Conference 7.286::maynard

Hi K,

Town meeting is an interesting process. It runs (I believe) according
to Roberts' rules of order, and there are lots of strange rules that
you find out about as they're being exercised. So the moderators have
to know the rules backwards and forwards.

It's not necessary to consider each warrant article in order. Basically,
each article is read or summarized. The moderator asks for discussion
and allows all sides to speak on the topic and then a vote is taken.
Maynard has "paper ballots" for some votes, which allows people to vote
privately. Other votes are done by hand or by voice. Some votes win by
majority and others win by unanimity or must be counted. The first time
is a little confusing but I find the whole process fascinating.

I don't know when the regionalization votes will take place. There's a
loophole, though, that the meeting attendees have up to an hour of 
meeting time after a vote to agree that the vote will be "reconsidered."
That means that after all the discussion and after the "final vote",
someone can propose within that one meeting hour to open up the topic
all over again! Then the meeting members vote to reconsider (or not) 
and go on to the next article or agree to put the reconsidered article
back on the warrant again. Phew!

I believe that we'll be getting a "survivor's guide to town meeting"
that explains all of this a little more. I find it exciting and fun.
And there's nowhere else where I'm so close to the democratic process.

Congratulations on deciding to attend and enjoy!


Liz

we've wanted to go since we first moved here, but school or work or 
something not-moveable got in the way.  I'm looking forward to it. 

Thanks 

    Some of the procedures for Town Meeting are found on pages vii to x 
    of the Warrant.
    
    Frank

Frank,

How does one get a copy of the warrant? Is it mailed to every 
household? Or do we pick it up at town meeting?

Thanks,
Liz

    The Town warrant is delivered to every household with the sales
    brochures a couple of weeks before Town Meeting.  There are some copies
    at the Town Hall in the Town Clerk's office if you need to get one. 
    Due to the expected attendance at Town Meeting any extra copies may be
    limited.

It was delivered a few weeks ago in the grocery shopping circular 
plastic bag-on-the-door. 

Thanks. *sigh*. I usually view those sales brochures as a waste of good
paper. They go directly into the recycling pile. I'll cut the warrant 
out of the Beacon, in that case.


Liz

    RE .0, a few comments:
    
    I believe the secret ballot decision is up to the moderator.  In
    general, most money articles are done by secret ballot, or it can be
    done by request of 25 or more voters.
    
    Article #4 is the town budget.
    Article #5 is the K-12 regionalization agreement.
    Article #6 is the K-6 Acton/Maynard, 7-12 Acton/Boxboro/Maynard
    regionalization agreement.
    
    As for reconsideration of an article, this requires a 2/3 vote of the
    town meeting, to agree to reconsider.  Plus, the key is that someone
    stands up and says that he or she voted in the majority the first time,
    but that he/she changed his/her mind.
    
    On the override: This is still on the agenda.  An override takes an
    election (ballot) vote and a town meeting vote (to allocate the money),
    in no particular order.
    
    There is talk around town that someone will propose that we pass the
    $350K override at town meeting, and have a special election in June.
    This means that someone will motion to ammend the FinCom's budget,
    to restore all the town boards to (almost) level funding.
    
    This would restore the library and the Counsel on Aging.  I very much
    hope that this happens, and the override passes.  You have to vote
    "yes" on the ammended budget, and in the special election in June.

    The Secret Ballot concept was the result of the work of the second
    Government Study Committee in 1976.  The exact wording of the 
    Secret Ballot process is as follows:
    
    "Unless otherwise determined by the Town Meeting as specified below,
    a secret ballot vote shall be taken for the adoption of any amendments
    thereto where the article or amendment concerns or is related to any
    of the following subject matters:
    
    	A.  Wages or hours of employment, or benefits, or conditions of
    	employment of any Town Officer or employee.
    
    	B.  The acquisition, sale or lease of any real estate by the Town.
    
    	C.  Borrowing by the Town.
    
    	D.  Authorization for expenditures of $4,000. or more.
    
    	E.  Zoning Articles.
    
    	F.  An appropriation related to any of the subject matters listed
    	in A. to E. 
    
    The Moderator shall determine whether the subject matter of the article
    or amendment falls within the subject areas.  If the Moderator
    determines that an open vote shall apply, at least 25 voters may
    request that a secret ballot vote be used provided appropriate motion
    to do so is made before the actual open vote is taken, in such case
    the article or amendment shall be voted by secret ballot.
    (Article 83, Annual Town Meeting, April 1976)."
    
    Frank

    There have been a few comments about a "loophole" in the Town
    Meeting process that would allow for a reconsideration of a 
    vote.  For the benefit of those who are not familiar with this 
    provision, here is the By-Law wording:
    
    Chapter I, section 6, Town By-Laws
    
    "No vote shall be reconsidered except upon notice for that purpose
    by one of the majority voting thereon, given within one hour after
    such vote was taken at the same or succeeding session, but if any
    member voting with the majority shall give notice within the hour,
    and shall not afterward make such motion, a motion to reconsider 
    may be made by any person who voted with the majority; and no 
    article in the Warrant shall be again taken into consideration,
    after having been disposed of, unless ordered by a vote of two
    thirds of the voters present and voting."
    
    Now that you fully understand the above, maybe you'd like to
    volunteer to serve on the special By-Law Committee that was 
    established in the Charter to untangle and re-write the By-Laws
    of the Town!!
    
