When I moved to Maine I had never voted for anything in my life, never mind attended an annual town meeting. The first time I voted, I distinctly remember lining up at the Buckfield Fire Station to register before casting my ballot. It was a delightfully social experience.
I also remember attending my first town meeting, where I was surprised to learn it was how residents decided how much money to spend on things like winter roads and youth recreation programs. Where I grew up, in New York, those decisions were all made at the board of trustees level, and the townspeople were never asked for input – never mind being able to vote on budget line items.
It was a revelation to me that Mainers held the power to decide municipal budgets themselves, and that they decided what ordinances to adopt and how much to pay town officials. Most of the annual town meetings I went to were cordial, although I do remember one particularly lively discussion about junkyards.
As we put a chunk of annual town meetings from March behind us, and look forward to dozens more in May and June, we’re holding a Monitor Talks event about the role annual town meetings serve in Maine’s rural governance.
The event will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29, at the Greene Block+Studios in Waterville. It’s free and will feature an in-person audience and an option to tune in by Zoom.
I invite you to attend. Bring questions. You can register here.
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