#1 2010-09-21 17:13:58
from the Wareham Week......
"An introduction to fall Town Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 16 at 1 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium.
The meeting, hosted by Town Moderator Claire Smith, will offer information about the 91 articles on the agenda for the upcoming Town Meeting, which will occur on October 25. Proponents of the articles will also attend the pre-Town Meeting.
Attendees will be able to ask questions about the articles and about Town Meeting procedures. Debate about the articles, however, will not be allowed, Smith said, adding that those should be saved for Town Meeting.
The pre-Town Meeting is an effort of Smith and the Onset Protective League."
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#2 2010-09-21 17:30:52
Good for Claire Smith!!
I truly believe she is the best Moderator I have ever seen.
Wareham is lucky to have her.
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#3 2010-09-21 18:54:52
This is a great step.
In the last Town I lived in, the FinCom debated & voted on each article, with the meeting on local TV. Then, the BoS debated & voted on each article, in a separate meeting, which was also on local TV. Finally, the town Moderator would have a meeting with the BoS & the FinCom to discuss the procedures to be followed on each article. This third meeting was procedural, not for debating various articles. It, too, was on the local cable channel.
At that last meeting, the Moderator would allocate time for proponents and/or opponents of an article to make presentations at TM. Thus, all parties would have an outline of the procedure(s) for each article, prior to opening the article to debate from the floor.
Thus, even a couch potato would have a minimum of three (3) opportunities to learn about and form opinions about each warrant article. And, that doesn't even count the many board/committee meetings which were also televised, including the school committee.
An informed TM voter is a better TM voter. It is that simple.
Way to go, Claire Smith!
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