|Debra Smith|
The NG Charter Commission met for the third time on August 23rd and took up questions for a community survey, discussed their timeline and did a straw poll.
Public comment
During public comment, Tammy Donovan urged the commission to keep town meeting the way it is and opposed term limits, though she sees three terms with a year off acceptable. She also expressed her opposition to limits on the number of immediate family members who can serve on the same committee. Patti Mikkelson had sent an email, read by the chair, suggesting that fact finding include looking at Freeport’s election date (November) and their town council membership, which includes at-large and district representatives.
Reports
Chair Ben Tettlebaum shared the responses of prospective legal counsels to the commission, all of whom had indicated their extensive experience advising commissions in a number of municipalities. He noted that under statute, the commission selects its own lawyer, but if the town also wants its attorney to review the draft document prior to voting, it’s important to coordinate the timeline. Treasurer Steve Libby presented a budget report and the public engagement committee reported on their booth at the community fair.
Penny Hilton reported that the booth at the fair had gone “really well,” with almost all of the commission members there. Members also walked around and chatted with people, and some who visited the booth came back to talk more later. Peter Bragdon estimated that 1,700 people had attended the fair, of which Don Libby guessed that about 1/3 had at least “slowed down and looked” at the information at their booth. A sticker survey about where people get their information about what’s happening in town showed that NGXchange was the most frequent choice, followed by Facebook, friends and the town website. Hilton lamented that many people said that they “don’t want to get involved in politics,” but she said this is really about how we govern our town and shouldn’t be divisive.
Community survey
Proposed survey questions ranged from one big question with two parts from Don Libby to an extensive list from John Salisbury, it seemed unlikely that they would reach agreement at this meeting. But, discussion was productive and there were a number of suggestions about categories of questions and how to keep the survey brief enough to get a good response, framing questions in a way that they both educate citizens and invite their input, and making sure that it is accessible to everyone, tech savvy or not. 5-7 questions seemed workable, maybe they could do another more detailed survey later or design it in a way that allows people to respond to more detailed questions if they chose to. Steve Hathorne suggested having a table at the polls in November to distribute the survey and answer questions. November is pushing the timeline, but workable. More immediately, the commission plans to do a direct mailer to all households in town and may include a link to the survey or at least information about how to access it. A subcommittee of Ben Tettlebaum, John Salisbury and Don Libby will put together a draft survey and send it to the group for review prior to their next meeting.
Timeline
Under statute, the commission needs to complete a draft charter in a year. Laid out by Chair Ben Tettlebaum working backwards from June 2022, this puts the group on a very tight timeline. They need to start drafting sections soon, working from other charters they think are workable for our town, and incorporate public input from comments and the survey in early November, with the goal to have a complete draft in March. If this timeline proves to be too tight, they can request an extension to complete their work, still in time for the November election next year.
Questions about the scope of the charter
Two issues were raised by Peter Bragdon: Will the charter include ordinances? And should the select board handle matters that come up that might be addressed in the charter? In discussion, it was noted that ordinances related to governance would naturally be included in the charter, such as town ordinances on recall and term limits. Others, from barking dogs to Dutch Elm disease, would not be included. Don Libby said it’s important, for all ordinances, to have information about when and why they were passed, where they are available, and how they can be changed. On issues before the select board that might be addressed by the charter, Linda Chase suggested that any of these could be sent to this group for their opinion if they’re related to governance. Don Libby said the board needs to keep doing its work, not punt issues to the commission.
Straw poll
The question, “Should legislative authority be vested in a select board or council?” was originally posed by Don Libby as the central question for a survey. Tettlebaum handed out index cards and commissioners indicated yes, no or uncertain. The tally was 0 yes, 6 no and 3 uncertain (which included those who think this is not a clean yes or no question). In discussion of pro’s, Steve Libby noted that continuing to vest legislative authority in the voters via town meeting will help the charter pass. He and his brother Don spoke of why town meeting matters to participants, giving people the chance to discuss budget items and ordinances before voting. Others expressed their passion for town meeting and agreed that the discourse that occurs is very important. Some other towns have town meeting but the select board or council makes decisions about the budget (except for big ticket items that go to the voters) and emergency action on ordinances. And some have a quorum (required %) of voters to be able to hold town meeting, or other means for ensuring adequate participation in making decisions. This discussion will continue at the Commission’s next meeting.
At their next meeting on September 13th, the agenda will include the timeline, mailer, surveys, attorney selection and continued discussion of the legislative authority question. Public comment is included at every meeting via email or in person.
To send comments or to be added to the commissions’ listserv, send an email to ngchartercommission@gmail.com
To view the video of the Charter Commission August 23 meeting, click here. For links to agenda packets, meeting minutes, and commission information, click here.