    Frank
                               

    One of the items put forth at tonights "pre-town meeting" town meeting
    was to move to "cancel" the town meeting and to hold a town election to
    vote on the issues contained within the warrant.  It was pointed out
    that this motion was out of order as state law dictated which items
    must be voted on in an election and which items must be voted on in a
    town meeting forum.
    
    I would appreciate it if someone could clarify what types of items get
    voted on in an election and what types of items get voted on in a town
    meeting.
    
    
    Thanks
    
    

    Many of us in the Annex got the feeling that we were somewhat left
    out of the aborted Town Meeting tonight, and I'd like to explain
    what happened.
    
    The Moderator was supposed to open the Town Meeting and immediately
    appoint a Deputy Moderator (me), subject to ratification by the
    Town Meeting.  This process is a Charter requirement.  
    
    Obviously, this did not occur, and as you all know, all hell broke
    loose when the Moderator announced the postponement of the Town
    Meeting.  I waited about 15 minutes, then tried to interrupt the 
    Moderator, which I could not do because my microphone went south,
    and every time I tried to speak, there was nothing but screeches and
    squeals from the feedback.  Remember that while all this was going
    on, the position of Deputy Moderator had not been offically accepted
    by the Town Meeting, so I was just a citizen with a non-functioning 
    mike standing in front of about 900 other confused people watching
    TV. 
    
    Finally, the AV folks realized that there were problems in the Annex
    and came running in but by that time it was far too late. 
      
    While I was scrambling to find the AV director, Ed Hurley marched 
    into the main room to remind the Moderator that the people in the 
    Annex were not acknowledged and were not being recognized.
    
    When the problem was kind of fixed, most of the good folks in the Annex
    had already bolted for the exits.
    
    This was not a fun time for anyone who tried to attend Town Meeting,
    but for the folks in the Annex, and particularly your humble "almost
    Deputy Moderator" it was a nightmare.
    
    Frank

    Many people were seen leaving with their paper ballots.  I've asked the
    Town Clerk to order new ballots in a different shade of color to
    prevent the possibility of "ballot stuffing" on June 11.  She has
    agreed to do this.
    
    					Steve

Thanks Steve,

I was thinking that the town clerk must have about five different
paper ballot designs that she can pull out and reuse at random.
That's really the only fair way to run these elections!


Liz

    Good move - I had thought of calling Judy myself.
    
    Not only did people leave with their ballots but I actually heard
    people commenting that they were purposefully keeping thier ballots
    so they would "have an extra vote"!

    
      If you know of any of these people I would let them know if they
    get caught stuffing the box not only will it nullify the vote, the
    culprit could get 5 to 15 years in a Federal Prison.
    
    Bob c.

    Was there anything on the warrant about restoration of funding for the
    Library which was cut when the prop. 2 1/2 override failed?
    

    Dennis,
    
    There was a plan in place to make a motion to override prop. 2 1/2.
    If seconded, a vote would have taken place.  Had it passed last night,
    there would have been a special election in June to vote at the booths.
    
    					Steve

    While they were discussing a new date for the meeting one person
    shouted out "what do we do if it rains?" and George Shaw yelled back "we
    will make a motion for it to stop". 

    Ya and if the 2 overide fails the we will have to call a special town
    meeting to reduce the 0 out the library c of a and rec. if the fails
    then we could have a 3 town question at the polls and if that
    fails we could have another special town meeting to 0 budgets
    and if that fails etc etct etetetettte
    
    Leave it stand show to the people that with out the overide thinks
    do close then next time people will vote to override.
    
    
    art
    

Well, I was one of the people still out on the sidewalk.  After they 
announced the cancellation, everyone outside left and some from inside 
left, but not all.  Wondering what was going on, I went in.    

I was extremely disappointed that some people were suggesting the vote 
take place anyway.   It was as if "well I'm here, let's vote".    It's 
a shame that it didn't all work out for last night and this is not yet 
all behind us, but it's discouraging that suggestions like that would 
be made. 

Karen 

    Mr. Moderator, please move 297 and this reply to 295 which covers
    Town Meeting process.
    
    I am certainly no expert on Municipal Law and I doubt that there is
    one.  However, from what I have learned, the question as to whether a 
    vote is made via Town Meeting versus the Town election is based on 
    the language of the General Law under discussion.  In the case of
    the Charter, which I am very familiar with, Chapter 43B requires
    that acceptance must be by a vote at a town election.  In the case of
    the Regionalization issue, I suspect that the language of the 
    General Law requires that the vote be by Town Meeting.  
    
    Frank
         

    
    
    I have a short question, under Mass. State Law if a town meeting
    is delayed it can be delayed only for 14 days, how did Maynard by
    pass this requirement. Iould like to know for future reference in
    my town.  I do plan to call the Att. Generals office today, but
    I thought you guys might save me the money and I would follow the
    town of maynards footsteps
    
    paul

    RE -1:  I'm not an expert on this, but I think that Town Meeting
    was not delayed.  It was legally opened and legally adjourned 
    to June 11th.  
    
    IF the Moderator had simply stated that we can't have a meeting,
    that would be a delay, and maybe the 14 day limit would kick in.
    
    I know in my Charter research that four or five towns that I
    looked at hold *one* Town Meeting a year, but hold split sessions,
    one in the spring in one in the fall, with a rather long adjournment
    in between.    I can't possibly imagine why they would do this, but
    the point is that adjournments can be for longer than 14 days.
    
