VERNON — During one of the first Town Meetings that I moderated, one woman was continually talking over others during discussion about building a senior housing project.
I had originally run for town moderator because people were talking over one another and snickering and catcalling. And now I had run out of patience.
I called a recess, and I explained to the woman that according to the meeting rules, only one person was allowed to speak a time, and if she persisted, I would throw her out of the meeting.
We then resumed the meeting, and I recognized her, upon which she said, “I also recognize you, young man.”
I'm seeing more problems in our public meeting space. We have too few people volunteering to run for office or otherwise serve, and we have too few people knowing too little about our town government when they do want to engage in the process.
We need to make sure our volunteer board members get the proper training, and that board members and the public have a better grasp of the expectations for public meetings, which can so easily go off the rails.
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We want and need people to become involved. All the area towns and schools need volunteers. In the Windham Southeast district, there are parent groups associated with each school that need more members, and the same goes for Vernon.
At last check, Putney had 18 volunteer positions unfilled. Vernon has a five-member Capital Plan Review Committee, which reviews annual budget purchases of over $10,000. The committee has only one current member.
A big step is simply voting. Far too many young people over 18 do not vote or even register.
Registering to vote is easy in Vermont. If you are 18, you can go on online at the secretary of state's office. You can register to vote when you get a driver's license. You can do it in person at your Town Clerk's office. You can even do it on Election Day, as Vermont has same-day registration.
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Voting is the first responsibility for all of us, but it's not the only one. Get informed about the work and processes of our town government! People in elected and appointed offices are here to help you, but you've got to spend a few minutes to make sure you aren't missing something.
Do you know who is on your town selectboard and school board? Do you know when they meet or what is on their agenda? Do you know the meeting rules if you would like to speak about an agenda item or bring up something new? Have you read your town's annual report, the town plan, or the audit report? When was the last time you voted?
For too many of us, our answers to this list of questions would not produce a passing grade.
For instance, Brattleboro had a 14 percent voter turnout on March 1. In other words, when deciding on school board members, the school budget, town officers, and Representative Town Meeting members, 86 percent of those registered to vote didn't show up.
The names of public officials in your town are on its municipal website. Agendas for those same boards and minutes from these meetings, which must by law be posted within five days, are also there. The meeting agendas are also posted at three places in town, unless otherwise noted.
Each town publishes an annual report, with a yearly audit and reports from town boards. Most towns work to create a town plan as a way for citizens and town officials to know its resources and goals.
These documents should be available online and, by request, from your town offices. My town, Vernon, sends out a flyer each year to notify citizens when the town report will be available, and I'm looking at four boxes of them in my office right now.
Don't have the internet? You can request this information from your town - it's public information. Each board has rules of procedure, and town officials are there to help you find what you're looking for.
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Participating in public service is a habit I picked up young, and I recently had the chance to light a spark in a new generation.
All throughout school I ran for class offices and lost. I was vice president of the Brattleboro Union High School chapter of the Future Farmers of America. I learned Robert's Rules of Order at an early age. I've been a registered voter since I turned 18 in 1974, and I've voted in nearly every election since.
I was asked to speak with the Vernon Elementary School's third-graders a few weeks ago about elections. Some of the other Vermont Town Clerks suggested that I give them a chance to vote on a decision that I would otherwise make.
I decided to let them vote on the design for next year's dog registration tags. It would be an easy way to show their vote matters.
The votes are in, and the tags will be heart-shaped and blue. When those third graders see those tags on the collars of dogs in Vernon, they will feel fully invested in the decision.
That's what we want people to think of when they vote - that their vote counts, that they see the results of it, and that they helped in the vetting.