Middlebury preps for Town Meeting Democratic tradition continues with new bridge on agenda

Author: Rachel Durfee

The town of Middlebury is poised to hold its annual Town Meeting next Monday and Tuesday. Among the items to be discussed are the town budget and appropriatesion, as well as a proposed bridge to be built across Otter Creek. The Town Meeting is a tradition unique to New England, providing every member of the community the opportunity to take part in the decision-making process that determines town policies and projects.

Selectman Peg Martin says Town Meeting is held, by state statute, on the first Tuesday of March. Formerly a full-day affair, the statute was amended and Middlebury now has a Monday evening town meeting in the town gymnasium with an Australian (secret) ballot open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. On Monday, an elected moderator runs the meeting. Vermont Governor Jim Douglas '72, will serve as moderator once again this year. The moderator calls articles for debate and vote, interprets rules and maintains order but does not participate in discussion. Once the Board of Selectmen have presented the articles, participants can ask questions, debate and propose amendements and finally vote by voice or show of hands .

According to Professor of Political Science Bert Johnson, the tradition of Town Meeting dates back to the early-to-mid 1600s and is a form of government unique to the New England states. For "different cultural, geographic and economic reasons" other local governments hold regular elections and use elected representatives - city councils and mayors -"to decide the same issues that Vermonters decide on town meeting day."

Chairman of the Board of Selectmen John Tenney describes Town Meeting as a "fundamental governmental form, a general participatory democracy where each person has a voice and a vote." Over the years, however, participation has decreased and, said Tenney, "Town Meeting is struggling everywhere." Citizens used to take off work and devote the day to community, providing more time for discussion. There would be a midday potluck and other activities, but now, "there is not enough time to [run the Meeting] effectively." "The Meeting is unchanged but life is more complex," he added.

Frank Bryan, a professor of political science at the University of Vermont, wrote in his book, "Real Democracy," that attendance at Vermont town meetings averages a little over 20 percent of registered voters. "This figure varies widely based on the size of the community," wrote Bryan. "However: in larger towns, a smaller percent of people attend Town Meeting." Tenney estimates only 200-225 people out of Middlebury's 4300 registered voters will attend Town Meeting. More will watch on TV, but do not necessarily exercise their voting power. According to Martin, more people vote on Tuesday as well.

Despite lower voter turnout, general opinion says Town Meeting is still an effective and positive experience. Johnson observes, "People who argue back and forth about whether town meetings are good or bad usually argue about the system's effect on citizenship, democracy and representation - not about whether towns are ill-managed." Says Martin, "It is one of the few times when a community has the chance to come together for the sake of the community. It would be great if more people participated, but at least there is the possibility for active democracy."

Issues on the Monday agenda include the town budget for the 2007 fiscal year, the replacement of city service vehicles and renewing the one-cent tax levy for the town's Conservation Fund. On Tuesday the polls open for secret voting on the Cross Street Bridge project and the proposed appropriation of $75,000 for preliminary engineering, design and planning. The other article on the ballot is being brought forward by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns who, says Tenney, "see the State Education Fund being pushed and pulled in different ways," which could lead to higher property taxes to support the state education system. According to the town website, the vote on the ballot asks if the town should instruct the state government to oppose "any use of the State Education Fund for purposes that are outside the law's original intent to 'make payments to school districts and supervisory unions for the support of education'; the shifting of existing State General Fund expense obligations to the Education Fund; and the reduction of any existing State General Fund revenue support to the Education Fund."

While Tenney does not expect the budget to be "a hot button issue," Martin notes that there is a "sizeable increase in Capital Funding for road repair" which "may be an item of contention." Most agree that the Cross Street Bridge project will be the biggest issue at this year's Meeting. The proposal, created by the Board of Selectmen and the Bridge Committee, lays out a bridge that would run from Cross Street to Main Street, creating a second bridge to run over Otter Creek. Such a project is not a new idea, as it has been proposed by independent traffic engineering analyses for the past five decades, according to the proposal.

However the committee cites an "even greater urgency for building a second bridge" now due to increased traffic, safety issues, and the need for undisruptive repairs on the Battell Bridge and on the Merchants Row and Main Street railroad bridges. Positive reasoning behind the bridge project is that it would provide the fastest route for ambulances and other emergency service vehicles, relieve traffic congestion downtown, "support downtown vitality," be pedestrian and bicycle friendly and a cost-effective option. The price tag? An estimated $16 million, a relatively expensive project. Ninety percent of the cost would come from the State and ten percent from the town, which would be paid back on a bond, but for now the Board is only asking for Town support of the project, which Tenney suspects will be granted.

So what is the future of Town Meeting? Tenney surmises that over the next couple of decades it may change to a representative Town Meeting in which elected neighborhood representatives, who would be kept better informed, would attend, debate and vote at Town Meetings. "But," adds Tenney, "people who like going to Town Meetings are going to want to keep going to them. They want to have that right, and I want them to have it too."