    Of course, I could be wrong..... 
    
    Frank

    re: .23
    
    The pro-regionalization group in Maynard called SHARE, has threatened
    to sue the town for not holding the town meeting within 14 days of the
    adjourned meeting.  Maynard's meeting was postponed for 22 days.  This
    is the law, but as with everything, there are several clauses attached.
    Maynard's town counsel, Joe Vrabel, called the Attorney General's
    office as well as the Secretary of State's office yesterday, to see if 
    the town is within compliance.  He was told that the town is perfectly
    legal to do everything that has been done.  
    
    					Steve
     

    It has been estimated that the town meeting on June 11th will cost the
    town between 10-15 thousand dollars.
    
    					Steve

    
    Thanks,  that makes more since to me.

    If the towns of Acton and Boxboro vote on regionalization first and one
    of them votes it down and the regionalization article on Maynard's
    warrant is not needed will the town meeting still be held at the
    football field?

    Paul, it is my understanding that the Town Meeting will be held
    on the Football Field no matter what happens at the Acton and/or
    Boxboro Town Meetings.  
    
    Frank

re .25

Steve M,

I don't know where you got your information, but I just talked to 
a friend involved in SHARE. The message is that SHARE is *not*
threatening to sue the town. I understand that members of SHARE 
have been checking into the 14-day rule, just as other people have.
They have also raised concerns with select-critters about what
can legally happen if it turns out that the adjournment is illegal.
This kind of discussion is important; imagine what would have happened
if no one had alerted the town clerk to the fact that people were
hoarding ballots! My understanding is that the SHARE representatives 
wanted to explore all the options and get the big picture. Perhaps 
you or your source misunderstood?



Liz

.30>Steve M,
.30>
.30> I don't know where you got your information, but I just talked to 
.30> a friend involved in SHARE. The message is that SHARE is *not*
.30> threatening to sue the town. 

This was asked to Steve Morgan, but I'm going to reply.

Maybe not SHARE, but SHARE member, attorney Alan Hoch, certainly did
threaten to sue the town.

Yesterday, Mr. Hoch called Selectman Anne Flood and said he would file
an injunction against the Town, to force the Town to change the date
of Town Meeting.  He was, shall we say, very forceful about it.
Anne was rather upset.

As a result, as Steve Morgan reported in .25, Town Counsel Joe Vrabel
talked to the Attorney General, with two results:
(1) The Attorney General agrees that Maynard can hold Town Meeting on the 11th
(2) The Attorney General will back up Maynard against any suit on the subject.

.30> I understand that members of SHARE 
.30> have been checking into the 14-day rule, just as other people have.

Well, it's pretty well pinned down, now.  Consider that there is not
only rule limiting a rescheduling to a maximum of 14 days, but there's another
law which says that Town Meeting has to be posted a minimum of 14 days in
advance.  Does that mean that Town Meetings can *only* be rescheduled 14 days
away, no more no less? That would seem to be rather strange and inflexible. 
Perhaps that was involved in the legal reasoning. 

.30> Perhaps 
.30> you or your source misunderstood?

My source is that my wife talked to Anne Flood, chairman of the Board of
Selectmen, whom Mr. Hoch threatened.  There is no misunderstanding. 

-Steve

Thanks for the info, Steve. It's interesting; you've heard one side
of the story, and I've heard a very different side of the story. All
I can say is that having heard two sides (there may be others), there
has been a serious misunderstanding some where in the communications
pipes.

As for town meeting being posted, and adjourned vs. postponed, it
sounds like there's a very fine line here. My hope is that the 
assessment sticks that our meeting process is entirely legal. And
it sounds like townsfolk are working very hard to ensure that that
is the case.

Town meeting cost: Yes, it is expensive, and no, I wouldn't want it
any other way. My hope is that everyone who wishes to vote is afforded
that opportunity.


Liz

    
    
       Well, I have read both sides and I am completely confused,
    
    was there a threaten to sue or a threaten to have an injunction 
    set in place.  There is a large difference here.
              
     A suit is  a proceeding in court to recover a right or claim and an
    injunction is a court order prohibiting or requiring a certain action.
    
    Some of our selectpersons tend to use the inappropriate words when
    it makes there stand appear better. Maybe they need to understand
    that people are not attacking them, but want the process to follow 
    the democratic process and believe me some of them don't understand
    the process at all.  WE DON'T HAVE KINGS ANY MORE and every one has
    their right to express their opinions, wither I or anyone else agrees
    with them. I also believe it is inappropriate for the town government
    to discuss with anyone a suit outside the town government til it has
    been probated. The thing that really bothers me the most is that I 
    have friends on both sides of the issue ad because I was on the fence
    neither would speak to me. Every one in town knows how my wife feels
    but until I had to fight to keep her signs up in my own yard, and the
    threats we have received I have kept neutral, but ATTACK my family
    and you attack me. I have fought against people before that did not
    agree with my governments ideas or my right to speak out with my 
    own opinions.
    
    I also, believe that alot of this would not have happened if the 
    town government had come to town meeting a little more prepared
    No, I donot mean they could have possibly known how many people 
    would have shown up, I would have never have guess the numbers
    either, but the process got out of hand because no one appeared to 
    be in control of the town government, I think the moderator did 
    one hell of a good job, but I was disappointed on how our selectpersons
    handled the situation.
    
