SB2 FAQ's

SB2

 is a form of Town Meeting that separates discussion from voting. All warrant articles are discussed and  amended during the Deliberative Session in early February. Voting on those articles takes place 30 days later during Election Day, on the second Tuesday in March. Unlike the current Town Meeting, SB2 allows EVERY VOTER to vote via paper ballot—NOT show of hands-on ALL THE ARTICLES in the town and school district warrants, in the PRIVACY of a voting booth, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, OR by ABSENTEE BALLOT, something that is NOT possible under the current system. This eliminates the disenfranchisement of those voters who work out of state, are traveling, in the military and/or out of country; retirees away for the winter, students away from home, elderly or ill unable to go to the usual late night meeting. Most importantly, it eliminates the intimidation that is a large part of the present forum, having to argue your point of view in front of a hostile crowd full of special interest groups.

Misconception #1: While SB2 does increase voter participation at the polls, the voter turn out at the deliberative session tends to be light. This opens the door for small organized groups to amend warrant articles in ways that constrain what the voters at the polls see on the ballot. This mean that while more citizens get the opportunity to vote, they may be limited on the choices they have to vote for.

Reality #1:  With our present town meeting the door is already open “for small organized groups to amend warrant articles in ways that constrain what the voters at the polls see on the ballot”.  In some cases the amendments are coming at the participants in such a manner that are confusing and not well understood. Voters need to make a rapid decision without time to review the issues. Under SB2 waiting 30 days for the actual voting (in the privacy of a voting booth) allows the voters’ ample time to study and understand the amendments before voting for or against them. Not only will they vote at their leisure between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM (instead of 5-15 minutes during Town/School meetings) but MORE people will vote because absentee ballots are available if a voter cannot be present, which is not the case during current town/school meetings 

This particular Misconception stems from an old study by The New Hampshire Center for Public Policy (NHCPP) of the first five (5) years of SB2 in NH ew Hampshire ( 1996-2001) which raises this as a concern. The  report is clear however, that there was limited attendance data available for  deliberative sessions and some town meetings so they cannot definitively validate this assumption. Since that report ( 2002) New Hampshire has six (6) more years experience with SB2 and many more towns and school districts adopting SB2.

Misconception #2 : No budget will ever pass. No union contract will ever be approved. When a town or school budget ( under SB2) is voted down, it reverts back to a "default budget."

Realty # 2: If the budget is defeated by official ballot , the Selectmen and or School Board are automatically authorized to hold a second vote 30 days later on the budget only. If it still fails, the default budget as defined by RSA40-IXb is  “the amount of the same appropriations as contained in the operating budget authorized for the previous year, reduced and increased, as the case may be, by debt service, contracts, and other obligations previously incurred or mandated by law, and reduced by one-time expenditures contained in the operating budget.” It will provide the same operating funds as the previous year plus adjustments for contractual obligations, i.e., raises due to collective agreements, etc. The town ( or school district )  will also have a budget hearing with the public to resolve and address concerns and present all points of view as well as amended line items.

Misconception #3 : People that are in favor of SB2 tend to vote with their wallets and only want to cut spending.

Realty # 3:  Based on SB2 voting experience, giving voters more time to research and think about the warrants, the vote against warrants is no greater than at town meeting.  An informed voter is a better voter! In a 2000 study by the NH Center for Public Policy Studies, they discovered:
• Voting on town spending issues increased by three fold with SB2.
• Voting on school spending issues increased by five fold with SB2.
In two of the three years available for this study, towns and schools with SB2 "showed slightly greater rates of increase in voted appropriations." No slashed budgets here. Experience has shown that official ballot jurisdictions approve higher spending per capita than do traditional town meeting jurisdictions.

Misconception #4 :(SB2)will be great for those that do not have to worry about winter roads, have a child in the school system or care about the overall quality of every service that the town provides.

Realty # 4:  It is inherently unfair to disenfranchise taxpayers because they live in town part of the year or don’t have children in the school system. It is also insulting to the many voters that are not here year round that they do not care about the quality of town services. These taxpayers pay taxes as if they live here 12 months of the year. It could be argued that they pay a higher tax rate calculated on days in residence. They do not get a pro-rated tax bill. To take this faulty logic one step further,  the residents (seasonal or otherwise) that do not have school age children should not have to pay school taxes as they do not utilize the school services.

Misconception #5: SB2 is not successful or more towns and school districts would have adopted it.

Realty # 5: Excluding those larger cities that have no meetings, there are more people living in SB2 towns than Town Meeting towns. (427,942 vs. 421,091) Ref. NHCPPS. Of the 69 school districts that have adopted SB2 not one school district has rescinded Of the 60 towns that have opted for SB2, only three have rescinded. Two of them have a population of less than 380 souls. This indicates that town meetings there are social events and their budgets are very small. ($417,000 and $190,000)
Gilford, Alton, Wolfeboro, Ashland, New Hampton, Conway, Wakefield are local SB2 towns… no sky falling there.

Misconception #6: Voters will not be properly informed of the issues if our town adopts SB2

Realty #6: In fact, they will be better informed than today.  They can attend the Deliberative Session and then have 30 days AFTER the Session to get additional information, discuss with other voters, read pro and con articles, view the recording of the deliberation session and make up their minds before voting in the privacy of the voting booth on the second Tuesday in March, without the pressures/intimidation of open voting at town/school meetings.  The consensus is that voters in towns that adopted SB2 are better informed NOW than ever before.  The warrant articles will be published in the local papers.. You can mark your decisions on the articles at home and take it into the voting both with you for reference.

Misconception#7: Municipal employees will NEVER get a raise

Reality#7: They will because raises are up to the Selectmen and Department Heads, not the voters, and are proposed as part of the budget or as warrant articles. No change from the current format.. The only change is how we vote.

Misconception#8: The town meeting is a New Hampshire tradition and should not be changed just because it is inconvenient for some to attend.

Reality #8: SB2 will allow voters that are currently “disenfranchised”  to vote at the Town and School District meetings.

Some of those who would gain their right to vote with SB2:

·                 Those who are serving their country in the military. 

·        Those with no means of transportation. 

·        Those with health conditions that prevent them from attending lengthy meetings. 

·        Those who are parents or single parents with young children. 

·        Those who are sick.

·        Those students who are studying out-of-state.

·        Those who are incapacitated hospitalized. 

·        Those retirees (senior citizens) wintering in a warmer climate.

·        Those emergency service professionals on duty.

·        Those doctors, nurses and other medical professionals on duty. 

·        Those public employees on duty. 

·        Those working at a second job or working the second shift. 

·        Those who are away on business. 

·        Those who are unable to attend because of personal or professional commitments.

·        Those intimidated by open voting.

·         Those who dislike politics (we understand).

·           Ordinary people from a diversity of backgrounds who all deserve the Right to Vote