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Chapter 24
Structure and Function of Local Government
Male Speaker: Bob and Roberta Chase are hard at work making maple syrup this time of year but that wouldn’t keep them from town meetings.
Roberta Chase: Yeah, you got to be there see what’s going on, if you don’t go, you don’t know. You know, it’s hard to make aliving, specially raising kids, well one.
Male Speaker: So when it comes town meeting time then you’re concerned about where your dollar is going?
Roberta Chase: That’s right. Lots of dollars go there you know, we have a right to say where they go what they’re doing with them.
Male Speaker: One hot item this year is the question of replacing the aging fire truck.
Bob Chase: They want to buy a new chrome truck for out in the country. You don’t need chrome to fight a fire.
Roberta Chase: We don’t have any people to sit there and polish chrome all day, they don’t work any better with the chrome.
Male Speaker: We’ve had a town meeting around here since colonial times, but don’t let that fool you. This is not some antique concept or boring tradition. Nope, after stewing indoors all winter the good people of Whitefield are prime to exercise their constitutional rights and their jaw muscles.
Male Speaker #2: If everything goes through today, my taxes are going up to $500. Austin Moore’s is going to over go up over 600. This is hard money to find.
Male Speaker #3: What I am looking at is the difference between one-mile of road and one teacher for the school and I go for the teacher.
Male Speaker: This might seem like a quaint scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting, but it is important to remember that at many places around the world, you would be risking your life to speak out like this and folks at Whitefield are definitely not shy about speaking out.
Female Speaker #2: What Mr. Albaugh just said should tell us all something.
Male Speaker #4: Is there a motion on article 23?
Male Speaker; As predicted the fire truck issue sparked some fireworks.
Frank:I don’t take too much time here but the truck that we have sitting over in a station is a 1965. There is a 30-year-old truck down in Kings Mills and your next newest truck is 20 years old, setting in North Whitefield and at some point you are going to have to replace them. So we’re just trying to plan here and if you can’t help us well you know, maybe we’ll get tired of doing it, maybe somebody else will have to do it.
Male Speaker #5: Come on Frank we don’t need threats like that.
Male Speaker #4: Let’s keep the meeting orderly.
Frank: It’s not a threat, Phil. You have retired we’ve all earned it. I have been doing it 20 years maybe I need to retire.
Male Speaker #4 All those in favor of raising zero dollars for the fire truck replacement fund please raise your hands.
Male Speaker: Town meeting isn’t over until every item on the town warrant has been debated and retired, whether things went their way or not folks have the satisfaction of knowing that they have said their peace.
Frank: I had my chance to say my side; the people didn’t buy it that’s all. You have to wait and try it again.
Female Speaker #3: Everyone should have their, day in court, as it said, day in school, day at town meeting.
Male Speaker #4: Those opposed to reconsidering arguments…
Female Speaker #4: People have always wanted to express their opinion. Clear back to the pilgrims they wanted to express their opinion, have their voice be heard, we haven’t changed.
Male Speaker: Attending a town meeting like this one here in Whitefield, Maine makes me wonder whether democracy itself wasn’t born out of our harsh New England climate, perhaps merely surviving another winter gave our forbearerscourage to resist the different kind of tyranny. Now, mostly town meeting boils along just like that maple sugar pot with some of the same sweet results. Pure home made democracy.
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