Article 47: Town Boards to Provide Details and 4-Days Notice for Public Meetings

By petition of Steven Jusseaume and at least 25 registered voters, shall the Town of Hampton, in the interest of making the best use of Town employees’ and volunteers’ time, require that detailed agendas for all public meetings be posted at least four days prior to the date of the meeting? The agendas should include a list of the Town Departments, Boards and Commissions that are being asked to participate in the meeting, with a brief statement of the topic(s) to be discussed. The items on each agenda should be listed in the order in which they will be discussed, with the understanding that occasional and unavoidable last-minute changes may need to be made. Each agenda shall be posted at Town Hall, at the Lane Memorial Library, and on the appropriate page on the Hampton Town website? (Majority vote required)

 What it means: Although most boards abide by this courtesy, according to the petitioners it is not always the case.   If a Board holding a public meeting does not issue a detailed, timely agenda, members of the public cannot properly decide whether or not they wish to attend the meeting. Further, when the presence of Town employees or volunteers is required but those people are not notified until the last minute, it creates issues with scheduling other Town business. This Article aims to remedy that situation.

Those in favor say: It makes sense to require this, and since most Boards do this anyway, it is not seen as a hardship. The Article recognizes there may be unavoidable exceptions to the rule.

Those against say: No one spoke against this Article at Deliberative Session.

Fiscal Impact: No tax impact.