Everyone’s in favor of democracy, how best to achieve it?

With area towns discussing town meeting options, The Hardwick Gazette has scheduled an opportunity to learn more about them, June 22, with the program, “Strengthening Local Democracy: Exploring ‘Both/And’ Ideas,” featuring Susan Clark.

Clark has worked with towns throughout the region by helping them explore ways to improve both democratic access and local engagement, valuing both the breadth and depth of community decision-making.

The event is being held at Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro and we hope Hardwick residents will feel as comfortable there as others.

The Hardwick Gazette is holding this event as part of our mission to inform our communities and support civic engagement.

The program does not anticipate any town taking priority or coming to conclusions. Clark will help us all develop a common language to discuss the issues involved with strengthening local democracy, learn what other towns have tried and perhaps come up with some new ideas of our own.

It will then be up to each individual town to take the next steps for itself. Clark will be available for further engagements should towns be interested in working with her.

These are important issues locally as residents question whether long-standing traditions of town meeting still meet the needs of our modern era.

Hardwick and Greensboro have been petitioned to have votes that would move most, or all of town meeting voting to the Australian ballot.

The Hardwick Select Board was petitioned to call a special town meeting for a vote on deciding all financial issues by Australian ballot, then expanded the warned article by adding all open positions to be voted that way as well. At its special town meeting in May, Hardwick devised a plan to bypass the vote and call together a group to study the options. That group is now being assembled.

Greensboro has its Special Town Meeting to consider moving all Town Meeting Day questions to Australian ballot on Tuesday, June 30 at 7 p.m. in the Highland Center for the Arts.

Craftsbury spent several years looking at options and settling on one. They can now evaluate their success in meeting the town’s needs.

Other area towns watch to see what solutions others settle on and how well they achieve their goals.

Everyone I talk with is clearly in favor of democracy, but has different ideas about how to achieve it.

Some are confused by procedures that seem less than transparent, both before and during town meetings.

Discussions leading to a budget approved by the select board and ready for a vote, seem too tightly focused early on, and mysterious with little discussion when it comes to a final vote.

Many people say, the select board will tell us, “Come to budget meetings, but there are four, five, or six of them and there’s no discussion, then just a quick look at one or two items at the final one before it’s approved to be warned.”

There are good points to be made for having in-person town meetings and votes, with direct civic engagement and amendments to articles.

There are good points in favor of Australian balloting, with secret votes, more convenient access and absentee ballots.

Towns are beginning to explore ways to capture the benefit of both as their citizens examine Town Meeting Day options.

Clark will help us continue to explore those options Monday.

Paul Fixx, editor