Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Waterbury Roundabout
For over 200 years, Waterbury residents have gathered every first Tuesday of March to discuss key town issues.
This year, however, a major conversation put the norm in jeopardy. Residents pondered whether to replace the in-person Town Meeting Day meeting with deciding all town business by Australian ballot, a system where residents vote privately on a ballot instead of having an open discussion.
Waterbury already uses an Australian ballot for its elections, but budget items and all public questions are decided only by those who attend the annual in-person meeting on Town Meeting Day.
After a two-hour-long back-and-forth among over 200 Waterbury residents, Waterbury’s Town Meeting Day remained unchanged.
Some residents are unsure of how to proceed, recognizing both the strengths and weaknesses of the in-person Town Meeting Day tradition.
Several Waterbury citizens argued that Town Meeting Day is important for learning about democracy and establishing community and connection with neighbors.
“I love coming to Town Meeting Day,” said Justice of the Peace Katrina VanTryne. “I like learning about the issues, I mean, this is democracy at its finest right here. I also get to see and meet my neighbors.”
Those in favor of an in-person meeting said it allows voters to be more informed. Participants can meet candidates, ask questions and listen to the opinions of others. The Town Meeting Day agenda and discussion creates a more informed voter, supporters believe.
“There is a lot of value to be gained from a significant portion of our community hearing from our neighbors about our opinions and coming to a more informed decision,” said Duncan McDougall, the Chairman of Waterbury LEAP. “I believe it is more important for our community to have an informed decision than to use an Australian ballot.”
Putting all business on the Australian ballot would mean losing a tradition, which is important to many Waterbury citizens.
“Tradition is sometimes spoken as some sort of a bad word,” said Waterbury resident Lisa Walton. “But the reality is, tradition doesn’t start off as traditions. It becomes tradition because it works.”
Others at Tuesday’s meeting argued that the event is not representative of Waterbury’s population, leaving many voices out of the decision-making processes.
Currently, 75% of Waterbury’s population is eligible to vote, but only around 5% of residents attended this year’s Town Meeting Day meeting. By comparison, election results on Tuesday reported by Town Clerk Karen Petrovic showed that 1,158 of 4,567 registered voters cast ballots in the town election for an Australian ballot turnout of 25%.
Those advocating the Australian ballot move said the low turnout number reflects the struggle by many to take off work, to find child care, or other other commitments.
“One of our speakers talked about freedom and unity to come here, but it’s a privilege to come here,” said Dani Kehlmann, former vice chair of the select board. “We should all be really uncomfortable with a 5% turnout.”
Another former select board member, Karen Miller, reflected Kehlmann’s concerns.
“Town Meeting Day is an amazing process,” said Miller. “But it is also difficult because you only have a small portion of your voting population present. Are you really representing everyone in the community?”
Although the voters opted not to make a change on Tuesday, some Waterbury residents are interested in looking into implementing a broader hybrid system for town meeting that might use Australian ballot as a way to increase participation while holding onto the in-person meeting tradition that so many find valuable.
“There is a value for those who can attend Town Meeting Day. However, it is a privilege, and not everybody can make it,” said Waterbury resident Chris Wood. “I’m not sure if the intent of today’s meeting was to figure out an Australian ballot today, or to just to start the conversation about it.”
Making a big change to the Town Meeting Day format may seem promising to residents, but many agreed that it needs more than one day of discussion to develop. Nevertheless, Waterbury citizens seem confident a solution can be reached.
“I want to keep Town Meeting Day, but I also want to include everyone,” said VanTyne. “We need to find a way to accommodate both needs.”