To the Editor:
The town of Rochester has recently been in the news regarding its having held the annual town meeting without a quorum. Amid all of the finger pointing as to who’s to blame, no one points to the real cause. The Town Clerk should have ascertained that there were enough eligible voters for a quorum. The new Moderator should have verified that the clerk had done so. The new Administrator should have overseen that both were aware of the recently increased quorum number. What about the over 2,000+ eligible voters who chose not to attend the annual meeting? Aren’t they really the ones to blame?
An annual meeting is typically held only once a year and lasts for three hours or less. Is it too much to ask that residents attend this meeting where the annual budget is approved? We all have time to complain about taxes or lack of services. This meeting is the place where these complaints might have some effect.
Someone said that those in charge were not exercising good government. In a democracy, aren’t the voters responsible for good government? Many people feel their vote doesn’t count. It certainly doesn’t, if they don’t cast it. It’s been said that ‘freedom isn’t free.’ One of the costs is caring enough to attend an annual town meeting and cast a vote.
David Smith, Rochester
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