Un Warranted?

by Glenn C. Koenig, webmaster at Town Wide Mall

Maynard, MA -  One would think that, with a vote to fund an $83 million school building project now on the agenda for Maynard’s Fall Town Meeting, scheduled for this October 10th, everyone would have received a copy of the Warrant (the meeting’s agenda and related information) by now.

But the word on social media, and from some individuals I talked with around town, is that a number of people either did not get a copy or if they did receive one, they didn't realize it.  That’s because it arrived enclosed in the weekly advertising publication, The Action Unlimited.  So, some people just recycled it before they realized what it contained. Upon learning of this, some voters reportedly went diving into their own recycling bin to search for it.  In addition, some households (perhaps in condo complexes) don't ever receive The Action Unlimited at all, so they miss out completely.

(photo taken by Judy Burgess, posted on Facebook.)

As we did not receive one at our house (or it was lost in the shuffle while we were cleaning up for an event here on Saturday), I went out in search of a copy.  I walked down to the Maynard Town Hall and met with Gregory Wilson, Executive Assistant to the Select Board, late on Thursday.  He has a number of copies in reserve, but most of them are being saved to hand out at the meeting itself, as an unusually large number of people are expected to attend.  When I asked, he agreed to place a few copies out in the Town Hall Lobby, available to voters who need one.

While I was at Town Hall, the Town Clerk, Dianne M. Reardon, provided me with a copy of the Public Notice from the Select Board, with a list of places in town where the Warrant is posted.  However, I learned that there are only one or two copies at each location (the tiny numbers to the left of each one in the list), held there for public inspection only, but no extras are available to be handed out (see illustration at right).  Later on, when I telephoned the Library, the staff there confirmed this.  They only have two copies on hand so there are no extras to give out to visitors.

Voters are left with only a few choices by now: pick up a copy at Town Hall, see the Warrant on the Town’s "Town Meeting" Web page:
https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2210/Special-Town-Meeting-Warrant
... where it is available as a PDF file, or download a copy here (also in PDF format, please see link below).  To produce a paper copy from the PDF, voters will have to use their own printers to print it out, or find someone willing to print out a copy for them.  However, that’s quite a bit of ink, as the document runs 23 pages, if they include the budget in Appendix A (or 17 pages without the Appendix).  Another choice is for voters to ask their neighbors if they received one that they don't plan to keep.

official_maynard_town_warrant_092223.pdf
File Size:	1215 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---

Comment

How did we get into this mess?  First, a quick history:  Back when many local communities had a weekly newspaper, Town Meeting Warrants were traditionally included in the paper as a separate section. On that date, the paper was delivered to every household in town, even for voters who did not have a subscription to the newspaper that would otherwise cover that day.  When I lived in Arlington, that was how I got my Warrant before Town Meetings convened there.
But now that the Beacon-Villager newspaper is no longer in print, the town must use other means.  The cost of postage to mail the Warrant to every household individually would severely strain the Town Clerk’s budget, to say the least, so the choice has been to have copies of the Warrant delivered with the Action Unlimited instead.
However, because the Action Unlimited is not a traditional newspaper (it carries mostly advertisements, along with a few stories and announcements), a number of voters just toss it in recycling when it shows up in their mailboxes.
So why weren't voters notified ahead of time, to keep an eye out for the September 22nd issue of The Action?  A notice was posted on the town web site home page:
https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov
... on the 18th, just 4 days in advance.  But many residents don’t take the time to check the town’s web site home page every few days, especially since updates are not that frequent (the most recent one that appears below the notice for the Warrant, when I checked just now, was posted back in August).  There was no “reverse 911” call or text message sent out because that’s reserved for more urgent public issues, such as town wide emergencies.

I like to have a paper copy because I like to highlight certain important bits of information.  Warrants contain a lot of officially required language, with which I'm quite familiar after all these years, so that helps me find what I need, quickly, later on or while sitting at the meeting.
Unfortunately, some voters will have to print their own or do without, until they arrive at the meeting.
One other alternative is to talk with your neighbors to see if they have received one.  You may not be able to mark it up, as I do, but at least you won't have to read it on a screen or print it out yourself.

Note for Newcomers

So, what's a "Warrant?"  If how town meeting works and some terms used in town government may not be familiar to you, I've written a short (3 page) document to help introduce you to all this.  (there is also a title page, but if you print front & back, it's two sheets of paper.) This is in the form of a PDF, with a link provided on the "Essays" page on this web site, but is also available by clicking on the link here below. I am also considering printing out a number of copies to distribute at Town Meeting on the 10th.

town_government_introduction_1.1.pdf
File Size:	53 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---

Note:  If you find this document useful, or you wish to support our work here at Town Wide Mall, please click on the "Donate" button, below, and consider making a donation of any amount.  We do not carry any advertisements, and access to everything here on this web site is free of charge (there is no "paywall") so we must cover our costs exclusively with donations. If you have already donated, we thank you!

Donate

News Index

Essays

Home