TOWN OF JERICHO
TOWN MEETING REIMAGINED
On January 23rd, 2025 the public will have an opportunity to discuss the DRAFT Budget with the Selectboard using the same format and structure as our old Town Meeting. Jericho residents may make suggestions or ask questions from the floor at the MMU Auditorium or from their homes via Zoom, and the Town Moderator will judge and record the amount of support of those present using a show of hands (in the auditorium and on zoom).
In preparation of this meeting, the DRAFT budget will be available to the public on January 17th. The DRAFT budget will be on Join in Jericho (jerichovt.org/jericho-town-meeting-2-0), and paper copies will be available from the Town Clerk at the Town Hall or via email for anyone who requests one. This will allow the public to see the budget prior to the meeting on January 23rd and prepare their ideas and comments before we gather. We are trying to ensure that we have a binder at TMR with all of the outside agency requests in it, which would provide documentation if anyone would like to see it.
After January 23rd, the Selectboard will review the public comments and the amount of support received from those present to make their final decisions on what will be included in the complete Final Proposed Budget. The final proposed budget will be sent to the printers on January 30th and a printed Annual Town Report will be mailed to residents on February 17th, as you’ve come to expect. Voting on the final proposed budget and any public questions will occur by Australian Ballot on March 4th at MMU anytime between 7 am and 7 pm.
Timeline Recap:
January 16th - Budget hearing
January 17th - Proposed budget available for public review
January 23rd - Public discussion of budget at Town Meeting - MMU or Zoom at 6 pm
January 30th - Final proof of Annual Report including Budget (+/- amendments from the public) due at printers
February 17th - Annual Report mailed to all residents of Jericho
March 4th - Voting by Australian Ballot at MMU from 7 am - 7 pm
The changes that we are working through will continue the tradition of public discussion in a Town Meeting format in a way that is more accessible to more Jericho Voters and allow Jericho to enable more people to participate in voting for the final budget. Thank you for your support as we work through this first year! We look forward to seeing you on January 23rd and March 4th, and as always, we welcome your feedback.
We ask all residents to understand that this is a new process, and the Task Force, Town staff and Selectboard are working hard to ensure everything goes smoothly. We will be collecting feedback from the public so we can make future events better.
If you are interested in the Selectboard’s budget-building process - they have been building the budget at their 2 monthly public meetings since October 2024. These meetings can be reviewed HERE (minutes, MMCTV). This process will wrap up with the Capital Budget Hearing on January 16th, during which they will also review the final numbers in the Draft Budget. Previously, the SB has had through late January to finish their proposed budget work, but last March, they committed to completing a DRAFT Budget in time for voters to have an opportunity to review and offer input before the Selectboard finalizes the Capital and Operating Budget that will be on the Ballot on March 4, 2025.
The upcoming January 23 Draft Budget Discussion is the second step in Jericho’s reimagined approach to Town Meeting, guided by the discussion and action at the 2024 Town Meeting.
As a reminder, at the request of the Select Board a taskforce of Jericho residents recommended this year’s 3-step process and has been helping to organize elements of the effort. You can find the task force's many meeting notes and updates on this website. As this is a first try, we know there will be ways to improve the process in future years.
Co-chair of the taskforce and Town Moderator, David Barrington explains, “The January 23 meeting will look very familiar to people who have attended past Town Meetings. We will go through each section of the draft budget, hold discussion and then vote on suggested changes.” In the week after the January 23 meeting, the Selectboard will post the budget to be printed in the Town Report and voted by Australian Ballot on March 4.
Dave continues, “The major differences this year are the measures the task force is taking so that more voices can be heard. The meeting will be hybrid, thanks to MMCTV, so people who are participating from their homes via Zoom can participate and vote. We’re also doing this during the evening, when fewer people are at work. Most importantly, all Jericho voters will be able to cast a ballot for or against the final budget on March 4.”
Maria Rinaldi, a member of Jericho’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee which initiated the change in process last year, emphasizes “Jericho citizens decided to put important town actions to a paper ballot. January 23 is step 2 in our process to come together as a community to do the business of the Town in as accessible and meaningful a way as possible.”
To raise a question or vote on a motion at the January 23 meeting, you’ll be able to raise your hand either in person at the MMUHS auditorium or over Zoom.
Prior to the meeting, the Masons will serve a spaghetti dinner in collaboration with the Lions Club. We are suggesting a $10 donation ($5 for kids under 12) to cover costs. You are welcome to bring a plate of cookies to share for dessert.
Also prior to the meeting, you can find tables with information about the activities of town and civic groups, as has happened in the past at Town Meeting.
SUMMARY, TIMETABLE, and SIGN UP
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The Draft Budget Discussion will be held Thursday, January 23 (with a January 27 backup date), starting at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of Mount Mansfield Union High School. Spaghetti dinner will be available starting at 5 p.m. for a suggested donation of $10 ($5 for kids under 12), thanks to the Masons and the Lions Club.
Please sign up ahead of time for dinner, the on-line meeting, or the in-person meeting at http://bit.ly/jerichobudget25. You’ll also find FAQs there. Advance registration isn’t required but will greatly help us plan logistics and food. If you prefer, you can sign up for dinner by calling the Town Clerk at 802 899 4936 x1.
The Zoom link will be found in the agenda once it is posted.
The Australian Ballot vote on the final budget will be March 4, 2025 at the high school. The polls will be open for Australian ballot voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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Announcement: Draft Budget Discussion, January 23, 6pm
The first-ever Town Meeting Reimagined: Draft Budget Discussion will be held on January 23 starting at 6:00 pm at the MMU High School auditorium and on Zoom.