    Anyway, I have thought this has been the greatest Civics lesson I have
    been involved with since college.
    
    
    Bob

.33>    was there a threaten to sue or a threaten to have an injunction 
.33>    set in place.  There is a large difference here.

I should have been more vague.  Let me amend .31 to read:

    Yesterday, Mr. Hoch called Selectman Anne Flood and said he would take
    legal action against the Town, to force the Town to change the date
    of Town Meeting.  

.33>    Some of our selectpersons tend to use the inappropriate words when
.33>    it makes there stand appear better. 

Well, that can happen.  I can't swear exactly which legal term Anne Flood
told my wife.  Perhaps Anne did use the wrong term, or maybe it got lost in
retelling.  Or maybe Mr. Hoch did use the term "injunction". 

.33>    Maybe they need to understand
.33>    that people are not attacking them, but want the process to follow 
.33>    the democratic process and believe me some of them don't understand
.33>    that people are not attacking them, but want the process to follow 
.33>    the democratic process and believe me some of them don't understand
.33>    the process at all.  WE DON'T HAVE KINGS ANY MORE and every one has
.33>    their right to express their opinions, wither I or anyone else agrees
.33>    with them. 

I'm not sure who was acting like a king.  The Selectmen, at town meeting?
They made a proposal to change the date of Town Meeting, people objected
to it, Garrett Pillivant made a motion to make June 11th the Town Meeting
date, and it passed, about 3-1.  As far as I know, the Selectmen accepted
that, so it looks to me like they believe in democracy.

Or was Anne Flood acting like a king, when Hoch was talking about legal
action?  As a result, Town Counsel checked it out.  I just don't see 
king-like behavior anywhere. 

I thought many people at Town Meeting were disorderly and rude, but with
that number of people, I'm sure that many of them had never attended a Town
Meeting before, and had little idea what should go on.  I agree, the
Moderator did quite a good job keeping order. 

.33>    The thing that really bothers me the most is that I 
.33>    have friends on both sides of the issue ad because I was on the fence
.33>    neither would speak to me. 

This is a difficult area.  It's too bad your friends adopted an extreme
position.  I have a couple of neighbors who are friendly with both us and
DeMotts (who are neighbors, too), and I made a point of not asking them if
they wanted a Ruzich sign. They had no signs in this election.  I'm also
not going to ask them directly what they think about regionalization, so we
can all get along.  I know very anti-regionalization people active in the
Scouts who get along fine with Bob Geldart, because they've all decided to
leave politics separate from the Boy Scouts. 

I just hope that we can all talk to each other after this is over, because
we will still have formidable problems in town. 

To go along with the "no regionalization" and the "yes regionalization"
signs, perhaps we need a "maybe" sign or a "?? regionalization" or "it's my
business how I vote, not yours".  That way, Bob, you could plant two signs
in your yard to accurately represent the opinions of both you and your
wife. 

-Steve

I agree, Steve, that some of the behavior at town meeting was unacceptable.
I do understand that folks felt really pumped up about the regionalization
vote and really frustrated not to be able to resolve it that night. The
people who did get to speak mostly made good points. One friend whom the
moderator refused to recognize wanted to raise concerns about allowing 
parents enough time to reschedule babysitters. So I was relieved that for
other reasons we ended up rescheduling further out. I'm sure there were
many good points we didn't hear.

One person who seemed out of line kept yelling "You should have thought
of that before" as if to imply that our elected servants were negligent and
poor planners. I think it's possible even in this day and age to be
surprised and caught unprepared, and in my opinion, the moderator, clerk,
and selectcritters reacted fairly and responsibly to an unpredicted 
situation. I did feel this man's comments were unfortunate; given that
they _didn't_ think this situation would arise, saying that they should
have didn't contribute to a solution. *sigh*


Liz

    RE:  threatening to sue
    
    I'm not sure what legally constitutes a threat to sue - but once
    delivered, you have a very finite amount of time in which to enjoin
    the suite - otherwise you become liable to suite yourself.  The moral is 
    don't use a threat to sue as a debating technique.  (per my own lawyer)

    RE .35
>One person who seemed out of line kept yelling "You should have thought
>of that before" as if to imply that our elected servants were negligent and
>poor planners. I think it's possible even in this day and age to be
>surprised and caught unprepared, and in my opinion, the moderator, clerk,
>and selectcritters reacted fairly and responsibly to an unpredicted 
>situation. I did feel this man's comments were unfortunate; given that
>they _didn't_ think this situation would arise, saying that they should
>have didn't contribute to a solution. *sigh*

I agree completely - I became _quite_ annoyed at those who attacked the
moderator and officals over something that really couldn't be anticipated.

    

    You are also correct in assuming that I was not defending anyone, that
    is not my job nor my intent; but my dealings with Anne in the past have
    always been good except when I disagree with her and then I have gotten
    the I am right and you are wrong response, so my judgment has to go
    with what has happened from previous experence. I hope she does not
    quit and I agree it is a thankless job especially under the current
    circumstances but being in politics is never easy and you are always 
    told what you are doing wrong and never thanked when you are doing 
    somethng right.
    
    My comments about the Selectpersons covered a very large area, I know
    it is not easy but they should not let the issues govern wither or not,
    how the job is done. That is why when a politician comes out on one
    side or another of an issue and someone disgrees with the way that the 
    job is being done the emotions spill over from both parties, That is 
    why I am still neutral until I find out all the facts that I need to 
    make an educated vote.
          
