Andy's idea is a good one. Who gets to make that decision? Katy
On Tue, Nov 21, 2023 at 7:02 AM Sara Mattes <samat...@gmail.com> wrote: > Multiple Town Meetings were not uncommon many years ago. > We could also have different topics in different meetings so as to ensure > maximum participation in debate prior to voting. > I have often found that the vote I thought I was going to cast changed > when I listened to my neighbors varied questions and points of view. > > We are a smart bunch, and we can teach each other, we can learn…if we go > with an open mind. > > > > Sent from my iPad > > On Nov 20, 2023, at 11:56 PM, Andy Wang <andyrw...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Unfortunately, there are specific rules that govern an Open Town Meeting > like Lincoln that do not allow for matters that are decided at Town Meeting > to be replaced by a traditional ballot vote. Given that the March 2024 > meeting will cover two "Hot Topic" Issues, the bonding for the Community > Center and the HCA rezoning, this one I assume is going to be a doozy. And > that's on top of all the other typical yearly business of the town > (presentations, budget, etc). > > I believe there is a possible mechanism to be more inclusive, if the Town > and Moderator decide to: > > I propose that we hold Town Meeting in *two* *sessions*. > > *Session A: **Presentations, Debate & Amendments only. * Views are > presented, debate to be had, and any amendments are to be discussed and > voted on. The meeting would be live, streamed, & recorded. The recording > would be made available for download after the meeting so people who were > not able to attend could catch up on all of the debate, or just educate > themselves on the issues that are of import to them. The moderator could > then simply adjourn the meeting without vote (on the actual question). > They have this power in general for cases when meetings run late and can > re-convene at a later date, provided that date is before the ballot vote. > > *Caveats:* > - Anyone attending on-line would NOT be able to pose questions / make > statements, this violates the rules of Town Meeting, you must be present to > be recognized > - Anyone not attending in person would not be able to vote on any > amendments > - All questions would need to be called, which closes debate > > *Session B: Voting. * This would occur on the last Saturday before the > last Monday in March as required by the town by-laws. Assuming people have > been to Session A or downloaded and reviewed the material that is relevant > to them, we now have a population of well-informed voters who can come in > and just knock out the votes in succession (the question would have already > "been called" in Session A, which closes further debate). This format > would be much easier for parents to allow a smaller fixed period of time to > vote on issues and anyone else with a busy schedule. > > The actual text of the by-law timing is here: > > *"The Annual Town Meeting shall be held on the Saturday before the last > Monday in March in each year at 9:30 A.M. for the transaction of all > business except that the election of officers and the determination of such > matters as by law are required to be elected or determined by ballot shall > take place on the last Monday in March, when the polls shall be open from > 7:30 A.M. until 7:00 P.M., or to such later time up to 8:00 P.M. as the > Moderator may determine, provided, however, that whenever the date for the > Annual Town Meeting, as hereby established, falls on the Saturday before > Easter Sunday, the Annual Town Meeting shall be held on the preceding > Saturday, although the Election and ballot questions hereinabove described > shall still be held on the last Monday in March."* > > Not covered in this: > - Military / Reserve duty votes are still not able to be counted > - Foreign nationals that live in town, and even those that live in town > and own property that would be impacted can not vote > - Proxy voting is not allowed > > Unfortunately, those would require many more changes, but I believe we can > do a two session Town Meeting under current guidelines. > > Of course, Town Council would have to review, but I believe this is in the > realm of the possible. NH has specific rules that allow for this, but I do > not believe that there are rules that preclude it in MA. And if there are > rules, I would propose that we change the by-laws to support this > structure. I believe this would make town meeting more accessible to a > wider range of town people and more representative of the desires of the > Town. > > Sorry...that ended up longer than I intended. I'll save my musing about > electronic voting and other efficiencies for another opportunity.... > > - Andy > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 9:07 PM Caitlin Hogue <hogue.cait...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> Also, I apologize for writing students instead of kids in a sentence >> below — my work brain was apparently still functioning! >> >> Katy >> >> On Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 7:49 PM Caitlin Hogue <hogue.cait...@gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >>> Babysitting has been offered recently. >>> >>> Respectfully, however, it’s not something that all parents can utilize. >>> Not all kids will be comfortable in a large group babysitting setting where >>> they don’t know the adults/babysitters. It’s not a great setting for >>> babies/toddlers who are napping (if they even take babies — I think it may >>> be school-age only). I also assume there is no medical staff so students >>> requiring a nurse can’t go (I may be wrong on that one). >>> >>> As a working parent who works in a public school and ends up at lots of >>> night meetings, I don’t want to spend my whole Saturday away from my kids. >>> Although these meetings are not that often, it actually does feel more >>> often than I would have expected. With a military partner, we often can’t >>> even send one of us to these meetings without paying for a private >>> babysitter (if we can find one). >>> >>> I share all this just to point out that this kind of babysitting isn’t >>> necessarily a solution for all and there are many of us who want to >>> participate but can’t given the length and timing of these meetings. Given >>> this, any votes that happen at these meetings likely are not representative >>> of the town as a whole. I realize that town meeting structure is a state >>> issue, not something that we can change on our own, but I think it’s worth >>> noting. >>> >>> Also — I’ve seen many people tout the benefits of hearing the discussion >>> at town meeting before a vote. Given that’s it’s 2023 and we can all share >>> our thoughts in advance online, in videos, and via email, I don’t think >>> that’s a key outcome (for me at least) anymore. >>> >>> Best, >>> Katy Hogue >>> >>> On Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 6:58 PM Joan Kimball <selene...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> It always has been hard for people with young children. They used to >>>> have babsitting. Do they still? >>>> >>>> It is a big chunk of time. But it's not that often in comparison to >>>> the hours and hours that volunteer town officials put in. >>>> >>>> Guess it can be seen as the price of democracy? >>>> >>>> Joan (former LWV president) >>>> >>>> On Mon, Nov 20, 2023, 6:28 PM Rob Haslinger <rob.haslin...@gmail.com> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Being new to town I’m not terribly familiar with the town meeting >>>>> process. I will note however that for those of us with time consuming >>>>> responsibilities (in our case small children) it may be challenging to >>>>> attend a lengthy meeting despite caring deeply about the issues and doing >>>>> our best to stay informed. Just a comment, I may be missing something >>>>> about how this works. >>>>> >>>>> Best regards to all >>>>> Rob Haslinger >>>>> S Great Road >>>>> >>>>> On Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 5:53 PM Margo Fisher-Martin < >>>>> margo.fisher.mar...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Hi All, >>>>>> >>>>>> I also agree that this should be a ballot item. If we can vote for a >>>>>> new school by ballot, why can’t we use the same process to vote for other >>>>>> extremely important town changes - ones that will impact our everyday >>>>>> living here and our taxes? >>>>>> >>>>>> Respectfully, >>>>>> Margo Fisher-Martin >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 5:22 PM ٍSarah Postlethwait <sa...@bayhas.com> >>>>>> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> A town wide secret ballot would be a great idea to make sure a wider >>>>>>> audience gets their voice represented. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I also encourage anyone not familiar with the proposed rezoning >>>>>>> options to visit this website to gain a better understanding of the >>>>>>> magnitude of the proposed changes and Lincoln’s uniquely impacted >>>>>>> position. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> LincolnHCA.org >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Sarah Postlethwait >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 4:17 PM Tom Kennedy < >>>>>>> t...@kennedygroupboston.com> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Part of the discussion at last weeks planning board meeting is >>>>>>>> noteworthy, but has not been mentioned here. >>>>>>>> There was substantial discussion, maybe even consensus, on a none >>>>>>>> of the above option. Even a planning board member and some of the >>>>>>>> “working >>>>>>>> group“ were in favor. >>>>>>>> Yet when the vote came up for a warrant article, that was not >>>>>>>> mentioned. >>>>>>>> Another part of the discussion was the fact that town meeting >>>>>>>> determination is “skewed“ by attendance and timing. I have observed >>>>>>>> this to >>>>>>>> be absolutely true. >>>>>>>> It is my belief that something which will so radically transform >>>>>>>> our community should be voted on in some form by secret ballot. It is >>>>>>>> also >>>>>>>> my belief that that will never happen. >>>>>>>> Tom Kennedy >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>>>>>>> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >>>>>>>> Browse the archives at >>>>>>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>>>>>>> Change your subscription settings at >>>>>>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>>>>>> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >>>>>>> Browse the archives at >>>>>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>>>>>> Change your subscription settings at >>>>>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>>>>> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >>>>>> Browse the archives at >>>>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>>>>> Change your subscription settings at >>>>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>>>> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >>>>> Browse the archives at >>>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>>>> Change your subscription settings at >>>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>>> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >>>> Browse the archives at >>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>>> Change your subscription settings at >>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>>> >>>> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >> Browse the archives at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >> >> -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
-- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
