A Remarkable Government

To the Editor:

We have a remarkable system of government in Newtown. Unlike Washington or even Hartford, which can be distant and seemingly impenetrable, our town’s government is compact and potentially familiar. Our government is led largely by volunteers and is staffed by a small team who truly are dedicated. It operates among us, with some effort we can all observe and influence it.

It is also truly a government of the people. A core principal is that all major decisions are voted on directly by the people, thus the existence of our budget and charter change referendums and the town meetings to authorize capital projects.

Unfortunately, this government sometimes can be difficult to understand: we have a bewildering array of boards, councils, and commissions, the budget development process is long and convoluted, and the news stories can be difficult to understand if you don’t know the back story. In addition, those who previously lived in cities or in other parts of the country may not be familiar with the referendum process or our government’s unique structure. For a small popular government, at times our government may seem very opaque.

I believe that was evident in our last budget referendum. Not only was there a poor turnout and a small margin of defeat, there were very few people attending or speaking at the many public hearings held prior to the referendum. Many have tried to put a particular spin on the results. For me the conclusion is inescapably that people simply weren’t involved in the process. There is no real data that tells us why: whether it was distraction by vacations and holidays, burnout, disenchantment, complicacy, a lack of understanding of the town’s political system, or something else. Simply, people didn’t get involved. Although many will correctly argue that it is every citizen’s responsibility to participate, I, as an elected official, have to accept some of the responsibility of not finding ways to more effectively make this remarkable form of people’s government work.

I’m not happy with the proposed budget. We started the process with a very lean budget, and the cuts will be painful. However, given where we are I believe that it is the right budget. I strongly recommend all Newtown voters to turn out on May 17 and vote Yes.

William Hart

24 Fawnwood Road, Sandy Hook                                 May 11, 2011