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Open town meeting
An open town meeting government is a form of municipal government in which all qualified voters of the municipality have an opportunity to assemble on a given day to debate and vote on policy decisions. The town meeting usually occurs annually, but special meetings may be called more frequently. A board of officials, called selectmen or supervisors, is elected to carry out the legislative policies set by the citizens. Voters gather to speak their minds, weigh the pros and cons of policy and directly participate in passing ordinances, taxes, budgets, bonds and other legislative matters.[1][2]
The open town meeting form is one of the five historical forms of municipal government in the United States. The others are mayor-council, council-manager, city commission and representative town meeting.[1] A municipality's form of government and distribution of powers may be determined by state law, the municipal charter or local ordinances. The open town meeting form of government is largely found in towns in New England. According to surveys by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) as of 2011, 6% of municipalities use the open town meeting form of government.[3]
Support and opposition
In The New England Town Meeting: Democracy in Action, Joseph Zimmerman argues that open town meetings foster civic engagement by allowing "the opportunity for a relatively large number of townspeople to serve as legislators and/or on town committees." In addition, Zimmerman argues that town meetings "successfully have counteracted special interest groups."[4]
In an essay for Participedia, Angela Sgariata argues that open town meetings can be subject to "the problem of 'name-calling' and generally disrespectful and unconstructive communication." In addition, Sgariata argues that low attendance can compromise the representativeness of the town meeting.[5]
External links
See also
- Mayor-council government
- Council-manager government
- City commission
- Representative town meeting
- General law local government
- Chartered local government
- Home rule
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 National League of Cities, Forms of Municipal Government
- ↑ City Mayors Foundation, "Mayors play the central role in US municipal government"
- ↑ ICMA Municipal Form of Government Survey 2011 Summary
- ↑ Zimmerman, J. (1999). The New England Town Meeting. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers.
- ↑ Participedia, "New England Town Meetings," May 21, 2010
