognizes that ultimate power lies with the citizenry as a whole. Therefore the citizens also created a specific remedy, or avenue through which it could overrule its elected body.

      The Town Meeting Members don’t “let” the full citizenry vote on anything. The citizens have reserved the right and power (using the process stated in the Charter) to overrule any RTM decision. Thus the citizens do not need permission or approval to take such a vote.

      The framers of the Charter also recognized that, altho Town Meeting Members have, or should have a greater amount of information (primarily from the Meeting Packet and informational meetings) it could also have misinformation or misunderstanding that leads to a bad decision. Therefore the citizens also provided a means by which a sizable minority of RTM could require a decision of that body to be confirmed by the citizens at large. That is what recently happened.

      Speaking only for myself: I will wait til the end of Special Town Meeting, when I have heard the discussion and know the decision, before weighing further action.

      Perhaps your question was really a statement that you believe the budget should always be approved by town-wide vote. Good idea for a discussion.

      • Submitted by cgrotke on May 29, 2014 at 7:45 am

        I'm referring to the most

        I’m referring to the most recent cycle, in which RTM members thought it best to gather petition signatures and put their decision before voters at large. The wider vote “to confirm” then showed a big gap between views of representatives and those represented.

        I’m wondering if RTM petitioners will do it again, since it is the same issue up for reconsideration, and presumably, the same reasoning applies to those who created that first petition. The discussion or decision at the meeting is almost irrelevant. (It is relevant to everything else, of course.)

        My question was, if not, why not? (What has changed that make the appeal to voters unnecessary this time, but necessary last time.)

        I think the petition by RTM members may show that they would like budgets approved by a town wide vote. : )

        • Submitted by spoon on May 29, 2014 at 12:31 pm

          There was some ambiguity

          There was some ambiguity about the town-wide vote. Were the voters rejecting the size of the budget irrespective of what was in it or were they rejecting the Police/Fire project? Or both? In any case the Selectboard covered both bases. They put a hold on the project and a combination of cuts that reduced a bit of general expenditures and used some reserves just to cut the tax bite. Will the amount of proposed reductions satisfy RTM? We’ll see. At any rate I can’t recall any TMMs or other residents saying that budget approval authority should be permanently shifted from RTM to general populace.

          However, since I’m a student of democracy I took your problem and came up with this:

          A Town Meeting Member shall:
          1) be a registered voter in the Town of Brattleboro
          2) at least 6 weeks prior to the meeting sign a statement of intent to attend RTM
          3) produce a petition signed by 30 residents of one’s district
          4) pick up a town meeting informational packet at least one week before RTM
          5) attend all official informational meetings in conjunction with RTM
          6) Failure to fulfill any of the above five requirements will disallow membership in the assembly for that year.
          Terms are one year only.

          This tries to address the exclusivity of the current scheme. TMM’s would not be elected. They are merely asked to demonstrate their willingness to be an informed member of that body by attending the meetings and picking up their packet.
          This does not address the RTM/mayoral debate.

          Do you think the above would change anything?

          • Submitted by cgrotke on May 30, 2014 at 9:42 am

            fixes

            Again, my question is are RTM members who petitioned for a citizen opinion going to do it again, since the issue is the same?

            (Sort of as if RTM voted for blue, then got a second opinion from voters who said red. The Selectboard proposes purple, and RTM gets to vote again… will they trust their vote this time for purple or get that second opinion to see if purple is OK with everyone, assuming purple passes).

            As for the proposed fixes for Representatives… I think there needs to be more emphasis on participating throughout the year, and having greater contact with those represented. The informational meeting is the equivalent of CliffNotes – it’s cramming, and cannot fully address all the information available.

          • Submitted by KAlden on May 30, 2014 at 10:45 am

            Thanks, Chris, for putting it

            Thanks, Chris, for putting it much more succinctly than I did but I agree that what is needed is voter/TMR participation all year long – that’s the only way to get a true sense of not only what the issues are but how voters actually feel about them.

  • Submitted by KAlden on May 28, 2014 at 11:45 am

    Since Town Meeting

    Since Town Meeting Representatives are a relatively small group of people speaking for everyone else I don’t understand why there haven’t always been informational meetings held for the voters prior to the scheduled RTMs. How can you represent thousands of people in your district if you don’t take the time to find out what they want or what their concerns are? And I’m not talking about running into one or two of your neighbors in the co op parking lot. Schedule some informal meetings -get some insight, some feedback on the things you will be voting on. This “few speak for many” concept doesn’t really work that well as we saw with the last budget crisis. It’s time for Brattleboro to start taking a hard look at changing the way this town is governed.It’s time for the town meeting reps to talk a little more and listen a lot more to the people they represent.

    • Submitted by annikee on May 28, 2014 at 9:54 pm

      Hear Hear!

      I recall one RTM vote where many voters called their Reps to express their views.

      The trouble is, many reps vote their own choice, not what the voters choose.

      • Submitted by KAlden on May 29, 2014 at 7:16 am

        I agree. That's why I don't

        I agree. That’s why I don’t endorse this type of town government. It’s time for a change.

    • Submitted by spoon on May 29, 2014 at 8:07 am

      Representation

      Informational meeting are open to the entire community. In fact, not only is the general community welcomed but their presence and contributions are very beneficial. They provide all the TMMs in the room with a better sense of the community at large.

      As a student of democracy I accepted the challenge you made on the problem of how to have better informed TMMs on the district level. How’s this:

      Within a period that begins three weeks before and ends one week before the election of Town Meeting Members each district shall hold a public forum for all incumbent Town Meeting Members and candidates in that district.
      (There is a little ambiguity here. Is it all 42 TMMs or just the 14 running that year? To be decided).

      • Submitted by KAlden on May 29, 2014 at 8:43 am

        Thanks for your response. I'm

        Thanks for your response. I’m not sure how holding the meetings you suggest would provide more insight into specific issues that may come up during the period of time that TMMs hold office. I suggest holding public meetings to address issues that TMMs are going to be voting on (particularly when it is something as huge as the town budget)and giving the TMMs an opportunity to hear how their constituents feel. Meetings prior to the elections would give the voters an opportunity to meet the candidates and get a sense of their stand on issues in general. But, when specific issues are up for a vote after TMRs have been elected we are at the mercy of how a few people choose to vote. The huge disparity in the TMRs vote on the budget and the public vote should have been a wake up call that the voters need more input into what is being voted on. I wouldn’t feel comforted by a meeting held prior to elections. That’s basically just a candidates night -where issues are discussed in a short period of time and lots of promises are made.And then the Town Meeting Reps get elected and vote the way they want on issues that have long lasting effects on an entire town. There needs to be more of an ongoing give and take between TMRs and the voters. The TMRs aren’t mind readers nor should we expect them to be. Let’s offer some opportunities to have actual conversations about issues that they will vote on.

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