Starting at 5:00pm, the Masons and Lions Club are collaborating to serve a spaghetti dinner prior to the meeting, for a suggested donation of $10. The goal of the donation is to cover costs – any surplus will be donated to the Jericho Underhill Food Shelf. We will ask you to sign up for dinner so we have a sense of numbers for planning – info still to come with the link.
This meeting will be a lot like the traditional Town Meeting that you're used to, but it will be a hybrid event—you can attend and vote in person or remotely. Same friendly moderator, same great location (for those who want to attend in person). Same tables of committees and citizen action groups. New are the day, time, and the possibility of participating from the comfort of your couch! Also new is that the final vote on the entire budget will occur separately, on the first Tuesday in March.
The select board plans to post the draft budget about 10 days in advance of the January 23rd meeting. The draft budget will be posted on this site.
Led by our Town Moderator, folks will discuss and make amendments to items in the draft budget and to Selectboard public questions. As before, citizens will be able to ask clarifying questions and propose amendments to line items. Procedures for voting on the amendments will be the same as always, and now will accommodate remote participation. After the meeting, the Selectboard will make revisions to their draft, taking into account the proposed amendments, and will warn the final budget for consideration by voters on the Town Meeting Day ballot, March 4th.
We are enabling citizens to take part in the meeting from home or away. We’re asking folks to sign up ahead of time so we can manage this process well and so we have backup information about how to contact you if something happens to the wifi connection at the school. You’ll find information about signing up on the Join in Jericho website in advance (still being set up as of this writing.)
In working to further accommodate parents with young children, we will also provide a “creative corner” at the auditorium where kids can quietly color or journal or create.
A report of the meeting and proposed amendments will be included in the Town Report along with the Final Budget. There will be plenty of time for voters to inform themselves before casting their ballot on the Town’s Budget at the polls on the first Tuesday in March.
The first annual Town Budget & Business Kick Off Meeting is October 5th 10 am - 12 pm at the MMU High School Library or on Zoom
What to expect at the Kick-off Meeting on October 5th: an interactive mix of presentation, small group discussion, and community-group tabling (plus baked goods!). Join us online, or on-site at the MMU Library. The program includes general information about the components of Town Meeting, followed by discussion designed for YOU to provide input for the Select Board as they enter budget planning season. Brief presentations include: how to provide input on the annual budget, how to develop public questions, and the "Getting It Done" chapter of the Town Plan. Many thanks to the Jericho Town Library for the much-anticipated bake sale! Also, please note: kids are welcome at this event! We will have activities in the room to help entertain, and warmly appreciate that youthful energy may accompany our conversation about Town business.
A full agenda for this event will be posted on the website: https://jerichovt.org/jericho-town-meeting-2-0.
Visit with neighbors, enjoy some baked goods, take advantage of free childcare, and discuss the business of the Town. This is an opportunity to share your ideas & concerns with the Selectboard BEFORE they build the Town Budget. Let them know WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE REFLECTED IN YOUR TOWN BUDGET. This is also an opportunity to discuss ideas and initiatives with your neighbors and learn about how to develop them into public questions and get them on the Ballot.
The discussion and input generated by the public at this meeting will be used by the Selectboard as they develop the Budget and Public Questions. A second meeting in January will be held to inform the public of the resulting Budget and ballot measures and allow for review and feedback. Finally, for the first time, all registered voters will have an opportunity to vote on the budget and public questions at the ballot box in March.
Note, if you’re interested in running for elected office, want to advocate for an initiative, and/or need to collect signatures, this October 5th Meeting is a great opportunity to do just that!
TOWN MEETING REIMAGINED - Please join the planning of a new Town Meeting process!
Remember last year's Town Meeting, where Jericho residents approved moving to an Australian Ballot for our budget vote and other issues and calling for a hybrid-format meeting in advance to prepare for the vote? A group of Jericho residents has been planning what that could look like and NOW JERICHO NEEDS YOUR INVOLVEMENT!
In July the Selectboard approved the recommendations of the Jericho Town Meeting Reimagined Task Force. These recommendations include a three-step process that expands on the traditional Town Meeting to involve citizens with a well-publicized venue in which to annually frame a vision for the town budget and provide them a means to have direct input on the draft town budget and other matters of concern to the citizens.
The process begins with an early-fall kick-off meeting focused on vision for budget priorities, followed by a winter meeting in which to discuss and have impact on the draft budget, and ending with the Australian Ballot vote in March.
The Task Force is ready put together a team of Jericho residents to organize and lead the first meeting, which we are calling the Kick-Off Meeting. We are aiming for a late September or early October date for the Kick-Off.
We are creating a new town event from whole cloth, knowing that this is its first year and we’ll build from whatever we accomplish as we move into next year. We welcome new participants in this work!
Most important for Jericho residents: WE NEED HELP to organize a well-attended Kick-off meeting by early October. We need folks with different skills, from hauling and setting up equipment, to setting up a hybrid meeting, to helping with refreshments.
Our first planning meeting will be via zoom, this coming Monday at 6 pm, followed by a second meeting September 9th, also at 6pm and also by Zoom.
Please join us to find out more about the plan and especially the Kick-Off meeting. Tell your friends; join us August 19th and September 9th - join either or both meetings!
Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87185939111?pwd=aGwP3X0qIBqZRXIOeswoyz4ll3HRax.1
Meeting ID: 871 8593 9111
Passcode: 558287
Thanks!
Dave Barrington and Gaye Symington, Co-Chair
Jericho Town Meeting Reimagined Taskforce
