At the Wednesday evening Greensboro select board meeting, October 9, I witnessed a breakdown of the social contract: the social contract being the implicit agreement by citizens to recognize a body of authority, in order to both sustain the current system and serve the greater common good. As such, the contract generally guides moral behavior.
For example, a municipality agrees to recognize the authority of an appointed select board, a body with general supervision and control over the affairs of the town. In theory, we should treat these individuals with respect and understanding.
However on Thursday evening the environment I was in more closely resembled a middle school classroom than an essential and respected part of local government.
I was shocked and appalled with the manner in which members of the Greensboro community addressed the board. Audience members were combative, even antagonistic, during times of discussion.
Notably, distributed to the audience was a 15 item bulleted list, titled “Model Rules for Public Participation at Municipal Meetings.”
Included in the list were instructions such as, “Please raise your hand to speak,” “Repetitive and irrelevant comments are not allowed,” “Keep your cool. Disruptive people will be asked to leave and removed if necessary” and “Please wait your turn; do not interrupt others.”
Raising your hand and waiting your turn are fundamentals of etiquette taught in grade school. Speaking with respect or “keeping your cool” is the most basic pillar of decorum.
The fact the board had to reiterate this to a room full of grown adults is shameful.
At the start of the meeting, the board reviewed the instructions and reiterated the importance of being able to work through the agenda efficiently. Regardless of the reminder, interruptions were frequent and side chatter was constant.
At one point, an adult woman muttered “bull****, bull****, bull****,” loud enough to be heard from several feet away. The board pretends not to hear your disrespectful remarks out of courtesy. As a prospective member of the press, I don’t feel the need to let it slide.
Another audience member even accused the board of routinely violating open meeting laws, with one violation being that meeting agendas have been posted a day late.
Reminder: the select board is composed of humans. Humans are subject to a crazy thing called life, which can interfere with their day to day activities. It is reckless to ascribe malicious intent to what is likely just human error, simply because one has a grievance with the board.
No one is entitled to monopolize the agenda at a public meeting. The board serves more than just one person. The purpose and function of these meetings is for the public body to conduct work for the public, they are not meetings of the public. There is a difference, and a public forum regarding Rural Edge will be held in due time.
In the meantime, the road foreman may need to secure funding for FEMA projects, the budget must be prepared, balanced and approved, employee policies and contracts must be discussed and other business deserves its chance to be considered.
The select board is at the heart of Vermont’s local government. Elected officials are human, and need to be able to conduct and discuss municipal business efficiently to best serve the community. Yes, individuals have the right to address those officials and bring issues that concern them to the board. However, the behavior I witnessed Thursday is detrimental to the function of the meetings, which impacts the entire community and only succeeds in creating a culture of division.
Raymonda Parchment
Hardwick Gazette intern
An earlier version of this article incorrectly indicated the meeting was on Thursday.
Raymobda is a VTSU - Castleton English Major interning with The Hardwick Gazette.
