News Brief: GB to hold town meeting improvements forum

Forum to focus on town meeting improvements

Great Barrington — A forum seeking ideas about how to improve Great Barrington’s town meetings will be held Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 334 Main St. It will be moderated by the town moderator Michael Wise.

This forum was prompted by the surprise two-night annual town meeting in May, which led to some discussion about the town meeting process. The unexpected continuation to a second night was inconvenient for many; however, many also said they appreciated the chance to take more time on some of the warrant articles.

The forum will consider how to encourage participation and how to improve the way the town meeting works. Do people have trouble getting to the meetings? Are meetings too long or too short? Should everything be finished on one night, or should several sessions, perhaps at different times of the year, be planned? Do the procedural rules make sense? Can they be improved? Do voters have enough information about the items on the town meeting agenda?

All are welcome, especially Great Barrington voters who have questions about the town meeting process and ideas about how to improve it.