Creighton
In a political year focused on local elections, now is a good time to rebuild community in Seymour and get people involved in town government.
Town Meeting government is unique to New England. It is democracy in its purest form. Every resident has the opportunity to participate.
They can and should attend the annual Town Meeting to contribute to legislation of the budget.
They can also attend monthly meetings of the Board of Selectmen along with the boards that come under their jurisdiction to voice their needs, opinions and suggestions.
Although not on the ballot this year, Seymour is currently working revision of the Town Charter. This document provides all the rules and regulations for governance of the town. From how positions are filled to what is a board and what is a committee to how those boards and committees work.
The new Charter Commission was formed earlier this year to commence the review of the charter and finalize proposed changes that will be voted on in referendum in 2018. Based on the current charter, every registered voter or owner of $1000.00 or more of property is eligible to participate in the process.
To date only one or two people besides commissioners have attended the public meetings. Is this lack of participation apathy or lack of information?
Over the past three decades, Seymour has become the epitome of “bedroom community.” Residents have moved here from towns/cities run by Mayors and City Councils. Many work in larger cities. Some of their children do not attend school here. People who fit in these categories seem disconnected from a town that used to have a deep sense of community. A town that supported school, church and community programs and events.
Today the residents attending fairs, games, concerts, etc. are mostly folks who have lived here many years. It is those same people who are involved in the town government.
The difficult part of this is determining how to reach, what appears to be, the majority of residents to get them more involved. The town has done a decent job of providing a website (http://www.seymourct.org/) that presents all information in a relatively user-friendly format. The Board Of Selectmen, town political committees, departments, etc. have been trying with social media, focusing on Facebook and Twitter.
There is the outdoor signboard on the Community Center. But each has its short-comings. Unless one is going downtown, they don’t drive by the Community Center and if they do, they are watching traffic. People visit the website with a specific question in mind. There’s nothing on the homepage about our form of government much less about the Charter revision. The First Selectman posts to Facebook but due to the website’s rules for page naming, most people don’t know to search for town information as “Office Of the First Selectman” to get here: https://www.facebook.com/SeymourCT.org. As for Twitter? Probably the best option if following the Valley Independent Sentinel for links to local political information.
My challenge to those currently running for office, as you door-knock and phone bank, ask how they can better communicate to the citizens, grow enthusiasm for getting involved to rebuild the community Seymour used to be.
The writer lives in Seymour.
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