Beginning Saturday, May 3, in Gray, and stretching until the middle of June, Lakes Region residents have the chance to set the financial course for the towns they live in as annual town meetings convene.

Residents should consider it a duty to attend the meetings.

In Gray, a budget of more than $5 million will be decided through 24 warrant articles. On Monday, May 5, in New Gloucester, voters will be reviewing and voting on a $3.5 million budget.

Those figures do not include the taxpayer share of the budget for School Administrative District 15, but both budgets ask taxpayers to ante up even as town reserves are used to lessen the sting on their wallets.

As towns and budgets grow, the propriety of having the financial course of a town decided by maybe 100 or 200 voters should be questioned. Each year it seems the same people show up and say the same things about what to spend for road repairs, snow plowing, salaries for town officials and what role the town should play in supporting nonprofit agencies.

These discussions are punctuated with humor and anger, and the warrant articles that draw the most attention are often surprising. Voters frequently pass the most expensive items on a warrant in seconds, with no discussion. An increase of a few hundred dollars may lead to a 30-minute debate.

Such is the direction a meeting may take, but town meetings offer the best chance for anyone to comment and decide on how their money is spent. It is hard to believe that shifting financial decisions to yes or no ballot questions will draw more people to vote – given that a 10 percent turnout to vote for a school budget is extraordinary.

It will also add nothing to the cohesiveness of either town. Unlike a political party caucus, town meetings are designed to bring residents together to make decisions for the common good. Town meetings also offer a great chance for an exchange of perspectives between new and established residents.

Annual town meetings are not as much a social event as they were in the past, but in Gray, all residents are invited to a picnic after the meeting organized by the Recreation Department, and child care services are provided for parents attending the meeting.

In a world where too often faces are seen only in passing as we commute to work and neighbors are someone to wave at without getting introduced, the town meeting is a pause to meet and greet neighbors while also getting a chance to determine how local taxes are spent.

Whether it is proper for a small group of citizens to make financial decisions for a town with more than 7,000 people like Gray is not the question. Why more people do not come out to participate in an established tradition with the most direct link to what they will pay in taxes is the question.

David Harry, editor