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From the Statehouse to the Town Hall by: Thomas W. Harnisch, Do's at a Town Board Meeting
1. Request, (not demand), in writing, to be placed
on the Town Board meeting Agenda in a timely fashion with your concerns or questions specifically provided to the
Town Chairman.
2. Prepare for such public meeting,
including developing for dissemination to the Town Board a written meeting handout, which should contain relevant
written articles and exhibits. Normally, no more than three (3) or four (4) major legal or political concerns can
be successfully addressed by any speaker under reasonable time limitations. (e.g. five (5) minutes).
3. Where lawful and advisable by law, contact the Town Board members prior to any "legislative" Town
public meeting to "lobby" the individual Board members regarding your concerns. "Quasi-judicial
meetings", like Board of Review meetings and License Issuance meetings, should not be "lobbied"
by the parties of interest.
4. Prepare to speak to the Town Board based on the "rules" of the Town Board, including time limitations.
Often, public discussion at a public meeting will be limited to a few minutes per person. Attempt to determine
what will be these time limitations prior to the meeting.
5. Prepare your speech with time reserved, where advisable, to answer questions from the Town Board. Some of those
questions may be "arranged" prior to this meeting with certain Town officials.
6. Arrange to have specific supporters in attendance at the meeting where advisable. These supporters may or may
not speak, where again advisable. Long-time friends, political allies, and relatives of the Town Board members
are normally good supporters.
7. Address the Town Board with respect for the officers even if you do not respect an individual Town Board member.
8. Speak at a proper voice level and with proper enunciation and clarity that will allow the Board members to understand
you. "Speak up", but don't shout.
9. Repeat any questions asked of you by the Board members to insure that you understood and heard the question
and that the other Board members and the public understood the question.
10. Avoid politically partisan, religious, racial, ethnic, sexist, agist, and disabled comments or jokes with these
Board members at their meetings. Be "politically correct" at these public meetings, even if it causes
you great discomfort in your speaking style.
11. Prepare for the meeting by knowing the facts and politics that are relevant to the meeting Agenda item.
12. Inform in advance the Town Board if you have any physical or legal disability, which would limit your participation
at a Town board meeting. A legal disability may require a Closed Session.
13. Remember that "legislative" Town public meetings are legally different than quasi-judicial meetings
of these Towns. The legal standards and actions that ethically can be taken by participants are quite different
at these two (2) meetings. Know the difference.
14. Address normally your comments, questions, and responses to the Chair of the Town Board meeting.
15. Make your public or private concerns to the Town Board meeting very clear and distinct, and offer your possible
solutions and answers that are clear and distinct. If you do not know an answer to a question, say "I do not
know the answer." Remember, Town Board officials are elected persons with, often, limited background expertise
and understanding of specific public or private concerns. They may need your help to make these concerns real and
clear to them.
Don'ts at a Town Board Meeting
1. In Towns do not confuse Town Board meetings with
the Annual or Special Town meetings. These are quite different public meetings with quite different legal and political
functions.
2. Do not threaten or insult Town officials at Town public meetings. The political and legal ramifications are
generally not positive for the threatening or insulting party. Remember, respect the office.
3. Do not contact Town officials prior to any individual legal action related to a quasi-judicial meeting or hearing
of a Town Board for which you have a substantive interest. This may be deemed "ex parte" conversation,
and may cause negative legal ramifications.
4. Do not offer Town officials anything of value related to any upcoming Town meeting actions. This may be considered
bribery or misconduct in office for the Town official, and may be considered bribery by the offering person.
5. Do not attempt to participate or speak at a Town Board meeting where the Chair of the meeting has not recognized
the speaker. The State Open Meeting law for Town meetings limits when the public may participate based on the published
Agenda of the public meeting.
6. Do not disturb Town meetings with the use of video or tape machines. These machines are allowed at Open public
meetings, without permission, but must be carefully installed and used to limit disturbance.
7. Do not argue or debate with the Town Board official at a Town Board meeting. Town meetings, (both legislative
or quasi-judicial), are fact finding and record creating meetings, not debate forums. To debate with Town officials,
get elected to the Town Board.
8. Do not encourage nor cause any noise disturbance at Town public board meetings. Clapping, hissing, or booing
are not proper legal or political actions, and possible subject the disturbing person to disorderly conduct charges.
9. Do not harass or alienate Town Board officials by constant public participation at Town meetings, and by lengthy
public speeches at these meetings.
10. Do not make or encourage false or misleading statements at Town Board meetings, and do not publish at these
meetings false or misleading articles or publications. The political ends do not justify the means of false statements.
11. Do not discuss or attempt to discuss items not on the public Agenda for the meeting. The State Open Meeting
law for Town Board meetings limits the scope of public discussion to published Agenda items.
12. Do not expect nor demand at Town Board meetings that Town Boards immediately take action on specific public
or private concerns. Town Board officials are mostly part-time public officials whose time commitments may not
allow for immediate action, even if the desire to take timely good faith action on these public or private concerns.
13. Do not "bad mouth" your opposition or people who oppose your concerns at the Town Board meeting.
In local government and politics you should never "burn your bridges."
14, Do not underestimate certain Town Board official's response at Town Board meetings. Certain Town Board officials
are quite capable and skilled politicians who clearly do understand the political and legal ramifications of suggested
public political or legal concerns and actions.
15. Do not forget to publicly thank Town officials at these public meetings and to praise, (where advisable), them
for their past public actions. Town officials are human beings and, yes, politicians with a sense of vanity and
a need for self-esteem.
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THANK-YOU FOR
VISITING
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