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Town Meeting Day in depth: Vermonters vote on issues from school budgets to snow plow names

Looking down the aisle in the town hall in Strafford on Town Meeting Day, with a high ceiling, ornate blue trim against cream walls and packed rows of voters on either side, sitting in wooden benches.
Tony Talbot
/
Vermont Public
More towns are returning to in-person Town Meetings in 2023, but the question of voting by ballot or via floor vote—like this busy vote in Strafford from 2012—continues to be discussed in many communities.

Town Meeting Day is just around the corner—for many Vermont towns, it's Tuesday, March 7. This hour, we'll hear about important votes and ballot items under consideration and check in with town clerks, moderators and more about what voters will decide on at their town meetings.

Our guests are:

  • Susan Clark, longtime Middlesex town moderator, discussing the changing nature of Town Meeting
  • April McCullum, digital editor at Vermont Public, discussing the online Town Meeting Day guide and Town Meeting bingo
  • John Odum, Montpelier city clerk, discussing the capitol city mayor's race and budgets
  • Charlie Papillo, Colchester selectboard member, and Glen Cuttitta, Colchester's director of Parks and Recreation, discussing a multimillion-dollar recreation center being voted on
  • Rep. Joseph Parsons, vice chair of the Newbury selectboard, which is asking residents to vote on a letter to state officials opposing plans for a new juvenile detention facility in the town
  • Tom Galinat, town clerk and treasurer in Peacham, where voters return for their first in-person meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic to vote on a snow plow name, among other issues

Broadcast live on Monday, March 6, 2023, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Mikaela Lefrak is the host and senior producer of Vermont Edition. Her stories have aired nationally on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Marketplace, The World and Here & Now. A seasoned local reporter, Mikaela has won two regional Edward R. Murrow awards and a Public Media Journalists Association award for her work.
Connor Cyrus was co-host and senior producer of Vermont Edition from 2021-2023.
Matt Smith worked for Vermont Public from 2017 to 2023 as managing editor and senior producer of Vermont Edition.
Andrea Laurion joined Vermont Public as a news producer for Vermont Edition in December 2022. She is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., and a graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. Before getting into audio, Andrea worked as an obituary writer, a lunch lady, a wedding photographer assistant, a children’s birthday party hostess, a haunted house actor, and an admin assistant many times over.
Tedra joined Vermont Public as a producer for Vermont Edition in January 2022 and now serves as the Managing Editor and Senior Producer. Before moving to Vermont, she was a journalist in New York City for 20 years. She has a master’s degree in journalism from New York University.