Moderating the Town Meeting

OK, so i've had a bunch of links open on my computer for a while now.
Time to disseminate. Sorry if a bit stale tasting. It's better crunchy
anyway. Here's the first. Short AP article on my Aunt moderating the
Panton town meeting. Democracy at work!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/town_meeting

Town Meeting Is Annual Rite in Vt. Town
Wed Mar 3, 2:46 AM ET
By ANNE WALLACE ALLEN, Associated Press Writer

PANTON, Vt. - Moderator Ann Sullivan opened Town Meeting by sharing an
adage told by her late father-in-law. [my grandfather, heh]

"Town meeting time is a good time to get your shanties off the ice,"
Sullivan said to the 60 or so people assembled in Panton's old town hall
Tuesdsay for the annual rite of spring. "It's a good rule of thumb; the
ice is getting pretty soft."

Town meeting is a late-winter tradition that's still going strong in
Panton, a community of 682 on the shores of Lake Champlain.

On Tuesday at mid-morning, several days into an early thaw, rain dripped
from the roof outside. A packed house of elected town officers walked
through the details of the annual budget for construction and operating
costs, settled on a price for fixing water damage to the town hall
ceiling, and decided on allocations for various non-profits.

Before business got under way, meeting-goers stood and saluted the flag.
Sullivan then asked for a moment of silence to honor the half-dozen or
so Panton residents "who were with us last year, and have gone to a
different place this year." Silence descended, barely broken by the
quiet murmuring of a very small baby.

Then they began the business of electing town officers — positions
largely uncontested. Lars Hubbard was nominated to serve another
one-year term as grand juror.

"The burden of the office is considerable, but I would do it again,"
Hubbard said to laughter. He was re-elected.

"Congratulations, Mr. Hubbard," said Sullivan.

Selectman Eric Carter climbed onto the town hall's tiny stage to review
the $314,000 budget using an overheard projector. He pointed to a spot
of peeling paint on the ceiling, and explained the selectboard had
allocated $10,000 to fix it.

"Fix the roof before you fix the leak," said a voice from the audience.

The town received an estimate of $52,000 to fix the roof and cupola,
Carter said.

"Our thing is, $10,000 ought to be able to fix (the ceiling)," he said.
"If we can do that this year, I'll be thrilled."

The budget passed.

Carter also praised Road Commissioner Paul Bodington for his work this
winter.

"Not a single person has called to complain about the roads not being
plowed or sanded or salted. That makes my job very easy," Carter said.

The gathering applauded loudly.

The group spent considerable time going over a list of 20 local
non-profits and other entities that regularly seek funding from the
town. Some were small — such as $80 for the American Legion, which puts
flags in cemeteries — and some were larger, such as $6,300 for the Bixby
Memorial Library in Vergennes. They spent several minutes discussing how
much townspeople should pay to support Addison County Transit Resources,
a local public transportation provider, which was seeking $250 this
year. They didn't get any funding from the town last year.

"What did we do in the old days?" muttered William Findiesen, 82, who
voted "nay" to the payment. "Everybody helped themselves and their
neighbor."

After a long discussion, and a tie vote on the floor, eventually voters
agreed to pay about $150.

Afterward, as lunch was served downstairs, dairy farmer Eric Visser, 32,
noted the meeting had been a relatively uneventful one.

"The order of the whole thing was pretty good," said Visser, who milks
160 cows. "Sometimes it can get kind of heated."

Sullivan, who has been Panton's moderator for 14 years, teaches English
at Vergennes High School. The jobs are similar, she said.

"You're dealing with intelligent people who for the most part have done
their homework," she said. "It's up to the teacher or the moderator to
ensure everything keeps on track — and allows everyone the freedom and
the comfort to say what they will."




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