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Middlesex 2009 Discretionary Funding Task Force
2009 Funding Questionnaire (Microsoft Word File)
Purpose of Task Force:
To ensure that the citizens of Middlesex have all the information they need to make discretionary spending decisions at town meeting.
Background:
Many organizations request funds from Middlesex at town meeting. Generally appearing at the end of the town meeting warning, these special articles often generate the most citizen debate. Many voters have expressed dismay in not knowing enough about the groups they are being asked to fund, and how they serve the citizens of Middlesex. Organizations owe voters a full accounting of how they have used/will use money contributed by Middlesex. If they offer an accounting, then citizens can vote based on it. If inadequate information or no accounting is offered, citizens should be informed of this, and can also vote accordingly.
Here’s the plan:
Upon receiving a petition or letter requesting “discretionary spending” funding from the Middlesex Town Meeting, the Town Clerk’s office will mail or email a reminder letter to any organization requesting funds. (See attached letter.)
At this point, the Task Force will:
• Check to see that all organizations seeking funding submit the necessary information.
• If information is not submitted or is incomplete, Task Force members may contact organization to demand further details.
• If details are not forthcoming, the Task Force will report on the lack of details to citizens at Town Meeting.
The Task Force is not expected to make specific funding recommendations.
Timeline:
The Task Force has a small window of time to do their work: between when petitions are received, and when reports are due to town clerk's office. Petitions start to arrive in the town clerk’s office in late December or early January, but the deadline for petitioned articles is January 22, 2009, so it’s possible some could arrive this late. Meanwhile, the town clerk requires that organizations submit their reports for inclusion in the Town Report by January 31, 2009.
The Task Force will need to organize its work to meet these deadlines. (The good news is; this isn’t a committee whose work will drag out over a long period of time!)
This is the first year Middlesex has tried this, so the process may have some kinks. The Selectboard and Town Meeting Solutions Committee hope Task Force members will offer feedback about this process, and how to improve it for the future.
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