OPINION: Why I love Town Meeting
March 1, 2025 | By Mary KoenI grew up in an entirely different culture within this big diverse country of ours – mostly south of the Mason-Dixon Line. However, when I moved to Boston after college, I experienced not a culture shock, but a welcome and a connection that felt like a warm, sincere hug.
When I moved a year later to the Connecticut River Valley to teach, I knew New England was where I belonged! I have lived and worked in Vermont and along the Connecticut River in New Hampshire for 52 years, embracing both the centuries of cherished traditions and the changes that have enriched our state and its population.
Waterbury has been my home for the last 17 years. Because I moved here alone, without children or work in the local schools, and with a job that took me all over Vermont, it wasn’t until Tropical Storm Irene that I found my place in this welcoming community.
This piece, however, is not about me and my background. It is about the underpinnings of this state and this town that make it such an enviable place to live.
The first Town Meeting in Vermont was held in 1762, 23 years after the Town of Bennington was chartered and a decade-plus before The Declaration of Independence and the State of Vermont existed. Here are quotes from a 2018 VTDigger article about the history of New England town meetings:
“They had no government to rely on except the one they formed at town meeting…As conflict grew between the Colonies and Britain, New England town meetings took on a vital role opposing British actions…It had proved easier to build new connections with neighbors than a bridge across a river.”
In my mind, our challenges here in the early 21st century correlate with those faced by early settlers in the late 18th century.
Convenience does not make a community. Connections between neighbors and coming together to solve problems do. Waterbury gained a statewide reputation for how well we rebounded and rebuilt after the devastation Irene wrought in 2011. This phenomenal community effort, and that which many experienced after flooding in recent years, was only possible because of the solid underpinnings of centuries of community governance in our town and state.
It is my firm belief that this can-do spirit and visible community engagement sit atop a foundation of the good people in this state and the centuries of traditions from which we benefit.
My belief in the importance of Waterbury’s Town Meeting to our community is not theoretical. I acknowledge that my work allowed me to attend many town meetings in this and other communities. Even when I was not able to do so regularly, I made a point to take two or three hours of my time when I first arrived in a new town to go on that first Tuesday in March to listen and vote. I came to know the issues, voices and traditions of my town. Some years it was very important to show up, other years I trusted the Select Board and community members to make decisions in the best interest of the town. From time to time I was grateful to be in attendance as the discussion informed my vote or a critical motion was made from the floor. I have also experienced the very sad state of disengagement after a town or a school district voted to approve budgets by Australian ballot. Just compare Waterbury’s ability to solve problems with Montpelier’s – they are comparable communities in size, but Montpelier has no town meeting tradition.
Please, do not vote in favor of Articles 8 and 9 on Tuesday, March 4.
If you want more say in the issues and budgets before the town, attend Select Board or other town committee meetings held at night, or put your name forward to be elected or appointed to a vacant seat. There are many ways to have influence before a policy or budget is finalized.
This year in particular, we Vermonters must work hard to maintain our civil and community-oriented society.
If you’d like more understanding of our time-honored Vermont democratic traditions, buy or download a copy of the Freedom and Unity booklet put out by our Secretary of State, attend a showing sponsored by Vermont Public of the documentary Join or Die (also available on Netflix) or, if action is more your style, watch the new series Zero Day currently available on Netflix.
Mary Koen lives in Waterbury.