1000thusername t1_jebs73h wrote on March 30, 2023 at 9:26 PM

Comment time is enshrined in bylaw where I live, and town meeting would never agree to repeal it.

Not sure where you live, but look into a citizens petition for town meeting to pass a similar bylaw to ours where every committee meeting must have comments as the first item. Not optional.

abhikavi OP t1_jebu2pp wrote on March 30, 2023 at 9:39 PM

It sounds like our system has been individual bylaws; so it's Board of Health bylaws that Citizen's Time go under, not city-wide bylaws. And so, Board of Health can just vote to repeal those for themselves. (They have not done that yet; one member tried to hold a vote, and the compromise agreed upon was that Citizen's Time would be pulled for next month's meeting, and a vote will be held then.)

I'll be bringing this up with my town reps, as I'd feel a lot more comfortable if it took a city-wide debate to remove public forum options. Or even state wide; I might also contact my state reps.

1000thusername t1_jebufjt wrote on March 30, 2023 at 9:41 PM

Sure. If you find they’re not warm to it because of the paranoia you’ve referenced, depending on your town’s specific requirements, you can type something up, get the required # of voters to sign it, and it has to go into town meeting for a vote. Bylaws by the people!

dew2459 t1_jef3hnc wrote on March 31, 2023 at 3:33 PM

>but look into a citizens petition for town meeting

Go for it! Just 10 signatures for a citizen petition article at an annual town meeting, and 100 for a special town meeting (caveat: while rare, a town charter can change those numbers, so double check with your town clerk).