As for the lawyer at Town meeting, he or his firm is hired by the Board of selectmen and he acts on things they request. You pay for it but that is how it goes. I believe if asked by the selectmen, Paul would have / could have, put forth proper and legal wording to allow for the motion to be discussed and voted on. The selectmen chose not to do that. I believe you will find a majority of the selectmen did not want further discussion on the school. Further investigation is required to find out what the actual authority of the selectmen is during a town meeting. Perhaps selectmen are not required and perhaps a group of citizens could go front and center and read each article to all who attend town meeting. That way, everyone who attends would hear the entire article read. Remember, the people who attend town meeting and sign in as registered voters are the legislative body, that body votes for or against all town by-laws and appropriations to operate the town. Perhaps a new by-law, properly researched, to force a reading of all articles, rather than "as written" could then happen. It is your government and it really does not need to be changed. It only becomes bad or misaligned when we allow it.

That is my opinion.
If a group of business men and farmers can take on the king of England, certainly the town's people can take on the selectmen.

posted by Jeff Bennett

from the face book of John Columbus:
Filibuster by the advisory committee.

As a member of the Templeton Advisory Committee, I can say there was no organized filibuster or delay tactic on the part of the Committee as a whole. What individual members do is on them, as they are still a resident of Templeton and a voter. Was selectmen Brooks acting as a selectmen or an individual? She did not come off the stage to speak on the floor, which the moderator informed Advisory Committee that if we wished to speak on recommendations, we could speak from our table but if we wished to act as a citizen, we needed to speak from the floor. The selectmen apparently did not get the same instructions or they ignored them. They have after all declared themselves "the superior board"

posted by Jeff Bennett