CONNECTIONS: Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Celebrate true democracy: The Town Meeting

Whether considering hotels in Great Barrington, police contracts in Stockbridge, or formulas for school payments in Sheffield, the most important single issue is to protect the last of the direct democracies.

About Connections: Love it or hate it, history is a map. Those who hate history think it irrelevant; many who love history think it escapism. In truth, history is the clearest road map to how we got here: America in the 21st century.

Did you ever find a hundred dollar bill in the pocket of an old pair of pants? Ever watch one of those television shows where someone finds treasure in the attic and wonder what is in your attic? Well, if you live in New England, you do possess real treasure that you may not fully appreciate or completely use. So you don’t miss out on hidden treasure, here is a connection to our past, a brief civics lesson, and a tool for the New Year.

Early New England town meeting.
Early New England town meeting.

Developed in New England and practiced since the 17th century, the treasure is the town meeting form of government.

As a citizen of the United States of America, you do not live in a democracy. You live in a Republic. A Republic is a representative democracy. That is, you don’t decide; you vote for the people who decide the issues and make the laws. Protected by a system of laws, the power of the people is limited to voting the representatives in and voting them out.

Depending upon the state you live in, your power may be extended to referenda – soliciting the people’s opinion – but referenda are often non-binding. The representatives still hold the power of decision-making.

However, if you live in many towns in New England, and therefore many in the Berkshires, you live in a direct democracy — the last of the pure democracies.

The town meeting form of government is direct democratic rule. The citizens of the community legislate policy and approve budgets at various town meetings.

The business of the town is conducted at an annual town meeting generally held in the spring. At this meeting, the town tidies up any unfinished business from the current year and prepares for the coming year by approving a budget. There may be other, non-budgetary items placed on the warrant. An article may be placed on the warrant by the Selectmen, sometimes at the request of town departments, or by a petition signed by at least ten registered voters of the town.

Stockbridge Selectmen and Town Moderator (at podium) face a packed Town Hall gymnasium during the 2015 Annual Town Meeting in May.
Stockbridge Selectmen and Town Moderator (at podium) face a packed Town Hall gymnasium during the 2015 Annual Town Meeting in May.

Special town meetings are held whenever necessary, usually to deal with financial or other pertinent issues that develop between annual town meetings. A special town meeting functions as an annual town meeting does. The Selectmen generally call such a meeting, but voters may call one through a petition with the signatures of 200 voters or 20 percent of the registered voters, whichever number is lower. The selectmen have 45 days from the date of receiving the petition to hold a special town meeting.

In towns of fewer than 6,000 residents, the town meeting form of government, direct democracy, operates; however, towns with more than 6,000 residents can and sometimes do adopt a hybrid called a representative town meeting form of governing. The change requires a population of more than 6,000, and a vote to change the charter. If the representative town meeting system is adopted, it functions largely the same as an open town meeting system except that not all townspeople can vote. Instead the townspeople elect representatives to vote on the issues for them. The town is divided into precincts and the number of representatives is usually determined by a formula of so many representatives per precinct. These larger towns make a further change to the charter and elect a Mayor and town council to represent the townspeople’s interests.

Another way in which towns change, and ultimately dilute, direct democracy is by agreeing to band together on certain issues and decide those issues cooperatively at joint town meetings. For example, they may decide to share costs and make decisions related to the schools in joint or cooperative town meetings. The joint town meeting system generally establishes a board or committee of people with final decision-making power if agreement cannot be reached at the joint town meeting. Therefore, with respect to that issue, final decisions are made by representatives and the direct democratic process is weakened. Voters should be sure of the cost/benefit before approving a joint process.

Boards of Selectmen operate within the budget established by the people and represent the wishes of the citizens — wishes elicited and established by vote at various town meetings. The elected and appointed officials have extra duties but they are first and foremost citizens. That , they rule from within not from above. Therefore, select boards are compatible with the ideal of direct democracy.

The town meeting form of government is democracy at work, but the power democracy confers on the people can be lost or diluted. It works only when citizens participate and when no elected or appointed official forgets he or she is one citizen – no more and no less.

The people can fritter away their power by not participating. They can vote it away by a change to the charter. It can be usurped by elected and appointed officials who do not understand the limits of their roles.

For everyone whether considering hotels in Great Barrington, police contracts in Stockbridge, or formulas for school payments in Sheffield, the most important single issue is to protect the last of the direct democracies.

If elected or appointed officials remember they are first and foremost citizens no more powerful or important than their neighbors, and if the people remember they must get involved and stay involved, then for a little while longer, in small-town Massachusetts, the people rule.

Here endeth the lesson – Happy New Year.