When Acworth  voters go to the polls on  March  8 they should  be  aware that Article 4 on the  official ballot would eliminate Town Meeting as we know it.

Article 4 seeks to replace Town Meeting with an SB2 format.  Under SB2 warrant articles are discussed and may be amended at a meeting in February, but voting on all articles takes place entirely by official ballot at the polls in March without the benefit of open discussion as there would be during a traditional Town Meeting.

Several people who signed the petition to get Article 4 on the warrant have said they regret doing so. The way in which SB2 was presented to them was very misleading. It was not explained that SB2 would abolish our traditional Town Meeting.

The danger of becoming an SB2 town is not that we would have uninformed voters but that we would have misinformed voters. This is already apparent considering the excessive amount of incorrect information about SB2 which is being dispersed in Acworth.

A document filled with inaccurate information which is making the rounds in Acworth leads voters to believe that if we become an SB2 town the selectmen will no longer have the authority to transfer funds within the operating budget. This is simply not true. RSA 32:10 clearly states that the governing body may transfer appropriations within the budget as long as the bottom line of the total budget approved by voters is not overexpended. RSA 32:10 applies even in SB2 towns.

Town Meeting is one of the last models of true democracy which remains in our country. We are lucky to live in a region that continues to engage in this time-honored New England tradition.

Save our traditional Town Meeting. Vote NO on Article 4.

In NH towns that have switched to an SB2 format the meeting in February during which warrant articles are discussed and may be amended but are not voted on is attended by an average of 2.5% of voters. Refer to fact sheet.

In Acworth that would be 18 people.

Acworth’s Town Meetings now average 25% of voters or 141 people. That means that more voters have a say at Town Meeting than would under the SB2 format.

According to data collected by the NH Institute for Policy and Social Science Research participation in the deliberative process of the annual meeting is much higher in traditional meeting towns and school districts when compared to official ballot (SB2) jurisdictions.

More tax dollars are spent per capita in NH SB2 towns than in traditional Town Meeting towns. Refer to fact sheet.

In 1996 the Fall Mountain Regional School District went to SB2. The District’s Annual Meeting went from 600 voters attending to 80 and the budget has continued to grow without most voters’ input.

If SB2 is being presented as a way to keep selectmen from transferring funds within the operating budget you are being sorely misled. Even in SB2 towns selectmen have the authority to transfer funds from one line item to another within the operating budget as long as the bottom line appropriation is not overexpended. RSA 32:10. See article.

If you need help getting to the polls to vote please contact the Board of Selectmen’s office at 835-6879 Monday through Friday 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM.

Keep your power as a voter. Save our traditional Town Meeting. Vote NO on Article 4.