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Sam Quintana will be featured in a social media campaign promoting the benefits of working for Maine cities and towns, which officials say are are struggling to fill vacancies.
As annual town meeting attendance dwindles, is secret ballot the way to go? Towns that utilized a secret ballot for recent town meetings saw a larger turnout than those that stuck with tradition. Share Sidney resident Peter Beckerman addresses the crowd March 27 during the annual Town Meeting at James H. Bean School. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel file Floor discussions may be a thing of the past at the annual rite of spring — town meetings. While attendance dwindled at traditional town meetings during the coronavirus pandemic, towns that used secret ballot to vote on annual issues ...
Blue Hill selectmen seek to grow their numbers BLUE HILL — Since the 1700s, the town of Blue Hill has been governed by a three-member Board of Selectmen, according to Selectman Jim Dow. But times have changed and the board, which is currently at two members due to former Selectman Vaughn Leach’s resignation, would like to add more members. The selectmen held a public hearing Monday to discuss the annual Town Meeting warrant, which will be held by referendum due to the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying social distancing requirements that Governor Janet Mills still has in place. The meet...
Future uncertain for the traditional New England town meeting The pandemic may accelerate the end of Maine's long-standing small town traditional of gathering in a room to set town budgets and make policy decisions. By Daniel DunkleThe Courier-Gazette Share The traditional New England town meeting has long been revered as a pure form of democracy, but decreased attendance, the pandemic and the rise of absentee balloting may mean the end of an era. In the past year, many municipalities have forgone the town meeting process to vote on their budgets at the polls while others have come up with ...
MIDDLESEX, Vt. — The town meeting, for centuries, was a staple of New England life — but the coronavirus pandemic could accelerate the departure from the tradition where people gather to debate everything from the purchase of local road equipment to...