Town Meeting Day Proposal

[johnmitchell]

I have considered proposing to change Town Meeting Day from Saturday to Tuesday and would like input from others.  Attendance on Saturdays has been terrible to say the least.  Your thoughts?

[Rev. Elizabeth]

I agree that attendance has been sparse, but I am not sure if changing it to Tuesday would be an improvement.  How many people would be able to miss work to attend?  How many people have the day off?
Would the same 'things' that keep people from attending on Saturday ( lack of interest, lack of urgent issues to be discussed) also effect Tuesday attendance?
Wasn't the change from Tuesday to Saturday done in hopes of increasing attendance?

[special ED]

THEY NEVER SHOULD HAVE LET WOMEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE .they screwed everything up

[MikeF9]

To move the meeting from Saturday to Tuesday would throw everything in a tizzy.
Any article to be voted on by Austalian Ballot cannot be discussed the same day as the voting. Thus, we couldn't discuss the budgets, school or town. The school meeting would be non existant, and the town meeting would consist of voting to give the Rescue Squad money and adding to the sidewalk fund. We would be in and out in an hour.
If we were voting on the budgets by a voice vote, like we used to, then they can be discussed.
Maybe Monday night would work better. Start at 7pm, it's possible to be done at 10:30/11pm.
They did have it on a Monday night back in 1979, but people voted it to go back to Tuesdays. I thought it was well attended that night.

[Mike Raburn]

ED, you are my HERO!!!

THEY NEVER SHOULD HAVE LET WOMEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE .they screwed everything up

[Rev. Elizabeth]

Come on, youse guys, stop being troglodytes!!!

[Henry]

You sent me to Google on that word Rev. Elizabeth

[NorthFairfaxBoy]

Come on, youse guys, stop being troglodytes!!!

I loved that song they did "Wild Thing"

[ohhman]

NO!!!!! do you really think it will matter?? I for one know of some that could not attend on a Tuesday as we are lucky enough to have the type of job that if you don't work, you don't get paid! I have lived in town since 1982 & have always voted but only since a Saturday meeting took place could I attend.  This topic has come up before & changing it may only mean different people, not more of them!!! 
SPEC ED....very rude comment!!!!!!!!!

[trussell]

I agree that changing it to Tuesday, especially Tuesday during the day, probably wouldn't increase attendance.  I'm not opposed to it being on a Tuesday night, but again I don't think that it would have much of an impact.  The main thing is that people need to be interested in attending.  If they're interested, they'll find a way to go.

[Shadylane08]

I was pretty young when town meeting day was on tuesday, but I was told that when it was, there were higher attendance then vs now with it on saturday.  So wouldn't it make sense to think that going back to tuesday would actually increase attendance?

[Mike Raburn]

Ed is a thread jacker.
He is still my Hero, though.

[special ED]

its a gift

[Julie & 6pt Dave]

I don't think that changing to Tuesday will increase attendance. If anything, I feel it would decrease it.

The main thing is that people need to be interested in attending.  If they're interested, they'll find a way to go.

I agree with Trevor on this one. Obviously people are working all days of the week, but I think you are going to find more people who have a Saturday off than a Tuesday and I don't foresee many working people making the arrangements to take off of work to attend without a real good vested interest (like a voice vote on budgets as it was in the past). I think we will see the same paltry attendance at the actual Town Meeting into the future regardless of the day as long as it is primarily an informational meeting and things are on Australian Ballot. I think the traditional Vermont Town Meeting is a thing of the past in our little town of Fairfax. I think that there will be nothing anyone can do to make the majority of residents take an interest in caring and get them out there to voice their opinion with a vote. I wish I was wrong, but I just don't see it happening.

[Mike Raburn]

THAT is why you are SPECIAL ED
http://www.mojvideo.com/video-crank-yankers-special-ed-i-got-mail/5a06a03d159973d84ed1

its a gift