Whitefield

TOWN MEETING 2008

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With help from many people we assembled a sampling of some of the items on the warrant this March. We hope you find this list helpful and we hope you will use this page to post a comment on specific items. Three big points:

  • If you post a comment, keep your subject to just one warrant article. You can post as many separate comments as you like; our goal is to keep the online discussion organized in the same way that a town meeting goes through warrant articles one at a time.
  • You can comment on any warrant article whether it is on this short list or not. The goal of this list is just to get the conversation started but you are free to draw attention to any item that you think is important.
  • If you post a comment, please give your full name at the bottom, just as you'd have to state your name at town meeting.
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Whitefield

Town Web Site: 
http://www.whitefieldnh.org
Voting:
March 11, 2008 C.D. McIntyre Apartment Building voting: 8am-6pm town Meeting: 7:30 p.m.
Municipal Budget:
$1,936,655
Some Budgetary Items on Warrant:
Airport Road Bridge Replacement: $500,000 Downtown Rehabilitation (Petition Article): $100,000 Highway Equipment Replacement Capital Reserve: $75,000
Some Non-Budgetary Items on Warrant:
Change optional military veteran's tax credit from $300 to $500 Authorize appointment of town treasurer rather than elected Delegate the duties and responsibilities of the Cemetery Trustees to the Board of Selectmen
This list does not represent the full warrant. Consult your town report for the complete list.

Discussion

Appointment rather than election
Submitted by Jeff Woodburn on Wed, 02/27/2008 - 23:43.

There seems to be a trend moving through NH to shift power away from the voters to the boards of selectmen. Several towns, Whitefield included, are attempting to make town treasures appointed, rather than elected positions. There is also an attempt to strip power from the cemetery trustees and place it again in the hands of the selectmen.

A limited knowlege of government, human nature, the philosophy of founding fathers would find these changes unwise and/or offensive. Town meetings were designed (as a reaction to an absolute monarchy)to distribute power as widely as possible to ensure the least corruption and the most participation. Be mindful of "effeciency" as away to to remove public participation, government accountability, etc.

I urge voters to reject these two proposal. "An ounce of history is worth a pound of logic." - Holmes.

Jeff Woodburn
NPR News