    I also, agree with your comment that Mr. Hoch behavior was uncalled for
    if that is what happened. No, one has a right to threaten a individual
    they can threaten the town as a whole all they want but in an emotional
    issue as this is one should not put up with nor should any one on either 
    side stand for the kind of conduct that puts any one elses person or rights
    at risk.
    
    As far as the conduct of the Selectpersons at the town meeting, they
    did nothing wrong, my content is they should have use the town 
    attorney more in response from individuals fromthe audience, I think
    that is where the frustration came from, It appeared no one in the 
    town government new what was happening; we all know that the afore
    mention statement of mine is totally false, but the Duke in the 
    Snoopy Helment syndrome took over, When your in charge act like your
    in charge, tell the people, we will have town council give a legal
    opinion on the proceedings, that is why we give him the big bucks 
    isn't it, because we sure don't give the Selectpersons or the School 
    comittee enough pay to put up with the crap they get. (note: I did not
    say school administartors, I stated school committee.) 
        
      I too, hope the town comes out for the better as a whole town and
    this is just a growth pain that we are going thorough, wither the issues
    goes one way or the other.
    
    have a good weekend to all
    
    regards
    
    Bob Cansler

    FYI - Revised cost estimate for Town Meeting is $25K.
    
    					Steve

    I realize that we have no choice but I was wondering where the money
    for the town meeting is coming from?  I would not think that it was
    already figured into the present budget.
    
    If the amount is $25K, or even $10K, it sure could be used elsewhere.
    
    But we have no choice...

 Hey, this is the Nineties, the decade when the government ups its fees,
 fines, and taxes with impunity, so a simple solution would be to put the
 cost where it will end up anyway: on the taxpayer's shoulders.  Just charge
 everyone who wants to attend $5.00.  Anyone under 21 free, when accompanied
 by an adult.  %^)

 Besides asking "Where does the money come from?", I'd be wondering where
 the $25,000 was going to be spent!  (I'm sure someone who's familiar with
 costs associated with town meetings can point it out to me.)

 Cliff

    
    Cliff, several people have suggested charging admission, although
    obviously this isn't realistic.  As has been mentioned, people have
    stated they'd be willing to pay admission!  :-)
    
    Re: where is the money coming from?
    
    It is my understanding that all towns keep a stash, if you want to call
    it that, to cover any emergency costs that may arise during the course
    of the year.  This is what is referred to as the reserve fund. 
    Maynard's reserve fund is normally $150K.
    
    Having just joined the FinCom, I'm somewhat green in this area but I'll
    try to list some of the reasons for the high cost of the town meeting.
    However, I can't provide a line item cost associated with each item.
    
    1. Lights.  It will cost $500 just to flip the switch, plus whatever
       kilowatt hours are used during the town meeting process.  With 30+
       articles on the warrant, it is expected that the meeting will last
       more than one night.
    
    2. Ballots.  6,000 ballots have been ordered.  This is not an
       inexpensive item.
    
    3. Warrants.  Additional warrants have been printed because so many
       people had requested them at the prior town meeting.
    
    4. Fence.  A snow fence has been purchased to keep some type of control
       of the expected crowd.
    
    5. Chairs.  The town could only scrounge up about 1,000 chairs from the
       various organizations in town.  An additional 2,000 will be rented.
    
    6. Sound system.  A very expensive item, but with the meeting being
       held outdoors, this is a necessity.  We can't afford to have people
       complaining that they can't hear after going through the extensive 
       effort being put forth to provide all the other arrangements.
                                                           
    7. Work crews.  Someone needs to set up and take down the chairs, and
       someone needs to set up and take down the fence.
    
    8. Vote counters.  With the expected high turnout, more counters than
       usual will be necessary.
    
    9. Police detail (obvious).
    
    10. Flyers will be distributed in the plastic bags we (don't always)
        receive on Sundays, notifying the public of the town meeting date.
    	This is about $250.
    
    There are probably more, but that's all I can think of off the top of
    my head.
    
    					Steve

    The sad part of paying out this money is it might not be needed if
    Acton or Boxboro vote down regionalization.  It is also sad that most
    residents do not come to a town meeting unless there is an emotional
    issue.  And what happens is a minority of the residents are the ones
    who have the say on how the town's revenues are spent.   It would be
    nice to see 2000 voters at the town meeting even if the regionalization
    is not an issue.

Why do we have to rent chairs?   Can't we use the bleachers?   I dont' 
know how many would fit on one side of the bleachers, but it would be 
that many less chairs to rent. 

    re: .44
    
    It is hopeful that the bleachers will not have to be used.  Picture
    the following scenarios:
    
    1. Vote counter/collectors running up and down the bleacher steps.
    2. People dropping their ballots under the bleachers.  "Wait 5 minutes! 
       I dropped my ballot and have to get it!"  The bleachers at the
       Alumni Field are not like those in the gym.
    
    People have called asking if they can bring blankets to sit on, etc.
    There has to be some semblance of order.
    
    It is my understanding that the meeting will be held as if it were
    indoors.  For example, smoking will only be allowed in designated areas.
    
    					Steve

Re: several back; rumor about suing the town re T.M. delay

I hope yesterday's Beacon article and letter clarified the misunderstanding
about the possibility that the town would be sued for delaying town meeting.
Alan Hoch is concerned that _if_ the town meeting delay is illegal, _then_
a disgruntled citizen could challenge and possibly invalidate the town's
decisions made at that meeting. That would result in much frustration for
all sides. According to the article and/or letter, Mr. Hoch has found a law 
that specifies what should happen if Town Meeting can not be held as scheduled.
He also believes he has found a workaround to ensure that Maynard operates 
within the law.


