World 021920

Town Meeting Day, Then and Now
By Mary Alice Bisbee
Town Meeting Day has always been a very special time for
me. As a child in the 1940’s, I used to attend our meeting in
Waitsfield, Vermont at the old I.O.O.F. hall with a crackling
wood stove keeping us warm. Across the street at the
Congregational Church the women were preparing a fine
luncheon. Even though these women knew they were voters,
they also knew their place and let their menfolks make the
important decisions. Of course
there were always two or three
women in attendance at the meeting;
the teachers, town clerk and
those interested in fighting for
some of their own salaries, I presume.
I probably would not have been
there either except for the fact that
my mother was deathly ill with a
brain tumor for four years and
there was no other place to park
me at the time. I loved to hear the
men shout out their beliefs, argue
and defend their positions. It was
quite a change from their usual everyday jobs as farmers, loggers,
road crew workers, hunters, business owners and various
and sundry positions. However, noted by their absence
along with the majority of women, were the hill farmers, the
indentured mill workers and many of the French Canadians
who had recently arrived in our special Valley and those with
no means of financial support. We were a very white populace,
none of whom had come through Ellis Island or were
brought here on slave ships, but many were very poor.
It was here that I first heard the phrase “dirt poor”. What
are we going to do with them? I now realize that these folks
were those who owned no dirt, no land and thus did not pay
property taxes. Yes, in those days, if you did not pay property
taxes, you were not allowed to vote unless you paid a Poll
Tax. And if you were so very poor, how could you pay a Poll
Tax? Often the way to deal with these “dirt poor” folks was to
have the town Overseer of the Poor give them a bus ticket to
as far away as they could go and hope that they would never
return. So much for touting those “wonderful good-olddays”!
Yes, as a child, you could learn a lot by attending a traditional
town meeting! Today, as I live in Montpelier, in subsidized
housing and thus by some may also be considered to be
“dirt poor”, I am permitted to vote although I still feel that
folks are judged much more by what their financial worth is
than by what they can add to the body politic. And because I
now live in the “city “ of Montpelier, we don’t even have a
The Democratic Party Establishment does not want Bernie
Sanders to become President, that much is clear.
I don’t see what they’re so afraid of. Do they actually think
President Sanders will have the power to upend the entire
Wall Street wealth-creation machine and redistribute all
their capital gains to the workers? The president does not
have that kind of power.
But the millionaires and the billionaires are scared. They
are pulling out all the stops to make sure anyone but Bernie
takes the oath of office next January. The Establishment is attacking
Bernie on three fronts.
1. Bernie is unelectable!
This is the funniest one. The argument is that Biden or Buttigieg
(or Klobuchar or Bloomberg) are more moderate so
they are better positioned to win the general election.
National elections don’t work that way. The bland, moderate,
safe, globalist compromise candidate always loses. Kerry,
McCain, Romney, Clinton… they all seemed so respectable
and electable. Until young people didn’t show up to vote
for them.
To beat a rock star like Trump, you need a rock star like
Bernie.
2. Bernie is too extreme!
America is not going to elect a socialist as president! That’s
true. Fortunately, Sen. Sanders is not a socialist. He was 50
years ago perhaps. But 50 years ago I was 7 years old; you’re
not going to hold that against me, are you?
Bernie isn’t going to nationalize banks or the fossil fuel industry.
He is trying to make the US more like Sweden, where
organized labor has a say in economic policy along side big
business. Is that better or worse? I don’t know. But it’s obviously
not too extreme.
3. Bernie is sexist!
According to the very serious journalists at the New York
Times, social media is plagued by bellicose Bernie Bros who
bully any woman who dares to criticize Sen. Sanders.
Even if that is true, it doesn’t indicate that Bernie Sanders
is a chauvinist. Any candidate who inspires passionate support
among young people is certain to have a few supporters
• • •
• • •
real town meeting, just a day for voting! There are still some
among us who would like to take us back to those old ways of
doing things. “Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps! We are
all born equal and you just don’t work hard enough!”, they
would say.
Many among us, even today, have no empathy for those
less fortunate, whether they are immigrants, migrant farm
workers, ex-felons, substance abusers, people of color or
with disabilities, or folks who are
temporarily homeless. Actually the
“poor” are sometimes divided into
the deserving and undeserving
poor. When town and city budgets
are so strained that there is great
difficulty paying for basic services,
let alone HUMAN services, the
last thing our representative lawmakers
want to think about is raising
taxes on the rich or on tourists.
