BRATTLEBORO-Thank you to all the Brattleboro voters who talked with me and the other campaigners for the One Person One Vote petition. And special thanks to the more than 5% of the registered voters who signed it. The Brattleboro town clerk certified the petition on Aug. 4, so it will be put to a vote.
The vote will be held by Australian ballot (traditional secret ballot) as required by Vermont state law at a time to be determined by the Selectboard. The petition puts two articles on the ballot.
• The first article, if it passes, would discontinue Representative Town Meeting (RTM).
• The second article, if both articles pass, will enable all registered voters in the town to vote on the budget and all public questions by Australian ballot. These items have been voted on by RTM since that form of government was adopted over 60 years ago.
• If RTM is discontinued and the second article does not pass, by state law Brattleboro will default to an open town meeting (OTM) form of government.
• If the first article to discontinue RTM does not pass, then even if the second article passes, the town will continue with the RTM form of government.
Please contact me if you would like a copy of the petition text or have any questions.
Tom Franks
Brattleboro
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