More than six weeks before Town Meeting gets underway, John D. Leone, the meeting moderator, has issued a call to observe speaking limits:
At this year’s annual Town Meeting, which commences on April 24, 2017, at 8 p.m., there are two resolutions on the warrant, Article 59 (Sanctuary Town) and Article 60 (Transparency in Politics). As you are aware, resolutions passed by Town Meeting do not carry the weight of a bylaw and are effectively unenforceable votes, and the debate on a resolution has the potential to be divisive to a civil functioning Town Meeting.
Following the practice for the past several years of discussing other articles, the debate on both Articles 59 and 60 will be limited to 10 minutes per side. The proponents and the opponents will each be afforded a total of 10 minutes to present their best argument, and then we will conduct our vote.
This time limitation should not be interpreted as limiting debate; instead, it is meant to preserve the Town Meeting members’ time and focus to conducting the actual business of the town, budgets, bylaws and zoning bylaws,
I encourage the Board of Selectmen and the Arlington Human Rights Commission, the originators of Article 59, to conduct additional public hearing for all of our benefit and to hear from all Arlingtonians on these issues, and to also provide an avenue for both sides to organize. I encourage both sides to organize well in advance and prepare effective arguments and presentations so that at Town Meeting we are presented with concise arguments by both sides.
If you have any questions, please feel free to telephone or email me. Thank you.
John D. Leone, moderator, Town of Arlington
51 Irving St., Arlington, MA. 02476
JLeone[@]town.arlington.ma.us
781-648-2345
This viewpoint was published Saturday, March 11, 2017.