Oh no, that would be SOCIALISM,
a real dirty word.
A friend of mine, a volunteer at a
church run breakfast site, formerly
called a “soup kitchen”, recently told me that she was
astounded to learn from those she was serving that they
didn’t vote, didn’t know they could vote and told her directly:
“Poor people don’t vote! Our vote doesn’t count!” Why is
it that we concentrate on getting high school seniors registered
to vote but don’t ever think about hearing from those
most in need? Perhaps if we did, we would have a much better
understanding of what we really need to do to make our
democratic republic a true place we can be proud of calling
our home.
Poor people can and should vote. Maybe we need to
spread the word and let folks who are unaware of their own
rights, know that “Our vote is our voice!” Although it may be
simpler to register to vote in advance at your current residence,
whether it is under a bridge or in a downtown hotel,
same day registration is permitted in Vermont. If we don’t
speak up now we will certainly have that Fascist style, top
down government that so many of us fear is fast approaching,
or in some cases, is already here. Please educate yourselves
about the issues, stop by your town or city clerk’s office
ahead of time and VOTE on March 3rd!
Mary Alice Bisbee is a 7th generation Vermonter , a college
grad with a masters degree, who has worked as a stay at home
wife and child caregiver, deli worker, social worker, desk clerk,
waitress, day care worker, librarian and shop clerk over 83
years on this planet, in Vermont, Massachusetts, New York,
New Jersey and Florida and is now retired without a pension.
The Establishment is Trying to Rig the Election in Bernie’s Favor
who are internet bullies.
CNN revealed the depths of its shameless anti-Bernie bias
last month at the Des Moines debate. Moderator Abby Phillip
asked our senator whether he had once told Elizabeth
Warren that a woman could not win the 2020 election. Sanders
flatly denied it.
In the next breath, Ms. Phillip turned to Bernie’s opponent
and asked: “Sen. Warren, what did you think when Sen.
Sanders told you a woman could not win the election?”
Not to be outdone, MSNBC hired body language expert
Janine Driver a few days later to analyze Sen. Sanders. You
know, just like Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow
would have done. “I think Bernie is lying,” Driver concluded.
It sure looks like the process is rigged... in Bernie’s favor!
It’s amazing that the Establishment and the press don’t
get it yet. We do not trust them. We do not like them. If the
coastal elites are clearly supporting a candidate, that candidate
can’t win. And if the media is actively trying to smear a
politician, we will instinctively like him better.
The reason why Bernie Sanders went from a has-been to
the front-runner is because the Democratic Establishment
loathes him and he wears that hate like a badge of honor.
A year from now, Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders will be
president. I’m not sure which one. But either way, the corporate
media will look ineffectual and foolish.
TOWN OF BERLIN, VERMONT
WARNING AND NOTICE
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
The legal voters of the Town of Berlin are hereby warned and notifi ed
to meet at 10:00 AM at the Berlin Elementary School on Tuesday,
March 3, 2020 to vote on the following articles. Articles 1 through 24
shall be voted by Australian ballot. The polls will open at 10:00 AM and
close at 7:00 PM.
NOTE CHANGE
A pre-town meeting to discuss all articles to be voted by Australian ballot
is scheduled for
10:00 AM on Saturday, February 29, 2020
at the Berlin Elementary School.
Residents may register to vote prior to the election at the Town Clerk’s
Offi ce or on-line at the Secretary of State’s website. Residents may also
register to vote at the election site on Town Meeting Day. A voter may
obtain an Absentee Ballot by contacting the Town Clerk (229-9298)
or coming into the offi ce before 3:30 PM on Monday, March 2, 2020.
Absentee Ballots must be received by the Town Clerk no later than the
close of the polls at 7 PM on March 3, 2020. Voters wishing to vote
absentee should request ballots early.
The articles to be voted by Australian ballot are as follows:
Article 1: To elect the following Town Offi cers, for the terms specifi ed:
One (1) Selectboard member for a three (3) year term;
Two (2) Selectboard members for a one (1) year term
each;
One (1) Town Clerk for a three (3) year term
Article 2: Shall the Town appropriate $3,235,181 for necessary Town
expenses for the period July 1, 2020 through June 30,
2021?
