The Maine Monitor held its second Monitor Talk event this week at the Greene Block + Studios in Waterville. The event, put on in partnership with Colby College, focused on Maine’s home rule governance structure and the tradition of town meeting, which dates back to colonial settlers.
Maine has two basic forms of local government, according to the Maine Municipal Association: the direct form, in which residents vote on ordinances and approve spending at town meeting, and the representational form, in which an elected council serves as the legislative body. There are five basic variations on the forms, according to MMA.
At the event on Wednesday, moderated by Monitor Local editor Judith Meyer, three panelists discussed the history of town meeting in Maine and its changing role in local governance.
Kennebunkport Town Manager Laurie Smith praised the deliberative nature of town meeting, and said she felt it is “the great equalizer,” allowing even those who may not be in positions of power to influence the direction of the community.
“You can have all the education and the great job but not understand the rules of town meeting and not understand the rules of activism,” said Smith, while a person who may be “on the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder but who has lived there all their life, who knows all the people and can get the right votes in the right places … that is a whole different ballgame.”
The panelists discussed the declining attendance at town meeting, its current and future role in local governance, the role of county governments, and the need for a regional approach to issues such as a changing climate.
“Town meetings are the last real piece of democracy in this country,” said Tom Saviello, a Franklin County commissioner and former legislator who has moderated numerous town meetings.
“People live with the consequences,” said Nicholas Jacobs, the Goldfarb Family Distinguished Chair in American Government at Colby College. “These are not advisory opinions. … These are binding decisions.”
