Referendum voting lost in shuffle

Wiscasset voters overwhelming approved going to referendum-style voting in November of 2005, which calls for informational town meetings, followed by actual voting by secret or referendum ballot on another date. Implemented in 2006, its supporters said the ballots, even though they were multiple pages, would allow people to keep their votes to themselves, rather than having to raise their hands in a crowded gym where everyone could see how they voted. The problems of getting the ballots printed were overcome by town officials and the system worked pretty well. Many, many people got absentee ballots, took them home, and brought them back, giving them time to study each warrant article.

At last week's selectmen's meeting, there was an article on the agenda to transfer some of the money out of the town's reserve accounts so it could be used to pay for 2007-2008 budget items, thus keeping taxes from going up quite so much. But the selectmen couldn't transfer the money, because this requires a vote from the legislative body - the voters. So they quickly set up a special town meeting for Thursday, October 4 to allow voters to vote. In the rush to cope with the need to get tax dollars into the town coffers, the selectmen had to resort to the old style of town meeting, which they are allowed to do, according to the Maine Municipal Association, of having people vote at the meeting. We're not sure why there was a last minute rush, but it's unfortunate that referendum style voting seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Let's hope there's more planning down the road so it doesn't happen again.