The Town Meeting - The Purest Form Of Democracy - Corrected

“Gormley , Desmarais say "no" to referendum, hope to sneak million dollar 

package through late night Town Meeting.

Yesterday, at the Selectman's meeting Gormley and Desmarais said 

"no" to a free , open referendum vote on hundreds of thousands of additional 

dollars of tax increases. They want to sneak the million dollar package through 

a late night town meeting.

Like thieves in night they want to come in and steal your wallet, again.

There is a petition going around town that calls for a referendum vote on the

issue. Sign it when you see it and vote "no " to this insidious tax increase.”

(Correction: This posting has been edited from a previous post - It was reported to me that Mrs. Strobel voted against the Town Meeting. That information was not correct, so I have republished this post with the correct information.  Mrs. Strobel voted for the Town Meeting even though she was more in favor of the referendum. Mr. DeAngelis fails to mention on his website that Mrs. Strobel did indeed vote in favor of the Town Meeting along with Mr. Gormley and Mr. Desmarais.)

What about the Town Meeting?  Mr. DeAngelis falsely characterizes the Town Meeting as a dangerous place to tread, full of bullies and thugs, waiting to trounce on your freedom of speech.  Wrong again.

Town Meetings are considered the ultimate symbol of freedom of speech.

In the 19th Century, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in regard to New England Town Meetings the following:

“in New England, where education and liberty are the daughters of morality and religion, where society has acquired age and stability enough to enable it to form principles and hold fixed habits, the common people are accustomed to respect intellectual and moral superiority and to submit to it without complaint, although they set at naught all those privileges which wealth and birth have introduced among mankind. In New England, consequently, the democracy makes a more judicious choice than it does elsewhere.”

In Woodbury:

“The origin of Woodbury's Town Meeting must be sought in the history of the colony and in the meetings of the first settlers, members of the Congregational Church or " Standing Order " as the establishment was called. Just when and how Woodbury's Town Meeting became a purely political governing body is not known. The Town Meeting today is an assembly of the legal voters of the town for the purpose of transacting the business of the town. It is a form of pure democracy. The Annual Town Meeting is held in the Town Hall on the first Monday of October, at which time the budget is presented by the Board of Selectmen. The polls are also open for the election of town officers. The Annual Town Meeting is adjourned to the second Monday in March, and at this meeting the budget is voted, and a tax is laid on the grand list. Any other relevant business may be presented at these meetings. Special town meetings may be called by the selectmen, or upon the application of twenty qualified voters, but the business of these meetings must be stated in the call. Notices of town meetings must be published in a newspaper in circulation in the town and are posted on the public sign post on front of the Town Hall at least five days before the meeting. The town clerk is by law, clerk of the Town Meeting. The moderator is chosen from the last corrected voting list.”

William Francis Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts said the following about the Town Meeting:

“The purest form of democratic governing is practiced in a Town Meeting. In use for over 300 years and still today, it has proven to be a valuable means for many Massachusetts taxpayers to voice their opinions and directly effect change in their communities. Here in this ancient American assembly, you can make your voice heard as you and your neighbors decide the course of the government closest to you.”

How about Vermont:

“On the first Tuesday of March, voters in communities across Vermont come together to discuss and vote on town issues.  This is called Town Meeting Day.  For over 200 years Town Meeting Day has been an important political event as citizens elect local officials and vote on town and school budgets and make many other decisions for the town.  In many towns, Town Meeting has also become a place to discuss state and national issues that effect us in Vermont.”

Connecticut:

“Connecticut shares the Town Meeting form of government used by many other New England communities. They differ from Massachusetts and the northern tier of states in being more tightly bound to the published agenda -- in Connecticut, the Town Meeting may discuss, but not alter, an article placed before them; nor may they place new items on the agenda. If a Town Meeting rejects a budget, a new Town Meeting must be called to consider the next proposed budget. State Law allows the Board of Selectmen to adopt an estimated tax rate and continue operating based on the previous budget in the event a Town Meeting hasn't adopted a new budget in time.”

So where are the thieves? The only thieves we have seen are the one’s who, in the dead of night, stole American freedoms from the lawns of Middlebury.  There are also those thieves who steal the truth from the residents on a daily basis, through lies and distortions, that only serve to bolster their cantankerous views of what they comprehend as the truth. Their motives are not to benefit this community, but rather create chaos and instability.