Town Meeting Wednesday night voted to allow up to 15 Town Meeting Members to attend remotely through hybrid meeting technology, but postponed the vote that would have sent a home rule petition to the state legislature making the change a reality.
Town Meeting has considered similar petitions before, and voted them down in those cases. Previous iterations of the warrant article would have allowed any number of Town Meeting Members to attend remotely, raising concerns about reaching quorum.
Some members felt allowing remote attendance would lower the quality of the discourse and would encourage people to take their responsibilities less seriously. But Precinct 1 Town Meeting Member Chris Campbell, who was in favor of the change, said he was attending in person because he had to, but he has family members home sick and would have preferred to stay home with them. “We need to give universal accommodation to our members so they can participate and still have their voices heard. What are we afraid of? That more people will join? More people will be heard? This is not what a democratic body should be afraid of.”
Right now, Town Meeting Members with disabilities may attend remotely under the ADA, but other members are required to attend in person. Under the new rule, Town Meeting Members would be able to request attending remotely on a first come, first serve basis, and ADA compliance would be separate. But the article only applies with the Legislature’s approval, so for now, no change will occur.
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