Report of the Town Moderator 2008

The Town Moderator is an elected town position having two primary responsibilities:
 

1. To preside over Annual and Special Town Meetings, deciding all points of Town Meeting process, and

2. To appoint the members of the Finance Committee
 

Town Meetings are open to all registered voters in the Town of Southwick. Your participation is not only your right, but it is welcome and important to a healthy process of local town government. You do not need to be an expert in parliamentary procedure or a great speaker! As Town Moderator, my role is to make your participation easy and rewarding. If you ever have a question about Town Meeting process and procedure, please ask me.
 

I am open to suggestions for improvement and especially how to encourage greater participation. Last year we tried a Saturday morning special town meeting and found that attendance was even lower than on weekday evenings. However, we remain open to other constructive ideas for raising Town Meeting attendance.
 

The Finance Committee’s primary responsibility is to study and evaluate all monetary articles that come before Town Meeting and to make its best recommendation to the voters. This group is a critical part of having a successful open town meeting process, and I greatly appreciate the many hours of honest deliberation that they invest in fulfilling their responsibilities. It is always challenging to find new members to the Finance Committee and I always welcome volunteers interested in an appointment to the FinCom. You do not need to be an accountant or a financial person – any voter with good business and/or decisioning skills willing to be fair and invest time in learning the process is a good candidate. My goal is to appoint individuals of diverse backgrounds and interests to this committee.
 

There are a number of people who assist me in making Town Meetings run smoothly – the Selectman’s and Town Clerk’s Offices; volunteer tellers (vote counters); high school student volunteers who run the sound system and move microphones around the room; police officers who are there to maintain order; Town Clerk Michelle Hill; Town Accountant Linda Carr; and Town Counsel Ben Coyne.
 

I always welcome your questions. I can be contacted either by email or 569-9283.
 

Thanks for the opportunity to serve our wonderful Town of Southwick as your Town Moderator.
 

Respectfully submitted,

                                                        

James N. Putnam, II