League of Women Voters of
the
Upper Valley
League of Women Voters of
the
Upper ValleyHanover, NH, Norwich, VT and neighboring towns
Voter Participation in Hanover, a committee
report
Recommendations:
The
Need to Simplify
Voter Turnout in Hanover--TablesTable 1Voter Turnout Hanover Town Meeting, 1980-2004 Table 1 A Voter Turnout Hanover all elections 1999-2004 Table 2 Percentage of registered voters casting ballots at Dresden School District budget votes 1991-2004 Table 3 Percentage of voters by town at Dresden School District annual meeting ballot voting 2001-2003 Report:Voter
Participation in Hanover
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Town
Boards and Administration
School Boards and Administration Much of the public is not familiar with local procedures. Repeating explanations of processes is important. RECOMMENDATION: Both Town officials and School Board members should ensure, to the extent possible, that the public understands processes and how to interact with them. The Town Annual Report, which in 2001 was mailed to 2000 persons, and the Annual School District Report, which in 2001 was mailed to 2100 persons, are the principal means of communication between the town, the schools and the citizens. Every effort should be made to make these documents "user-friendly." RECOMMENDATIONS: • Divide town and school warrant
articles into categories of
housekeeping or routine articles (those that tend to appear annually),
and budget articles.
• A written discussion of budget articles should include both the financial implications in terms of tax burden, and community implications including long term costs. • The Annual Reports should include an explanation of the Finance Committee (how it operates and who serves on it). This Committee should more fully explain the basis for their approval or disapproval of town/school budgets both in the Annual Report and at the meetings. • Warrant articles should be presented in two versions; user-friendly language summarizing the article, and the legal wording. • Sample ballots should be mailed out in the Annual Report and posted at. major traffic centers such as the Howe Library and the Coop food store, as well as at post offices, to remind voters of upcoming meetings and to allow voters to become familiar with the ballot. • In order to accommodate tenants and other residents who do not receive official mailings, a transaction ad in the newspaper should announce the availability of Town reports. A Town/school newsletter issued regularly throughout the year could keep citizens up-to-date on evolving issues, inform them of upcoming dates, and prepare citizens for the annual meetings. RECOMMENDATION: Initiate publication of a Hanover newsletter, perhaps modeled after the one distributed in Norwich. Or, as a start, include a one page update of both Town and school issues in Town mailings such as the calendar (November) and the School and Town Annual Reports (March and May). As an official publication of the Town, the annual calendar should include information necessary to encourage citizens to be informed and to participate in local affairs. RECOMMENDATION: Include the short list of eleven Town/school meetings and deadlines listed in Appendix 3 and as many other meeting dates as possible. RECOMMENDATION: Hold public discussions, public hearings, School Board meetings, and Town board meetings at alternate locations such as Trumbull Hall in Etna from time to time during the year to encourage participation by a wider cross-section of people. The principal event in municipal government is the annual Town Meeting, and in school government, the annual School District Meetings. RECOMMENDATION: Deliberate effort should be made to "market" Town Meeting and the School District Meeting to voters. This could be done by special flyers, paid ads in the Valley News and other periodicals, use of the banner across Main Street, posters by school children, and soliciting the participation of local nonprofit groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Hanover Improvement Society, the League of Women Voters, the Girl and Boy Scouts, and others. Annual Meeting Days for both the Town and the schools should be presented as events not to be missed. Keep annual meeting dates free of conflicts RECOMMENDATION: Town Meeting, Hanover District Annual Meeting (Ray School) and Dresden District Annual Meeting (Richmond/High School ) dates are set by law and can be projected into the future. Dartmouth College, Hopkins Center, and other groups should be informed of these dates in order to avoid conflicts. League
of Women Voters
RECOMMENDATIONS:
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