Liz

    Let us all bow and give our thanks and prayer to Mr. Hoch.  I make a
    motion that Mr. Hoch run for the position of Town Moderator, being the
    concerned citizen that he is.  He had nothing but derogatory statements
    for our elected town officials throughout his high minded letter to the
    Beacon.
    
    
    					Steve
    

    Beyond the obvious big ticket articles at Town Meeting, there are a 
    few interesting articles that deserve our consideration:
    
    1.  Article 11 asks that the Town change the billing of property taxes
    from semi-annual to quarterly.  Can payroll deductions be far behind?
    I think that this is a good move for the Town and will improve our 
    cash flow and potentially get us more interest on our funds, if 
    managed properly.
    
    2.  Article 20 asks for $180,000 to replace a rusted out Fire Engine.
    The Fire Department has been holding off the replacement of the 1972
    Pirsch Pumper for many years.  Word is that it's now a goner and must
    be replaced.  Chief Cassidy may not mention this, but homeowners 
    insurance rates are affected by the quality of the Fire Department 
    equipment. 
    
    3.  Article 23 asks that the Town negotiate to enter into a regional 
    fire/ambulance dispatch system.  Chief Cassidy feels that this could
    save the Town significant dollars.  The Finance Committee agrees.
    
    4.  Article 27 asks that a Revolving Fund for School Property rentals
    be accepted.  Those of you involved in the Digital Basketball League 
    know that the Town has had to deny DEC the use of the Fowler Gym even
    though Digital would gladly pay the rental fee.  Seems that although
    the Town would see the revenue and the expenses would be off-set, the
    money would go into the general fund, and the School Department would
    still pay the expenses.  With this article, the School Department would
    get a credit in their expenses.  
    
    In Digital we have many Revolving Accounts, and we call them Cost
    Centers.  This article essentially sets up a JV process for the School
    Department to get their expenses back.
    
    5.  Article 28 asks the Town to accept a new method of selecting the
    members of the Assabet Valley Regional Vocational School.  You will
    remember that at last year's Town Meeting we voted to change the 
    method of selection to a joint vote by the Selectmen and School 
    Committee. The City of Marlboro shot down this proposal so the
    Assabet School Committee is attempting another approach.
    
    I sincerely hope that the pro-regionalization and anti-regionalization
    folks will stick around long enough to help us run the Town. 
    
    Frank
    

    re: -1

    	Frank, the articles you mentioned are quite significant, to say the
    least, but I think the last two lines of your entry are important, too!

>    I sincerely hope that the pro-regionalization and anti-regionalization
>    folks will stick around long enough to help us run the Town. 
    
	Too bad the town meeting couldn't save this issue for the grand
    finale. I feel that a lot of the folks that will be attending the Town
    Meeting, will be doing so, just to vote on regionalization. I hope they
    realize that all the other articles will effect them, too.

    	I have to admit, this will be the first town meeting I will attend,
    and yes, regionalization is what has me "geared" to go. But, in reading
    this conference, I have come to realize that I CAN have a say in what
    goes on in my town. The vote may not go my way, but at least I will
    have played my part on the decision process.

    Norma

        

           <<< Note 295.48 by 39118::IGNACHUCK "Native Maynardian" >>>
                        -< Other Town Meeting Articles >-
    
   > 1.  Article 11 asks that the Town change the billing of property taxes
   > from semi-annual to quarterly.  Can payroll deductions be far behind?
   > I think that this is a good move for the Town and will improve our 
   > cash flow and potentially get us more interest on our funds, if 
   > managed properly.
   
    Hopefully, this will pass, but quite a few people are already upset
    with the constant flow of water/sewer, excise, property tax, etc.  I
    forget what the increased revenue to the town would be should we bill
    on a quarterly basis, but it was quite significant.  Now, if we could
    only get those people that haven't payed their taxes in *years* we
    might be in a lot better shape.
    
    					Steve

    1. The money for the Town Meeting $25K will could from the
    Fincom Reserve Fund.
    
    2. The quartley billing will be withdrawn (no time to set it up will
    look into it in more detail next FY)
    
    3. Revolving account for school. I am a little concern about that the
    school will charge high fees for the use and then use the money for
    other things instead of useing it for what is rented.
    

.51>    3. Revolving account for school. I am a little concern about that the
.51>        school will charge high fees for the use and then use the money for
.51>        other things instead of useing it for what is rented.
    
Art, you're forgetting. Do you really think that Cindy would let that kind of
problem go on, now that she's on the School Committee?  She spent the morning
in the Superintendant's office, going over bills, among other things.

Anyway, what the revolving account does is give the school the right to 
take in rental income, and apply it to expenses for that building.

Suppose we did not have the revolving account, and the school rented out
the auditorium.  The rental income would have to go to the town's general
fund, and the school would have to pay any extra expenses, like after-hours
custodial help, out of the school budget. That doesn't really make much sense.

Keep in mind that Coolidge School is rented out to an educational consortium,
teaching special ed. teachers.  The income supports the building.

