In the run-up to the annual town meeting last April, the Advisory Council discussed ways to increase participation at the meeting. One of the things they considered was whether town meeting should be held on a single Saturday instead of across multiple evenings during the week.
Advantages are you get the meeting over with in a single day and doing it on a weekend could be more convenient for those who work during the week. The downside is, well, it’s a Saturday.
The Advisory Committee meets tonight and has this as a topic on their agenda. It’s possible you could see an article like this one at the special town meeting next month:
To see if the Town will vote to amend the General Bylaws of the Town, entitled “Code of the Town of Southborough Massachusetts”, by changing Section 41-1, paragraph A by deleting the words “second Monday of April at 7:00PM” and adding in its place the words “second Saturday of April at 9:00 AM.” (via the Advisory Committee forum)
What do you think? Would you rather have town meeting on a Saturday? Would it increase participation? What would get more residents to participate?
It may or may not increase participation. Having attended numerous Town Meetings over the past 30 plus years, I find that the size of the crowd is defined by what is on the agenda. The LARGEST crowd I ever remember was a Saturday at the old Woodward. Both floors were jammed with people, and parking was non-existent. The subject: building a new middle school.