Just ask.
That is what the Council Review Committee is asking the Town Council to do in the form of a November non-binding ballot question.
The purpose of the non-binding ballot question would be to get a sense of support/opposition of the Review Committee's proposal to have a smaller Town Council with both precinct based and at-large representation.
The Barnstable Patriot reported that the possibility of placing a non-binding question on the ballot is presently being considered by our Town Council.
The ballot question would give valuable insights to a new Charter Commission this Fall. Why not ask our citizens how the feel about a hybrid mix of precinct based and at-large Councilors? If we said a strong no, the Charter Commission would not have to waste valuable time on this model. If we said a strong yes, the Commission might spend less time on the status quo, and spend more time on this model and the all at-large model.
Either way, the Commission would get a good sense of how we feel about the hybrid option. Since we are going to the polls anyway, there is no harm in asking how WE feel about the Review Committee's recommendation.
Why not ask?
What do you think?
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4 comments:
Hey BB, No reason not to support the ballot question. Let the people decide!
BB,
Since the question is non-binding, no harm either way, but a mitigating point.
Since the review committee was only allowed to examine council issues, and not all charter-related issues, a vote on just a mixed council will very possibly have far different results than a vote on a new charter with other significant changes. For instance, if you throw in things like a mayor, appointed/elected boards, school committee membership, etc. things will be viewed far differently in the voters' eyes than just looking at the council's mix.
However, I see value in getting the general voting public to start think about what they want changed in a new charter, and this could help to develop some purposeful debate.
According to the Patriot, the Committee worked hard to research this issue. There was a broad cross-section of the community on the committee and they seemed to tak their work seriously. Why not have a ballot question?
Al
The Council should put the question forward.
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