By the way, the reason that Cindy Ruzich was working on bills in the Super's
office was that they need three school committee signatures to sign each
bill, in order to authorize payment.  Cindy Parker has made it a practice
to actually read the bills before signing them, in the year she's been on
the committee.  Cindy Ruzich will do the same.  The other signature is
provided by a rubber stamp, with another School Committee member's signature.

In that past, all three signatures were done by rubber stamp.  How's that
for a management practice?

-Steve

    RE: .52:  Steve, that's exactly my point.  I have talked with the
    Principals of two of our three schools at various times about
    the frustrations of denying use of the School facilities because
    of the lack of a process that would allow them to get credit for
    the rentals.  
    
    As I mentioned a few notes ago, the revolving fund process is nothing
    more than a cost center/JV system that we in Digital have been using
    for years.  If you incur an expense, you should get credit for the
    expense.
    
    With regard to Arthur's specific comment, if the School Committee 
    decides to make a profit on the rental of the Fowler Gym in order 
    to fund the Middle School Basketball program, or the ACT program,
    why is that wrong?
    
    I firmly believe that we must begin to think of this $13 million
    dollar Corporation that we call the Town of Maynard as a business.
    
    We have a limited number of dollars to work with through taxation
    and State aid, and whatever we can do to supplement our cash flow
    through revolving funds should be a given.  Encourage it!
    
    By the way, on Tuesday morning I stood in line in Acton to sign my
    two older boys up for swimming lessons at the Acton Pool.  This is
    the fifth year that we've done this and the thing that struck me 
    was that there were more people working in the Community Education 
    Department office than we in Maynard have in our Town Hall.  The
    registration was for out-of-towners, and I wonder if anyone in Acton
    really questioned if the money ($82.00 from my pocket) was going to
    "other things instead of using it for what it is rented".  
    
    There is a fine line to be drawn here.  For example, the AVLL charges
    a fee for boys and girls to participate in Little League and they
    use the fields at Alumni Field, Crowe Park, Coolidge School and the
    High School.  Should they pay a use fee to the School Department?
    How about the Maynard Soccer Boosters?  Is it enough to ask that 
    each group just clean up after themselves or should the Town ask for
    a rental fee for use of town facilities??  These fees could offset
    some of the costs of the athletic programs presently incurred by
    the School Department.  If they did pay a fee, should it go into
    the general fund, or should it go into the School Department fund
    through a revolving fund?  Is it wrong to use the fees from the
    use of the Little League fields to fund the acquisition of new
    text books for the High School?
    
    Frank                          
    
    

    Frank, you raised some good points.  If I am correct at last years town
    meeting an article was passed to set up these revolving accounts.  This
    was done after the state passed a law allowing these types of accounts. 
    The Planning Board is also looking into a revolving account at this
    time.  I do not see any reason why the school department should not
    have one of these accounts.
    

    Agree Steve but Cindy could be voted out next time around and who knows
    who will get in. A written policy should be created for future school
    committes on how this type of money is to be used
    

    Frank the Town is NOT a profit making company and should only charge
    what it cost to open and mention the school during the after hours
    use.

    The school has hundreds id such account just ask the Town Accountant.
    Atheltic,cafteria etctetctetetetetetetetetet
    

    If any "business" was run as the (local, state, federal) government is
    run (in debt), how long would it be in business??
    
    What's wrong with running government as a business? It basically deals
    with providing products/services for the general public and generating
    revenue to support the means of obtaining these goods.
    
    or am I missing something here?
    Norma

    RE:.58: Norma, I don't think you're missing anything here.  On 
    Tuesday, we will be voting on a $13,526,410. operating budget.  
    Not only is the Town of Maynard a business, it's a rather large 
    business.  
    
    We all work for Digital (at least I hope we all do...).  Digital
    has many lines of business that are more profitable than others.
    Some are not profitable at all.  But when you put them all together
    we have a successful Company.
    
    RE: .56:  Art, I never said that the Town should make a profit. 
    What I said was that if we could make a few extra bucks on rentals to
    help offset other expenses, go for it. 
    
    As I have said many times, Usage Fees are the only way we are going
    to survive in the future.  
    
    Let me give you an example.  We have been moving toward an "Enterprise"
    system for our Water and Sewer Departments for a couple of years. What
    this means is that our Water and Sewer Departments will operate on
    Usage Fees, not on tax dollars.  I am 100% in favor of the Water and Sewer 
    Department being self-supporting utilities.  Article 16 on this year's 
    Town Meeting Warrant asks for $90,000. to fund a study to upgrade the 
    Sewage Treatment Plant.  Article 17 asks for $10,000 to get Well #3
    back in service.  Article 18 asks for $16,000 to install standby power
    in the Old Marlboro Road Pumping Station.  This is tax money which 
    could be used for other purposes.  Those three expenses alone could
    pay for $116,000 of the $180,000 requested by the Fire Chief for a
    badly needed Pumper in Article 20, if the Water and Sewer Departments
    were self-supporting.
    
    I know that we are often comparing ourselves to Acton these days, but
    remember that Acton has a separate Water District and doesn't use any
    of it's tax dollars to support it's Water Department.  I worked for
    some years for the Town of Concord and it has self-supporting Water
    and Sewer and Municipal Light Departments.  These agencies actually
    pay money TO THE TOWN.
    
    The Town of Maynard, Incorporated, is a business and we can either
    try to continue to prop it up with tax dollars or get smart and 
    begin to run it like a business.
    
