Tonight was our annual airing of grievances, also known as the night we deal with the town budget. We spend a lot of time discussing things we don't like, and then pass the budget unanimously on a voice vote.
If we were showing up and giving serious consideration to a lot of amendments, it would be a sure sign that something is seriously wrong in Arlington, as it would imply that the town staff and our Finance Committee are not getting the job done.
So instead of discussing what we ought to change in this article, we discuss what we liked - or as is the case 99% of the time - did not like about how the town conducted business as enabled by this money we gave them last year.
The town uses too much salt on the roads in the winter. The town doesn't use salt the right way. The contractors hired to clear our streets never learned how to drive, and where are we going to put all that snow, and none of this would be an issue anyway if people would just slow down and drive more carefully. There are too many lights over here, but not enough lighting at the Uncle Sam statue. Etc.
This year I felt the discussions positive and less resembling of an angry mob, pitchforks and torches in hand, throwing ad hominem attacks back and forth across the hall.
That said, I personally find budget night to be the most painfully long night of Town Meeting. I think our business is to vote on articles, and discussions should be reserved for amendments and changes to the articles before us.
It's not that what people have to say isn't valid or interesting in the right context. I simply don't feel this is the place it needs to happen. If however my view is in the majority, it is a very silent majority, and tradition triumphs.
Speaking of more people with a lot they'd like to tell us about, I am part of a growing crowd of Town Meeting members rather frustrated with the time spent each night on announcements and reports of committees, which takes place before we begin working through the articles. Last night we spent 50 minutes on this activity.
What people have to announce and report on is almost always good stuff. I feel that this practice is getting a bit out of control, and needs to be curbed a bit.
If we took all the time needed to say good and informative things, we'd never deal with anything else. When we approach one third of our meeting time taken up by announcements, performances, and reports that could be (and often already are) printed up and handed out, I feel this practice has gotten to be out of control.
Whether it is announcements and reports, or discussing at length articles we aren't going to change, I am sympathetic to the feelings of people who have a lot they'd like to say and share with the rest of us. I often feel the same way, and I found an outlet that allows me to share all sorts of things that I think people really need to know. In case what I do could be beneficial to others also, I share this advice:
Get a blog.
I've heard a lot of people complaining about the multitude of reports and announcements at the beginning. I agree that it must be kind of frustrating and tedious. I'm wondering though, have people formally complained about this yet or is it just at the grumbling about it stage?
ReplyDeleteSo far, to the best of my knowledge this is all at the level of grumbling. I know I for one am still working through how best to approach it all. There's nothing I would label as "wrong" with what is said during that period, and I don't want a formal complaint to come across in a manner that makes anyone think it is so (this blog post of mine is a chance for me to practice exactly how to raise the issue). The problem that I see is that there are so many important things to be said, and if we let this time used for this purpose continue to grow, well, how many nights should Town Meeting run?
DeleteWhat do you cut? We heard an announcement about two volunteers last night that I felt provided them much earned recognition for their work. Last week, we heard the Madrigals perform. A couple of weeks ago, we heard a tribute to Harry McCabe. We've heard about bike month, park clean-up efforts, art exhibits. We've heard many reports of committees.
The concern I and others have is that we have far too many important things to say, and no method to constrain it all into a fixed set of time. We need a method of some sort, as the idea that someone can decide that "this announcement makes the cut" and "that announcement does not" is an impossible job, it seems to me.
My fear is that we could fill up a week of Town Meeting with announcements, and still not cover everything. The need for this activity is outgrowing it's venue.
Airing of grievances is right. When I got home from the meeting I wrote a quick Facebook update describing the evening in those exact words. I'm a new TMM this year, and I'm pretty underwhelmed by the whole thing. I went into it thinking that Arlington would probably be better off as a city, but willing to be persuaded otherwise. So far, I'm not persuaded :-/
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl, thanks for commenting! I am still relatively new myself, first elected in 2012 making this my third year of Town Meeting, though on budget night, I feel like I've been doing this for 20 or 30 years.
DeleteI'm hoping that Arlington will remain a town. I believe that being a town we foster an enormous amount of civic engagement that would be lost in a city form of government. And I'll confess: I just think it's neat to live in a place that is run by volunteers.
One potential downside of being in Town Meeting or otherwise engaged as you, I, and others are is that we are exposed to the "noise machine," wherein we hear all the complaints and attacks & etc.
We see all the warts.
I try to remind myself that despite all this, Arlington seems to be a pretty desirable place to live. I know I like it here, and seeing how much people want to move here still, we must be doing something right.