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May 9th 2008

Methods of madness
Town Meeting Survival Guide

By Dan Sapir
Part two of a two part series

The clock is ticking down to April 3rd and Kingston's Annual Town Meeting. Let us begin by urging all citizens to attend. Our open form of Town Meeting is still the greatest example of local democracy, one person, one vote. We, as Kingstonians shape the history of our town. Be a part of it.

SPECIAL: Before we even open the Annual Town Meeting, voters will face a Special Town Meeting. There are 5 Articles to be acted upon. One could rightfully ask why these Articles don't appear on the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. Good question. Since there's a good couple of hundred thousand dollars at stake here, the Selectmen probably want to encumber those funds prior to the Annual, which will occur immediately after the Special. Often times you see a maneuvering of Articles so things appear early at the Special when no money has been spent… yet. The intended purpose of a Special preceding the Annual is to clear up financial and practical matters dealing with the current fiscal year.

ANNUAL: This is the biggie, consisting of 37 Articles, which is comparatively small considering the 60-70 Articles we have seen in the past. Between these 37 and the 5 at the Special, it will probably take all day Saturday, and probably one additional evening session (Perhaps two if things get blustery). Business conducted at the Annual is for all matters dealing with the upcoming fiscal year. There is the chance that several Articles (at either session) may not get moved for action. Reasons for passing over an Article range from lack of financial data or the issue is still in a developmental stage. Sometimes Articles get placed just in case it is ready to go forward. Call it a 'just in case' placeholder. Keep in mind, no Article, no discussion, no action.

What will take considerable time is the Annual Budget. The procedure that has worked well over the years is for the Moderator to read off each budgetary item. If there is a question on a particular item, the voter will shout out the word "question". The Moderator marks that item. After completing the reading of the proposed budget, the "questioned" items will be re-visited and become a discussion point for the body.

ARTICLES: Articles are simply the separate pieces of business that the meeting will deal with. They are numbered in order to keep track of them.

MOTIONS: someone must move, or make a motion for all Articles. Generally the Selectmen do the moving of Articles. They divvy up the task. You always know who is running for re-election because they end up with the softballs or the most popular items that everybody favors anyway. Either the chairman or a member of that committee, board or department head will move articles pertaining to certain departments. A member of the Sewer Commission will present an Article dealing with sewers. Someone from the Recreation Commission will probably move Article 24 asking for the establishment of a Revolving Fund for recreation activities.

SECOND: A second is required for all motions in order for that issue to be discussed. Neither the person who moves the Article nor the person who seconds it, speak to the Article at this time. The Moderator will now recognize, or for practical purposes, call on, the person who will now present the Article. Generally, it is the same person who moved it.

DISCUSSION: Here is where we can be off to the races. Discussion can go on forever. The Moderator has an obligation to make sure that people on both sides of the issue have had a chance to be heard. In addition, discussion should remain courteous, avoid dealing in personalities, refrain from booing, cat calls, applause and the like. The length of discussion is often determined by the gravity of the issue being discussed. You will be amazed however to see how the most innocent Article can spur the most heated debate. These are the 'sleeper' issues. Those, which on surface, seem to be benign. That is until someone exposes the volatility of the matter. Articles 31 and 32 could engender such debate. They deal with accepting an easement and declaring Raboth Road and Independence Mall Way a scenic route.

AMENDMENTS: Articles may be amended at any time. That is, you ask to alter the language or change the distances or decrease the funding of an Article. Your amendment is actually a motion and also requires a second. Amendments cannot, under law, go beyond the scope of the original Article. The Moderator, after consulting with Counsel will make those determinations. If it changes the scope or intent of the Article it will be declared out of order. Sometimes somebody proposes an amendment that grinds everything to a halt. It seems everybody on the stage and in the pit are involved in some input. We've even seen a recess called in order to straighten things out. We suggest that if you know in advance that you want to propose a controversial change, run it by counsel in advance… with permission of the Selectmen who govern access.

POINT OF ORDER: A very misused and abused tool. A person, if they believe that some legal issue or process is being abused, can simply shout out "point of order". The Moderator will stop everything to see what is being contested. Often the point is well taken. On other (most) occasions, the POO (we like to think of it this way) is used to simply get your two cents into the debate without being formally recognized.

CALL THE QUESTION: Here is our favorite item. When somebody thinks the body has spent enough time discussing an Article, they will shout out the words "Call the Question". Even our own Town Moderator has got this one all fouled up. Mrs. Hoeg insists that she has an obligation to honor the CTQ and put it to a vote. If the majority vote yes, she stops the discussion and moves the Article. That's nonsense. If you buy into that premise it could mean that person 1 moves an Article, person 2 seconds it and person 3 Calls the Question. Even the Town Moderator's Handbook allows great latitude in order to adequately debate both sides of an issue. See if Hoeg has re-read the book on this one.

RECONSIDERATION: Articles, once voted, can only be reconsidered once. It takes a majority to reconsider. Often, people make this motion in order to kill the possibility for it to come up again later in the same meeting. Once a motion for reconsideration fails, the prior decision is sealed and can not come up again, either that day or at a reconvened session. If nobody asks for reconsideration at that session and town meeting is scheduled to finish its business on another day, a person may file a request with the Town Clerk and the matter can rise again.

MISCELLANEOUS: There are times issues arise that nobody can predict, and that's good. The process should be spontaneous. Unlike neighboring Plymouth who practice "Representative Town Meeting" with elected representative from each precinct, Kingston is still small enough to maintain the purity of open town meeting. As long as this tradition prevails, spontaneity remains possible. We have seen Articles that were not moved by those who placed it on the Warrant (name for the list of Articles) only to be moved by a citizen in the audience. Items debated ad nauseam are often put to rest when someone makes a motion to Table or postpone (for a time specified or indefinitely).

TOWN ELECTIONS: The electoral process is all considered part of the town meeting agenda. On May 11 we go to the polls to vote for officers of the town. The only contested races are for Selectman (three seeking two seats), Board of Health (two seeking one seat) and Recreation Commission (three seeking two seats). Sadly, only about 1200-1400 citizens will exercise their right to vote. You can't complain if you don't engage in the process. It is interesting to note that the Observer on-line poll question asking who is to blame for Kingston's $1.2 million shortfall, overwhelmingly pointed to the voters.

BALLOT QUESTIONS: Also a part of the overall process, there are two ballot questions. The first, obscurely written (on purpose we believe) asks if the voters should support some action approved by the general court last year and having something to do with treasurer/collector. Hidden in this Pandora's Box issue is a serious matter. We are being asked to take two currently elected officers of the town (Collector and Treasurer), combine the two and make it a position to be appointed by the Selectmen. There is no way the voter can understand the intent or magnitude of the question as it is written. We have a serious problem in eliminating the public's right to elect its officers and an even greater problem with creating the obscure nature of the problem. It is simply not fair.

Question 2 deals with the town's financial obligations with regard to the new Pembrokeless Regional School System. It is spelled out as clear as it gets and we do have the responsibly to fund our share of the costs.

REMEMBER: Attend Town Meeting, April 3rd at 10:00 a.m. Kingston Intermediate School. Seats are plush and the company interesting.