‘Have Your Say Day’ catches on: Waterbury, Duxbury hold pre-Town Meeting gatherings
January 5, 2025 | By Lisa Scagliotti Waterbury town officials have decided to follow neighboring Duxbury’s lead when it comes to drumming up wider participation for Town Meeting.
For the first time, voters in both communities will have a chance to get a preview and weigh in on their town budget proposals well in advance of Town Meeting Day with “Citizens Have Your Say Day” gatherings coming up on Saturday, Jan. 11 — and in Waterbury a second such meeting takes place on Monday, Jan. 13.
Note that to date, Waterbury voters have not taken any formal action to change the March Town Meeting format. But given discussions at the past two Town Meetings in 2023 and 2024 around how to increase public participation, the Waterbury Select Board has scheduled two January public meetings to try out a new format that voters could adopt for future years.
Waterbury’s first “Have Your Say Day” meetings will be held next Saturday, Jan. 11, and Monday, Jan. 13. The Saturday meeting will begin at 10 a.m. at the American Legion on Stowe Street; the Monday meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Waterbury Grange Hall Cultural Center on Howard Avenue. Both will have Zoom options, too. As in neighboring Duxbury, the Saturday meeting invites attendees to bring a pie to share (not required, however).
Waterbury’s March Town Meeting will be held on Town Meeting Day, March 4, as usual. The format remains unchanged for this year. Voters at that meeting, however, will have a chance to change the format for future years. (More on that below.)
Meanwhile in Duxbury, town officials are preparing for the third annual Citizens Have Your Say Day, also scheduled for this Saturday, Jan. 11. The Duxbury meeting will be held in the cafeteria at Crossett Brook Middle School, starting at 8:30 a.m. with pie and coffee. The business portion of the meeting begins at 9 a.m. (Scroll down for more on the Duxbury meeting below.)
Waterbury town officials on stage at the 2024 Town Meeting: Moderator Rebecca Ellis, Town Clerk Karen Petrovic, Town Manager Tom Leitz and the Select Board. Waterbury’s Town Meeting this year will still be held using the customary format. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Waterbury tries a new format for participation
From the Waterbury Select Board:
“The Selectboard recognizes that town meeting is a great tradition, and has served us well over the years. At the 2022 and 2023 Town Meeting Days, there were informative discussions regarding the future of Town Meeting. Residents noted the desire to maintain the town meeting tradition, while others recognized that attending a mid-week, daytime meeting in person can be challenging, and that the overall [number] of voters participating in Town Meeting increased during the COVID years when all voting on the Town Meeting was via Australian ballot. Residents wishing to weigh in on this issue can do so at Have Your Say Day, and in person at Town Meeting on March 4.”
Discussions at the past two annual Town Meetings have acknowledged that it’s not easy for many residents to attend the traditional March meeting held on a Tuesday morning. While voting by paper ballot is held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the Harwood school budget and local elections, the town budget and other financial matters are voted on solely by those attending the in-person meeting.
In a nod to exploring how to broaden public participation in that process, the Waterbury Select Board has arranged for two informal public meetings on Jan. 11 and 13 similar to the new format that Duxbury switched to in 2023. For Waterbury, however, this is still an experiment. Town Meeting on March 4 will still be held in the customary way with the budget discussion and vote happening at the morning in-person meeting.
The Jan. 11 and 13 “Have Your Say” gatherings coming up are opportunities for people to hear a presentation on the draft budget, ask questions, and offer feedback. The January dates were chosen so that the select board could revise the budget if necessary based on feedback it receives. The board must finalize the budget to be printed in the town report and placed on the Town Meeting warning by the end of January.
The meetings also will offer a chance for the community to discuss the future of March Town Meeting and whether there is support to forego the March in-person meeting in order for all business to appear on the paper ballot.
In Duxbury, the past two years’ January meetings have had a look and feel of the former March town meetings – absent the voting. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Duxbury conducted all of its business at an in-person meeting, including town elections. Like Waterbury and many other Vermont communities, participation jumped during the pandemic when meetings were called off and all voting was done by paper ballot.
In 2022, Duxbury held a special town meeting in November to debate and ultimately change their Town Meeting format. There was a strong consensus to not lose the chance to gather and discuss – and be able to revise – the town budget before voting, however. Hence the January meeting. Now all Duxbury business is done by paper (“Australian”) ballot with an informal “Have Your Say Day” meeting for community members to learn about the budget, ask questions, and offer feedback to town officials before the budget is put on the March ballot.