    Frank                             
    
    

    Only 31.5 more hours to go!  :-)
    
    
    Found out another reason for the high cost of tomorrow (and probably
    Wednesday) night's meeting.  From now until everything is ripped down
    (chairs, p.a. system, tents) there will be special detail police
    sitting at the field, around the clock, to prevent vandalism of any type.  
    These officers will be doing this detail on overtime, of course (about 
    $225/8 hr shift).
    
    					Steve

The Beacon last week said that this town meeting will cost around $10K
rather than the $25K reported here. The $10K figure is about twice what
a "normal" T.M. costs. I don't know which figure to believe, but thought
I'd report that I'd heard both figures.


Liz

    Liz,
    
    Disregard the 10K figure.  Consider this.  It cost 5K for the the
    ballots.  2K to have additional warrants printed.  1K each night in
    Town Clerk expenses (vote counters).  There's 8K right there if it only
    lasts 1 night, which you can be pretty sure it won't.
    
    The town bought a fence.  I was told this cost 6-8K.  Hopefully, it
    will be put to use once this is over.  There was a need to rent as many
    as 2000 chairs, which are in the process of being put up.  I'm not
    including the cost associated with putting up/taking down the fence and
    chairs which also has to be accounted for.
    
    Tarps, or tents if you want to call them that, are being rented to
    cover the voter lists and vote counters.  Have you ever looked into the
    cost of renting a small tarp for a cookout?  These are very expensive
    items.
    
    A top quality (hopefully) sound system is being rented.
    
    As I mentioned earlier, the police department already is being paid
    overtime around the clock until the end of town meeting.  At $225/shift
    it doesn't take much to figure out the high cost of that.  Plus the ten
    cops they're going to be paying the night of town meeting.
    
    There are probably other extranious items, but these are the most
    costly.
    
    					Steve  
    

RE: .53: Interesting you bring up user fees for the fields.  A few years
    bac  Maynard Soccer League held meetings with Mike Sentence to proposal
    user fees.  My motivation was that there was little volunteering by
    parents and it was a way to have someone paint lines so I had time
    to be with my kids and coach the teams I was coaching.  The only
    thing was that I did not feel that the soccer league should be the only
    "user" to pay fees.  I believe that Mike did talk to the Little
    League.  All I know is that the proposal got bogged down at the school
    level and died.

    Being a booster organization we have been providing funds to the school.
    But, for the most part it has been indirect, since we also are interested
    in providing something the kids seem to love -- soccer.  We have bought
    or paid for the supplies for the soccer teams, uniforms, fixing goal posts,
    start up money for the girls JV, plus we have given money to the Maynard
    Boosters who raise money for Maynard school sports in general.  Along with
    help from some of the parents we have seeded the area next to the Green
    Meadow playground with plans to re-seed that area and the Don Lent field the
    first week of July.

    Other than that, we have provided money for things like Fowler basketball,
    WAVM Christmas collection, Will Dodd to mention a few.

    We also provide classes for people to learn about soccer and we pay for
    adults and players to learn reffing (the only paid position in our
    organization).

    Since we are an instructional league, which means emphasis on learning
    rather than competition, and Maynard is a small town, our teams are
    usually balanced in skills.  However, we recognize that we need to provide
    an outlet for those who have better than average skills to grow and be
    challenged.  Therefore, we do send kids off (both individuals and teams)
    to other more competitive.  We usually do fund at least part of that.

    I guess what I'm saying is that we (me - not speaking for the rest of the
    board) would not mind paying a user fee for services (within reason).  I
    do object to putting in money that is not accounted for and then when
    budget cuts come someone says "take the sports funds - divide by number of
    sports - so we cut these".  Because such a large number of kids choose 
    soccer, my opinion is that the league should care for them first where
    ever that may be.

    An example of "accountability" is something that I became aware of
    a few years ago.  I was at a fund raising meeting at Will Dodd one night
    when a woman who heard I was the president of the league mentioned
    that the boy's soccer team didn't even have enough jerseys for the whole
    team.  When a boy was substituted, he would pull his jersey off and toss
    it to the person coming in.  Moneys had been donated for a while.  So what
    we did was to say give us the bill for the jerseys and we'll pay for it.
    That way we knew our money was working.  It is no different than giving
    to a charity of your choice.
   

    re:.64
    
        Jim, I'm all for "user" fees if anything to make sure the fields are
        lined. As you know, 2 weeks ago my son's team had to play their game
        at the field behind the football field at Alumni. I was asked to get
        parents to volunteer to help line the field. Even though I got
        commitments from 6 or 7 parents, only 1 showed up to help my husband.
        It took them 2 hours, which is considerably longer than it would have
        taken someone who had experience lining a field. To say the least,
        my husband was not a happy camper.
    
        Some people may argue this point and say that the parents should
        get involved. I agree totally. However, reality has shown me that
        it's always the same parents who end up doing the work. Taking
        someone who has never lined a field and giving him/her a lack of help 
    	will certainly make him/her think twice when it comes to volunteering 
    	next time. Luckily, Ken isn't like that. He will graciously volunteer 
    	again when needed.
    
        Toni DeMars
    
        P.S. Thanks Jim for all your time and hard work to give the children a
             great soccer program. I know it can be taxing at times, but your
             efforts are greatly appreciated.
     

I read in some other note that no other town around has provisions for 
using secret ballots.  

Well if all they are using is a show of hands, how do they handle 
close votes?   How do they count?