They even want a new tax on bedrooms...

[dawn]

If there are 20,000 people in a town, and only 100 show up, and 70 of them vote for more spending (which is what happened in my town) you can't then complain.

This is a legitimate government?!?

If you live in a town that has traditional town meeting, you must attend the meeting and actively participate in it to have any say about the operating budget and other warrant articles that decide other spending issues and policies for the town. And there is the same meeting for your school district as well, which is equally if not more important than your town meeting. The school budget in our town is almost three times that of the town.

Become informed - read the budget, read the warrant articles, attend the public hearings on the budgets, etc. Also helps to know parliamentary procedures as some people do try to pull tricks over on the uninformed. For example, in a traditional town meeting, someone may make a motion to put a warrant article on the table. If that passes and if no one later moves to take it off the table, it never gets voted on. If an article passes or is defeated to your satisfaction, make a motion to "restrict article X from further reconsideration". Doing so means that this article can not be brought back up again later in the meeting, like after enough people have already left to be able to change the vote.

If your town is not yet an SB2 town, you still have time to do the petitioned warrant article previously mentioned by CNHT. This breaks your town meeting into two sessions. The first session is quite similar to the traditional town meeting except for one important issue - the actual voting is done a month or so later on an official ballot (the same time you vote for selectmen, etc.).

SB2 gives everyone in town the opportunity to vote, even those who are away who will be able to vote by absentee ballot. And those who can not spend numerous hours on a Saturday at town meeting for various reasons - physically unable, having to work, having to be with your children, etc. etc. Why should these people be deprived of their right to vote on the important issues??

[CNHT]

If there are 20,000 people in a town, and only 100 show up, and 70 of them vote for more spending (which is what happened in my town) you can't then complain.

This is a legitimate government?!?

If you live in a town that has traditional town meeting, you must attend the meeting and actively participate in it to have any say about the operating budget and other warrant articles that decide other spending issues and policies for the town. And there is the same meeting for your school district as well, which is equally if not more important than your town meeting. The school budget in our town is almost three times that of the town.

Become informed - read the budget, read the warrant articles, attend the public hearings on the budgets, etc. Also helps to know parliamentary procedures as some people do try to pull tricks over on the uninformed. For example, in a traditional town meeting, someone may make a motion to put a warrant article on the table. If that passes and if no one later moves to take it off the table, it never gets voted on. If an article passes or is defeated to your satisfaction, make a motion to "restrict article X from further reconsideration". Doing so means that this article can not be brought back up again later in the meeting, like after enough people have already left to be able to change the vote.

If your town is not yet an SB2 town, you still have time to do the petitioned warrant article previously mentioned by CNHT. This breaks your town meeting into two sessions. The first session is quite similar to the traditional town meeting except for one important issue - the actual voting is done a month or so later on an official ballot (the same time you vote for selectmen, etc.).

SB2 gives everyone in town the opportunity to vote, even those who are away who will be able to vote by absentee ballot. And those who can not spend numerous hours on a Saturday at town meeting for various reasons - physically unable, having to work, having to be with your children, etc. etc. Why should these people be deprived of their right to vote on the important issues??

Another model FSPer doing good things in her town, Dawn is also providing documents to people who would otherwise might have to fill out 91-A requests.
If people are provided this information it makes it a lot easier to state your case when it comes to proving something.

It's our goal to have groups like this in each and every voting district in NH,

Last year, we got 10 or so new ones to start a website and some sort of group. Even if it's just one person doing this research, it's helpful.

Right now I am looking for 'helpers' to be watchdogs in Bow and Henniker. A few more people in the Sanbornton are would be helpful too...

There is some talk of forming a taxpayer group in Grantham as well.

Grafton has no website per se but they are working with us on other projects..

[burnthebeautiful]

A tax on bedrooms has to be among the stupidest government proposals I've heard this year. People will just knock down their walls!

[d_goddard]

Part of the solution is definately political. Most of us have arrived at our principled stance through paying attention to the political realities. One of our best approaches to gathering troops for the upcoming revolution is to stay involved politically and maintain that open door for those coming along behind us.

Cathleen, I keep reading your posts and saying "Yeah! What she said!"

I no longer believe the solution is political. 

Until you have spoken with Senator Gallus or any of the NHLA-rated top 10 State Reps, to be frank, you have no freakin' clue what you are talking about.

At the moment I'm involved in a long email chain with a bunch of people including Dick Marple (previous "A+"-rated Rep) about the NAU and the "amero". I don't make it a habit of posting people's emails, but the email has a large "CC:" list to the point where it's semi-public anyway, and you just gotta love Marple's attitude:

(The U.S.) Senators [...] are NOT representing this Republic, known as New Hampshire and they are NOT paid by this Republic! They are paid by the Bankrupt Municipal Corporation known as the "United States Government" and they serve on the "Board of directors" for that Bankrupt Municipal Corporation

Don't tell me engaging in politics is not useful... Marple served in the NH House of Representatives before, and I bet he will again come 2008!

[CNHT]

Don't tell me engaging in politics is not useful... Marple served in the NH House of Representatives before, and I bet he will again come 2008!

We lost some of our best people this time around -- no thanks to the straight ticket voters who couldn't be bothered to look up what their LOCAL Reps do for them -- one thing of which is that they do NOT go to DC to spend federal money on the war but they stay right here in NH. 

I am planning to do a man on the street interview to see how many people really know this stuff....once a teacher always a teacher I guess.

And I hope the NHLA takes out full page ads with their scorecard in it for the benefit of the voters next time...

We are now on air, talking about the thieves in Acworth and Campton!