In Waterbury’s case this year, Town Meeting Day will still involve an in-person meeting where the budget vote will take place. The Select Board also will place an item on the Town Meeting warning giving voters in attendance the opportunity to change the format of future town meetings. State law requires that such changes be done at a meeting using the existing format, so this question cannot be placed on the paper ballot voters will see on March 4.
If voters choose to eliminate the in-person meeting in 2026, the select board said it would continue to host “Have Your Say Day” in advance “to ensure the board gives the community a chance to weigh in on important matters.”
Voters at the upcoming meetings also can learn about town offices that will be on the March 4 ballot for election. Positions include: Two one-year terms and a three-year term on the select board, all four Waterbury seats on the Harwood school board (terms are one, two, and three years), one three-year seat on the Board of Listers, two seats on the Cemetery Commission (one five-year and one four-year), and one five-year term on the Library Commission.
This week: More information, Select Board to choose a new chair
Waterbury Select Board Chair Roger Clapp. Photo by Gordon Miller
Note that information in advance of Waterbury’s Jan. 11 and 13 meetings will be posted on the town website here by Wednesday, Jan. 8. The draft budget for 2025 (Waterbury operates on a calendar fiscal year) calls for no municipal property tax increase. It also includes a breakdown of how to spend new local option tax revenue, estimated at $635,000 for 2025. The spending list includes work on gravel roads, a new fire truck, a new tandem dump truck, planning for a new recreation facility, funding for a new housing trust fund, maintenance on the town pool, and adding a new secure electronic entry system at the municipal building.
Questions may be directed to Town Manager Tom Leitz at 802-999-6450 or Select Board Vice Chair Alyssa Johnson at Alyssa.Johnson@waterburyvt.com.
Also this week, when the Waterbury Select Board meets on Monday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m., one item of business will be to select a new chair. Current Chair Roger Clapp is starting a new job as executive director at the nonprofit community and economic development organization Revitalizing Waterbury. The new role has prompted him to step aside from the board leadership position. A new select board chair would serve until March. The board chooses its officers for a year following the March Town Meeting Day election.
Details for Duxbury’s ‘Citizens Have Your Say Day’ Jan. 11
Duxbury Town Clerk Maureen Harvey addresses the Citizens Have Your Say Day audience as the Selectboard and Moderator Dan Senning look on from the stage. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Duxbury’s gathering on Saturday begins with pie for breakfast – attendees are asked to bring a pie to share. Duxbury Historical Society members will slice and serve along with coffee. There will be a donation jar to support their programs.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. with Duxbury’s state representatives on first for an informal, short conversation. The new legislative session begins on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Attendees bring pies to share at Duxbury’s Have Your Say Day at Crossett Brook Middle School. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
The main portion of the meeting will be a presentation by the Duxbury Selectboard of the draft fiscal year 2025-26 budget. Attendees will be encouraged to ask questions and offer comments on the draft.
“This is your opportunity to suggest changes to the budget that will be voted on in March,” town officials explain in their Say Day announcement.
No formal voting happens at this meeting. The town budget is voted on by paper ballot on Town Meeting Day which will be March 4. The selectboard can still make revisions to the proposed budget before finalizing it for publication in the town annual report and putting it on the March ballot.
Since 2023, Duxbury voters have approved the town budget by ballot only during all-day voting. The change was made to move away from voting at an in-person meeting after the COVID-19 pandemic when paper-ballot voting gained much wider participation.
Also on Saturday, townspeople can learn about the offices that will be up for election on the March ballot and pick up petitions to get signed should they decide to run for office.
Town Clerk Maureen Harvey will share the full list of elected positions to be filled. Several key offices include seats on the selectboard and the Harwood school board. Selectboard Chair Richard Charland is ending a three-year term; board Clerk Jerry McMahan and member Crystal Sherman are each in one-year seats. According to their Say Day announcement, all three selectboard members intend not to seek re-election.
Life LeGeros, one of two Duxbury members on the Harwood Unified Union School Board, also has announced he will not seek another three-year seat on that board.
The selectboard last week continued working on the draft budget to present on Saturday. A recent version showed an increase of about 10% over this year’s budget. That was before the board approved revisions last week that include significant wage increases for road crew members. The updated version of the proposed budget will be posted on the town website this week and paper copies will be available both at the town office this week and at the Saturday meeting. (This post will be updated with a link to that information as well.)
Also at Saturday’s Duxbury gathering, local community organizations and town committees will have tables and displays with information about their work.