Chapter 2: Town Government: Town Meeting and Elected Officials

League of Women Voters^®
of the Upper Valley

Chapter 2: Town Government: Town Meeting and Elected Officials

Know Your Government: A Hanover Citizens Guide

Introduction. Town Meeting. Select Board. Back.

All registered voters are encouraged to participate in the yearly Town Meeting, a living example of direct democracy. This chapter explains how you can participate in Town Meeting and in electing or running for town office. Chapter 3 will cover another important way you can participate - that is, in appointed town boards and committees.

Annual Town Meeting

Town Meeting is a phenomenon unique to New England; the legal and historical bases for Town Meeting are the Hanover Town Charter, the New Hampshire Constitution, and New Hampshire statutes.

What is a Town Meeting?
Town Meeting is a meeting of citizens who come together to form the legislative body of the town. It is held yearly, the second Tuesday in May, to elect town officers, adopt the town budget, and consider other town issues. The meeting consists of two parts: (1) daytime ballot voting (in New England, a secret ballot is referred to as an "Australian ballot") for elected officers and zoning amendments, and (2) evening open business meeting for all other agenda items, including the proposed budget.

What is the Warrant (agenda) for Town Meeting?
The Town Meeting agenda is called "the Warrant." Prepared by the Select Board, it includes Election Day information and "Warrant articles" (that is, items to be voted on). Some of the articles are followed by a written justification for the item under consideration. Only articles listed on the Warrant may be considered at the meeting, and articles are usually voted in the order in which they appear on the Warrant. Most articles are placed on the Warrant by the Select Board or a town committee; however, an article may be placed on the Warrant by a petition of 25 registered voters submitted in writing to the Select Board at least 35 days before Town Meeting.

How is the Warrant publicized? What is the Annual Report?
In April, at least sixteen days before town meeting, the Annual Report is mailed to local taxpayers; the Annual Report is also available at Town Hall, town libraries, and the meeting. The Annual Report includes the Warrant, as well as other items for the information of the citizens--including the proposed budget; a list of town board and committee members and reports from those committees; a list of town administrators and reports from town departments; and the tax rate and fee schedule.
The Warrant itself includes two sets of articles: (1) "ballot Warrant articles" to be voted on by ballot at the voting polls--including election of town officers (candidates' names appear on a previous page in the Annual Report, under "Candidates for Town Office"), zoning amendments, and state referenda, and (2) other Warrant articles to be discussed and voted on at the open business meeting--including the proposed budget.

How can you learn about the candidates and issues before Town Meeting?
You are encouraged to read the local newspapers for election coverage, and, in the case of contested elections, to attend Candidates' Night--a public forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters--to meet and question the candidates. Candidates' Night is broadcast on the community access channel 8. The town website http://www.hanovernh.org and this League of Women Voters website also contain updated pre-election information for voters.

How is Town Meeting conducted?
Town Meeting takes place in two parts. See the Annual Report, mailed to taxpayers each year, for details on time and place.
Ballot voting: Voting on items listed in the Warrant as "ballot Warrant articles"--including voting for candidates for office, zoning amendments, and state referenda--is conducted by ballot during the day of Town Meeting (the second Tuesday in May). Voting takes place from 7 am to 7 pm, usually at the Hanover High School gym.
Business meeting: The other items listed in the Warrant, including the budget, are considered at an open meeting, called the "business meeting," held at 7 pm, usually on the same day, in the Hanover High School gym. All registered voters are entitled to participate in the discussion and to vote. At an open town meeting, citizens sit down together and discuss, modify, and vote. All votes are by a show of hands unless there is a motion for or a state requirement for a written ballot. It is possible to amend articles under discussion, to move to stop debate, to take no action on an article, or to reconsider an article previously passed at that meeting. The Town Moderator presides and the Recording Secretary prepares the minutes. Town Meeting is televised live on channel 8.

What if you cannot attend the Town Meeting?
Ballot items: You may vote by absentee ballot on the items decided by ballot voting by requesting an absentee ballot from the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall, and delivering it in person by 5 pm the day before Town Meeting or by mail by 5 pm the day of Town Meeting.
Business meeting items: You must be present, however, to vote on or contribute to discussion of any Warrant items to be discussed at the business meeting. No absentee balloting is allowed on these items.

What is a special Town Meeting?
In addition to the annual Town Meeting, a special Town Meeting may be held any time during the year, except during the 60 days before the annual town meeting; however, this infrequently occurs. A special meeting to raise monies requires the permission of the Superior Court.

The Select Board and Other Elected Town Officers

You are encouraged to participate in your local government by attending meetings, by contacting your local officials to voice your views, and by running for office yourself. For updated information about current members and vacancies, see http://www.hanovernh.org. To become a candidate for town office, file at the Town Clerk's Office at least 40 days before the election, as announced in the newspaper. All contestants for local positions run without party identification. Some elected officials receive nominal stipends.
The Select Board and Town Manager: The Select Board--so named because members are selected on Town Meeting day--performs the Town's executive functions for the rest of the year. The five members are elected for staggered three-year terms. The Select Board implements Town Meeting decisions, appoints members of town boards and commissions to help them in their work, and hires the Town Manager. The Town Manager is a full-time chief executive officer for the town, who helps the Select Board conduct town business, hires town personnel, and serves as administrative head of all town departments.

All Select Board meetings are open to the public and broadcast on channel 8. Meetings take place on designated Monday nights, on the second floor of Town Hall in the Board Room. Select Board meeting agendas are posted the Saturday before each meeting in the local newspaper and on the Hanover website, http://www.hanovernh.org. After each meeting, the approved minutes are available on the Hanover website, and videotapes of the meetings are available at the Howe Library.
The Moderator: The Moderator is elected every two years to (1) preside over Town Meeting, (2) preside at voting polls, and, (3) help select Finance Committee members. (See Chapter VI.) Although the Moderator presides at the Town Meeting, the Select Board chair presides at Select Board meetings.
Supervisors of the Checklist: Supervisors register voters and maintain a checklist containing the names of all qualified voters. They meet before elections and are present at all elections to register new voters and record changes in party affiliation. Three Supervisors are elected for staggered six-year terms.
Town Clerk: The Town Clerk, who serves an elected three-year term, assists at all elections and town meetings, together with the Supervisors of the Checklist. All other Town Clerk duties have been delegated a paid town employee, the Deputy Town Clerk, who works in Town Hall. The Town Clerk's office handles voter registration, vital records, auto registrations, and landfill tickets.
The Treasurer: The Treasurer, who serves a one-year paid term, is responsible for receipt and disbursement of town funds and the short-term investment of excess funds.
The Trustees of Trust Funds: These trustees, who serve three-year terms, oversee the funds reserved for special purposes. (See also Chapter 6 on town finances.) Library Boards of Trustees: Both the Howe Library and the Etna Library are town supported. Each has a board of trustees, but they are elected differently because the libraries are historically different: the Howe Library trustees are elected by the Howe Corporation; the Etna Library trustees are elected by voters.
Other elected officers: Other elected officers include Fence Viewers, Park Commissioner, and Surveyors of Wood and Lumber, important responsibilities in Colonial times.

In addition to the elected officers and boards described here, town government also includes the appointed boards and committees - as described in the following chapter.

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