[BostonBullit]

The town I moved to a year ago is governed by the Town Meeting, where any registered voters from the town can go and directly participate in the process of government....at least that's what I thought until last night. As it turns out if you're there to forward a motion that isn't popular then you're pretty much laughed at, even by the meeting moderator. If you're really lucky he and the town council will make a few offhand snide remarks about you for the benefit of the crowd.....

guess it's time to go back to being an anarchist...

 

[RhinofromWA]

Originally posted by BostonBullit
The town I moved to a year ago is governed by the Town Meeting, where any registered voters from the town can go and directly participate in the process of government....at least that's what I thought until last night. As it turns out if you're there to forward a motion that isn't popular then you're pretty much laughed at, even by the meeting moderator. If you're really lucky he and the town council will make a few offhand snide remarks about you for the benefit of the crowd.....

guess it's time to go back to being an anarchist...

So, kinda like on Gilmore girls.....

Of course if you don't have the majority agreeing with you there won't be a warm reception of your idea. It is your job to present your case to the audience (non supporters) in a way that will hopefully pursuade them. It isn't their job to instantly agree with you....it is your job to convince them, and that is a tough job.

So, what motion did you make? If you give up they win.......

Rhino

 

[BostonBullit]

I know I know...I don't expect people to just agree with something that they would normally disagree with, but I also don't expect the people running the meeting to belittle the people making the proposal while they are trying to present their case. Oddly this type of treatment didn't occur when someone was speaking with an opinion that was in line with the town council.

I didn't actually bring a motion, but I did try to speak to one and the moderator looked directly at me sitting there with my hand raised and said "let's just bring this to a vote". It had been discussed for approx 10mins at that point. Here's the key points of what went down:

the town voted last week to increase property the property tax rate by 9.5% over what it was last year (roughly an extra $1.35 per $1000 property value). The vote was billed as "the only way to open the new high school" which was just completed and passed by 342 votes (out of approx 5000 total votes). But in addition to the high school money there was money in the override amount to pay town employee health care costs. Some people that were against the override did some digging and here's what they found:
The town pays 90% of the employee healthcare costs. The town has stated numerous times in the past that this is due to state law and their hands are tied, but that's not how the law reads.
The town contracts with all unions state that they will pay 60% of the healthcare costs, but for some reason we are paying 90%.

The amendment I wanted to speak to was to lower the amount budged to healthcare by $900,000; which is 30% of the healthcare budget...basically it was to make the town employees start paying what their contract says they have to pay. But since the people that brought the motion were "the nuts that tried to keep the high school from opening" no one took it seriously. The town council members stood up and railed against "drastically increasing" the costs to the employees and said that they are currently renegotiating the contracts and not to tie their hands by limiting what they have to spend on town healthcare...everyone applauds. It was all just a dog and pony show where for every minute someone in favor of the motion was allowed to speak someone from the town council was allowed to speak for 2mins. People who wanted to speak in favor of the issue were ignored when they raised thier hands and people that were opposed to it were called upon instead. It was a total farce.

I was just amazed to personally witness politicians standing there putting sh!t on peoples plates and the people eating it like it was cavier. I simply wanted to ask that someone explain why in gods good name we have been paying 90% of the healthcare costs when we have a contract that states we only pay 60%, and to have the opportunity to rebutt when someone gave a half assed double talk answer meant to shift focus from the facts and play to emotions. Guess that was too much to ask.

 

[RhinofromWA]

Sounds like the meetings needs a shake up....that is where change happens.

Also bring in a butt load of like minded thinkers and fill that room next time and have them demand that you(or whomever) be heard.

Meeting moderators and attendees have their own agenda....and a new person to the meetings might not get a fair shake compared to a regular....even if they don't agree with you they are familiar with you after you attend for awhile. You are breaking into a clique of sorts. One that seems to be headed by power drunk dorks.

Keep going and making a good impression....bring others that agree with you....show some number.

I am sure the same naysayers that fought the HS and now the insurance issue have built some walls between them and the rest of teh town meeting attendees.

I have been the president of my motorbike club (www.stumpjumpers.org) and suprisingly even those meetings can get very nasty. Sounds like the moderator has some issues....but this month our ~1hr club meeting lasted 3hrs s becuase we wouldn't move on...and would just talk in circles. Eventually things need to come to a vote.

All I can say is keep working with them....

 

[BostonBullit]

this is the funny part: the moderator is new this year, and happens to be my attorney from when the wife and I purchased our house! that was my only dealing with him, and he seems to be a good attorney, but he also seems to be a popmus a....One of my favorite parts was when the guy with the motion to reduce the budget pointed out that the state law does not say that the town has to pay 90% of the costs and the moderator stopped him and pointed out that he (the guy) is not an attorney, then let him continue. The guy had already said he's not a lawyer right from the get go. The moderator IS an attorney and never said that the guy was wrong, just that he's not a lawyer...giving the impression that what he's saying is wrong. ahhh politics!

I still just want to know who is responsible for the town paying an extra 30% of the healthcare costs for years now. if you do that sh!t when you're running a publicly traded company you get put on trial; buy apparantly you can do whatever you want when you're running a town. and better yet, I just looked some stuff up and every member of the town board (council, health, building, etc.) is appointed, not elected. what the hell?!