Pomfret is latest Upper Valley town to shake up Town Meeting format

By ALEX HANSON

Valley News Staff Writer

Published: 05-22-2023 11:00 AM

SOUTH POMFRET — In a special Town Meeting on Saturday morning, Pomfret voters opted to do away with the traditional in-person annual meeting in favor of Australian ballot voting.

But in recognition of the meeting’s value, voters approved an amendment that would require the town Selectboard to hold a hearing on the town budget at which amendments could be proposed. Such a meeting would have to take place more than 30 days before ballot voting on the first Tuesday in March.

In considering whether to end a nearly 250-year-old tradition, Pomfret voters had to choose between two public goods: the greater participation afforded by day-long balloting and the deeper participation of the in-person meeting, where voters have to discuss the issues face to face.

“The interesting thing is that everybody’s right, and that’s what makes this hard,” resident Betsy Siebeck said during the meeting. Ultimately, Siebeck said she came down on the side of Australian balloting, “I think the numbers tell the tale,” she said.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Pomfret’s annual Town Meeting drew around 15% of the town’s registered voters. But during the pandemic, when voting took place by Australian ballot, more than 45% of voters participated. In 2021, that number, buoyed perhaps by a longing for civic participation, was 63%, according to town officials.

At Saturday’s meeting, a mere 61 voters were present in the gym at The Prosper Valley School to decide the Town Meeting questions. That’s 7.7% of the 788 voters on the checklist.

Several residents said the town should think through what it would lose with the change to Australian ballot voting, in which polls are open for a day and absentee balloting also is possible. While a traditional Town Meeting requires a voter to be present, sometimes for most of the day, participation knits the town together, even if fewer people can attend.

“You don’t get a chance to talk with your neighbors,” Marjorie Wakefield, a resident who’s also a justice of the peace and a trustee of public funds, said.

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“The problem with Australian ballot is it’s a take-it-or-leave-it approach,” Frank Perron, a former Selectboard member, said. Voters can’t propose amendments to articles and can’t have a say as an article is up for consideration.

State law requires towns that vote by Australian ballot to hold an informational meeting no more than 10 days before the vote, but it’s not the same, supporters of the traditional meeting said.

Even if she can’t attend the meeting, “I’m comfortable letting that group of people who are willing to sacrifice their time” deliberate and make decisions, resident Susan Burgess said.

“I’m thinking that I’d like to have a meeting in person,” resident Alan Graham said. “There are 365 days in a year. I think we can have one day for democracy.”

But the majority of residents favored the switch to Australian ballot, mainly for the sake of access, but also because there are other ways they can get the perspectives they need to make informed decisions without the meeting’s debate.

Erik Liscinsky, who’s lived in town for three years, pointed out that all of the Selectboard meetings are available online, and others noted that the town listserv and social media also provide information about town government. “Numbers don’t lie,” Liscinsky said.

“I’ve never met any of you,” he added, but that doesn’t mean he’s unaware of what’s happening in town. “People have to understand that we have a vote, too,” he said.

“Not involving people who have to work or people who have kids just doesn’t seem fair to the rest of us,” Cathy Peters said.

Saturday’s vote made Pomfret the latest Vermont town to drop the traditional Town Meeting format, where issues are moved, debated and voted all at one yearly session. Strafford voted in March to move to Australian balloting for both town and school business, and Bethel and Bradford voted to elect officers by Australian ballot but to keep considering budgets and public questions in person.

Perron said he’s concerned the town will miss the sense of cohesion the meeting offers. “As a society, I just see us splintering off,” he said while talking with Elly Pizzani after the meeting. “I haven’t seen Elly in probably five years,” he said.

Despite the momentousness of the meeting, there were no raised voices or even applause, as if voters had considered the matter ahead of time. Though they talked for about 2½ hours, no one expressed a change of heart. The three members of the Selectboard present, Chairman John Peters Jr., Ben Brickner and Meg Emmons, voted in favor of Australian balloting. Emily Grube and Steve Chamberlin were absent.

Brickner said the outcome surprised him. The town could change it back, he noted.

“It happened here this morning,” he said. “It could happen by Australian ballot.”

Alex Hanson can be reached at ahanson@vnews.com or 603-727-3207.

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