Zoom Meeting Shows Need for Democratic Reform

At last Wednesday’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) info meeting the selectboard members were constantly visible and audible, while everyone else was muted and with video turned off. The technical bugs of the Zoom format were already worked out during the district caucuses — district 2 was allowed fourteen minutes — no time even to welcome new members. Same deal for the other districts. We were told these restrictions had to happen because of COVID and the Zoom meeting. By contrast when the selectboard was ready to speak, democracy was intact: their time was unlimited. Selectboard gets unlimited time; RTM members get scraps. This kind of practice is undemocratic and did not begin with COVID.

At a recent discussion about a climate resolution that Brattleboro Common Sense (BCS)brought to RTM one selectman said something like,” If you’re so serious about this, why did you take to RTM?”, clearly implying that RTM is not a serious branch of government. The board thinks RTM exists only to approve the board’s proposals. But the town charter says

“Representative Town Meeting is a guiding body for the town, and a source of ideas, proposals and commentary . . .”

“A guiding body for the town” — the charter doesn’t say that about the selectboard. This is important because the 140 members of RTM are not acting to their full potential, and the town needs them.

BCS has been working to end selectboard dominance over RTM. Minor reforms have been accomplished in recent years, but allowing time for RTM’s chartered purpose of guidance and proposals, controlling our own agenda, — these things may not happen until people take RTM seriously. One BCS worker says that RTM, happening once a year, is seen as an event and not as a branch of government. If RTM met 4 – 5 – 6 times a year, then people and members will see it as a branch of government. That should be our focus at RTM this year. Other progress will flow from that. Do you think so?

See also:
REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING: Taking its rightful place
REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING: Physical Dominance of the Selectboard