The deliberative session on Feb. 9 went smoothly. While there was a fair amount of discussion, there was only one motion to ammend the article to include an additional $100,000 explicitly for the purpose of addressing a certain house bill that was on the floor of the legislature in Concord that could affect building projects, and it apparently pertained to demolition or something like that. The current proposal actually includes contingency money for just such a purpose, and interest on the bond money during the construction phase could also be used to cover this item. As such, the motion was withdrawn. So, the warrant article will be on the ballot as originally proposed by the school committee. The wording of the warrant article can be found HERE. Below is an article about the importance of deliberative sessions that was published prior to the session.

Why attend? Read on... at the very least, scroll down to the bottom of the page and just read the Why? section below.

Saturday, February 9, 2008, 2:00pm
Campbell High School, in the auditorium
Free on-site child care will be provided!

A warrant article is an item put to a vote to grant (or not) the authority for the town to purchase or sell something at an agreed price (in this case, to build an elementary school). There are regulations on how warrant articles are proposed, and typically involve garnering a set number of signatures of registered voters. I don't have particulars on how Litchfield does this; if someone has that information, I'll be glad to post it.

A deliberative session is a town meeting where registered voters are presented with information about warrant articles, and is presided over by the town moderator, an elected position. Anyone can attend, but non-residents must sit in a section that is separated from registered voters (in case a vote becomes necessary). Warrant articles are handled separately, one at a time. Voters are presented with the exact wording of the article, and typically there is usually a presentation. Residents can ask questions, raise concerns, and comment on the issue. Registered voters can propose amendments to the warrant article (I believe there are a minimum number of signatures required to propose an amendment). Amendments are then debated, and may be called to a vote.

Votes can be done by voice or by ballot. They are usually done by a verbal yea or nay. If the moderator cannot determine a clear winner, the vote may move to a written ballot. A clerk or registrar will pass out ballot sheets to registered voters that attend the session. Each called ballot will be assigned a unique number, and residents will then mark their vote on the ballot strip with the matching number and pass it in. The ballots will be tallied, and the decision will be announced. Also note that motions can be called to move a vote directly to a ballot vote. The final wording of the warrant article that appears on the ballot at the polls totally depends on what happens at the deliberative session, and may not be what it is today.

So why attend? Here's why:

Wording of warrant articles can be changed.

Dollar amounts can be changed, increased, decreased (even to $0!!!).

The warrant article that you support (or don't) today, may not be what you end up seeing at the polls.

Warrant articles can be effectively "sabotaged" by motivated individuals weeks before voting day.

Since attendance at deliberative sessions is basically a small proportion of registered voters, it only takes a relatively small number of people to make changes to a warrant article. Every vote is important! Attending a deliberative session is just as important as, and possibly more than, showing up on voting day, so please plan on attending the session.

There are two warrant articles to be heard at the deliberative session: one for the proposed elementary school, and one for the operating budget. The wording of the elementary school warrant article to be presented at the deliberative session is as follows: