Re: Moderating the Town Meeting

Yeah, I saw the article in gasp! the Burlington Free Press.  I had to laugh,
because I know almost all of those people (I'm from Addison, a town just south
of Panton on Lake Champlain).  Especially about the quote from Bill Findieson. 
'What did we do in the old days? ... Everybody helped themselves and their
neighbor'  (He used to live up the road from me, before he moved to Panton.)  

He does embody the old-time ways, fast disappearing now.  The world was smaller.
Town charity, strong churches, the grange, town suppers.   People in small towns
tend to be tight with money, since taxes feel so high, and there really isn't
that much money to be had. (Average income for rural Vermonters is about
$24,000)

You have to have a certain persona to be a town moderator. You have to be able
to handle the idiots who won't shut up, treat everyone fairly, know parlimentary
procedure and keep things moving.  Ann Sullivan has that covered.  She's quite a
lady. 

As a sidenote, and to brag about my own family history, someone in my father's
family has been Addison's town moderator since 1955.  My brother was Vermont's
youngest moderator, elected at the age of eighteen. It's a largely ceremonial
privilege; the town pays him $20 a year.


-x



Quoting Jon <jsulliva-UYko1UTVIqz2fBVCVOL8/[email protected]>:

> 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."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> heads mailing list
> [email protected]
> http://ballistichelmet.org/mailman/listinfo/heads/
> http://ballistichelmet.org/donate/
> 


_______________________________________________
heads mailing list
[email protected]
http://ballistichelmet.org/mailman/listinfo/heads/
http://ballistichelmet.org/donate/