Recall Bid Rejected, Hybrid Meeting Question Not Settled
An attempt to add "guard rails" in Burlington's bylaws to allow residents to initiate a recall vote for elected officials who engage in misconduct failed at Town Meeting last night. Article 11 was the last of only three articles that were discussed in last night's 3.5-hour Town Meeting, and it saw more action than most articles in recent Town Meeting history. Two attempts were made to amend the article; both would have increased the threshold of voters necessary to make the process go through, and both failed. An attempt was also made at postponing the article, but that one failed, as well.
Discussion centered around misuse and abuse of the recall authority and fear that political opponents or disgruntled citizens might weaponize it. Long-time Town Meeting Member, Monte Pearson, said he's observed in other municipalities that such actions only serve to further divide communities, and others agreed. In the end the article failed, and so there will not be a recall provision in the town bylaws anytime soon.
Also last night, Town Meeting voted to require a hybrid format for their own body. While the initial article capped the remote participation number at 1/3 of the body, an amendment was passed to change that threshold to 15 total members attending remotely on a first-come, first-served basis. (Members who qualify for remote participation under ADA would supersede that threshold, said Town Counsel, Lisa Mead.)
That article passed 58-37 after much debate, but it won't go directly to the state legislature until the body approves some form of Article 10, which last night was postponed. The sticking point was that, while the articles are similar, Article 10, the Home Rule Petition that requests an exemption from state law, is more expansive and would require all town Committees to offer a remote participation option to anyone who wants to attend. The trouble is that not all Committees have access to town infrastructure and meeting spaces that are outfitted with the required technology to allow remote participation.
After the motion to postpone the article was on the table, Zoning Bylaw Review Committee Chair and Town Meeting Member, Shari Ellis, proposed amending the bylaw to remove references to other town Committees and just address Town Meeting, so that the vote they'd just taken to require hybrid Town Meeting could take effect, but the postponement went through before the amendment could be officially presented.
That Home Rule petition will likely come back before the body in January, and the just-approved bylaw requiring hybrid Town Meetings will not be sent to the state legislature for enactment until a Home Rule passes.
Town Meeting will be back in session on Monday, beginning with Article 12, the formation of a subcommittee to look into electronic voting.