Article 3: Shall general obligation bond or notes of the Town of Berlin,
in an amount not to exceed Six Hundred Thousand dollars
($600,000), be issued for the purpose of fi nancing the
Town’s share of the cost of connecting a recently drilled
drinking water well to the water distribution system and
replacing existing water meters with “smart meters”. This
request shall be payable from revenues derived from
the operation of the Town’s municipal water system, and
may be subject to reduction from the receipt of available
State and Federal grant-in-aid. The estimated cost of such
improvement is Six Hundred Thousand dollars ($600,000).
Article 4: Shall the Town appropriate $308,818 to the Berlin Volunteer
Fire Department for payment of necessary expenses from
July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021?
Article 5: Shall the Town appropriate $30,402 to the Kellogg Hubbard
Library?
Article 6: Shall the Town appropriate $15,000 to the Montpelier Senior
Activities Center?
Article 7: Shall the Town appropriate $10,920 to the Green Mountain
Transit?
Article 8: Shall the Town appropriate $10,000 to the Berlin Corner
Article 9:
Cemetery Association? (Cemetery Not Town Owned)
Shall the Town appropriate $6,450 to Central Vermont Home
Health and Hospice?
Article 10: Shall the Town appropriate $2,000 to Washington County
Mental Health?
Article 11: Shall the Town appropriate $1,200 to Central Vermont Adult
Basic Education?
Article 12: Shall the Town appropriate $1,000 to the Vermont Center for
Independent Living?
Article 13: Shall the Town appropriate $1,000 to the Central Vermont
Memorial Civic Center?
Article 14: Shall the Town appropriate $975 to CIRCLE?
Article 15: Shall the Town appropriate $800 to the Family Center of
Washington County?
Article 16: Shall the Town appropriate $800 to Prevent Child Abuse VT?
Article 17: Shall the Town appropriate $700 to Capstone Community
Action?
Article 18: Shall the Town appropriate $600 to Good Samaritan
Haven?
Article 19: Shall the Town appropriate $500 to the People’s Health &
Wellness Clinic?
Article 20: Shall the Town appropriate $500 to the Vermont Association
for the Blind and Visually Impaired?
Article 21: Shall the Town appropriate $500 to Washington County
Youth Services Bureau?
Article 22: Shall the Town appropriate $500 to the Sexual Assault Crisis
Team of Washington County?
Article 23: Shall the Town appropriate $500 to Community Harvest of
Central Vermont?
Article 24: Shall the Town appropriate $300 to the Good Beginnings of
Central Vermont?
The following articles will be voted at the traditional Town Meeting,
beginning at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, March 3, 2020:
Article 25: To elect a Town Moderator for the year ensuing.
Article 26: To hear the reports of the Town Offi cers for 2019.
Article 27: Shall the Town collect its real and personal property taxes,
to defray the expenses of the Town for the period July 1,
2020 through June 30, 2021 in installments? One-fourth of
the taxes to be due, by delivery or by U.S. Postal Service
postmark(no private postal meter postmarks), on or before
August 15, 2020, one-fourth of the taxes due on or before
November 15, 2020, one-fourth of the taxes due on or before
February 15, 2021 and one-fourth due on or before May 15,
2021, with an eight percent (8%) penalty and one percent
(1%) interest per month (or portion thereof) to be charged for
late payment of any installment?
Article 28: Shall the Town exempt the Berlin Volunteer Fire Department
from municipal and school property taxes for a period of
fi ve (5) years?
Article 29: To hear a report from the Berlin Volunteer Fire Department
regarding the need to replace a fi re engine.
Article 30: Shall the Berlin Annual Town Meeting be moved from
the fi rst Tuesday in March to the Saturday before the fi rst
Tuesday in March?
Article 31: To discuss any other business that may legally come before
the meeting.
Dated at Berlin, Vermont, this 20th. day of January, 2020.
TOWN OF BERLIN SELECTBOARD
s/Bradley Towne, Chair
s/Jeremy Hansen
s/Angelina Capron
s/Florence Smith
s/Justin Lawrence
Received for posting and recording this 21st. day of January, 2020.
Attest:
s/Rosemary Morse
Berlin Town Clerk
February 19, 2020 The WORLD page 13