Fun statistics about Town Meeting

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Joe Pato

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Apr 27, 2023, 10:25:26 AM4/27/23
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Now that Town Meeting has been dissolved, its time for some fun statistics.

 

Five members of Town Meeting who voted in all 46 substantive motions have the fewest variation from the results - (i.e., they voted “Yes” when the motion passed and “No” when the motion failed).

 

Of these five, three members have tied for the unofficial title of “Soul of Town Meeting”. These members only voted twice at odds with the official vote tally and scored a 95.7% correlation with the sentiment of Town Meeting.

 

Congratulations to:

  • Marsha Baker (95.7%)
  • Margaret Coppe (95.7%)
  • Rod Cole (95.7%)

 

The other two also only voted opposite to the official result twice but abstained from a few other questions. So, Honorable Mention goes to:

  • Kathryn Roy (95.5%)
  • Victoria Blier (95.1%)

 

If you are curious about attendance, this in-person meeting was better attended than recent in-person meetings and fell between the average attendance for in-person and remote meetings. Comparing all meetings from 2017 until now:

 

  • Average attendance for remote meetings is: 184.1
  • Average attendance for in-person meetings is: 165
  • This meeting had an average attendance of: 174

 

111 members attended all sessions of this meeting. On average 119.8 members attend all in-person sessions while 165 attend all sessions with a remote attendance option. The longer the meeting the lower the number who attend all sessions.

 

 

 

- Joe Pato, Select Board Member

please use jp...@lexingtonma.gov for town correspondence

(When writing or responding please understand that the Secretary of State has determined that emails are a public record and, therefore, may not be kept confidential.)

 

When writing or responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that most email is a public record and, therefore, may not be kept confidential.

Tom Diaz

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Apr 27, 2023, 11:40:22 AM4/27/23
to Joe Pato, lextmma
That is fun, Joe.  I feel kind of privileged to know all three of those souls.

More seriously, the attendance information seems like a good argument for hybrid meetings.  

I personally much prefer the in-person meeting, which is another soulful exercise.   So I would always be there in person.

However, there are always the exceptions caused by sickness or unavoidable travel.   

If we think, the more the better, which is also debatable, hybrid meetings seem like the winning idea.

Tom Díaz
Precinct 8

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Joe Pato

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Apr 27, 2023, 12:02:46 PM4/27/23
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Last night I mentioned that “I got ahead of myself” when I reported the Select Board’s position on reconsideration (we were waiting for Town Meeting to debate the question). It appears I did it again in sending these statistics. I hadn’t included last night’s votes in the TMM voting analysis.

 

There were an additional 7 substantive votes (for a total of 53). All of the “top 5” continued to align with Town Meeting’s action and their new correlation percentages are:

  • Marsha Baker (96.2%)
  • Margaret Coppe (96.2%)
  • Rod Cole (96.2%)
  • Kathryn Roy (96.1%)
  • Victoria Blier (95.8%)

 

The attendance statistics did include last night’s attendance.

 

  • joe

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Katie Reynolds

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Apr 28, 2023, 10:01:04 AM4/28/23
to Joe Pato, lextmma

Hi Joe,

 

Thank you for putting together these statistics! Increased participation is of value and your statistics show that a hybrid option could help achieve this!  A hybrid Town Meeting setting would also allow for a more inclusive and diverse Town Meeting membership.


The remote option opened the door for people, like me, who would like to participate but are unable to be on-site for all of the meetings’ late hours required to complete Town Meeting business.  Personally, it is very difficult to meet 100% attendance when Town Meeting is limited to in-person attendance, due to my family responsibilities.


When it was announced that Massachusetts extended permission for Town Meeting to be held remotely, there was a comment in the email thread that our Moderator and town officials will have conversations on whether to institute a hybrid meeting structure.  I wonder if anyone would know how Town Meeting Members who support a hybrid structure could have a voice in these conversations?


Best,

Katie Reynolds

(Precinct 1)


Valerie Overton

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Apr 28, 2023, 10:12:44 AM4/28/23
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Yes, I agree that the data suggest that a hybrid approach would be ideal. In my case, though I enjoy the in person format, I missed two nights of Town Meeting due to illness. I would have participated remotely those two nights if that had been an option.

As Katie indicated, people have many varied reasons why they could participate remotely but not in person, at least some of the time. I believe many of us share a desire for inclusion that leads us to support a hybrid approach to Town Meeting.

Thank you for the data, Joe!

Valerie Overton (she/her)
Precinct 1
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Jeanne Krieger

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Apr 28, 2023, 10:21:57 AM4/28/23
to Tom Diaz, Joe Pato, lextmma
I missed  an unacceptable 3 sessions this Meeting, one because I was in Washington DC to advocate for the Alzheimer's Association and two sessions because I was in quarantine with COVID.  Were there a hybrid option, I could have participated in all sessions.

Jeanne  Krieger
Precinct 3

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Joe Pato

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Apr 28, 2023, 10:25:31 AM4/28/23
to Katie Reynolds, lextmma

Katie,

 

The recent state legislation opened the door for hybrid Town Meetings for the next 2 years. I’m sure that we will be exploring how to hold hybrid meetings during this period.

 

Lexington also has a pending request (home-rule petition) to permanently allow us to hold hybrid and remote meetings as well as a draft bylaw that establishes our procedure for doing so which is waiting on AGO approval (pending legislative action on our home-rule petition).

 

  • Joe

 

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andrei rădulescu-banu

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Apr 28, 2023, 11:06:57 AM4/28/23
to Joe Pato, Katie Reynolds, lextmma
Please keep in mind that this is not necessarily an apples to apples comparison. It's easier to connect from home, yes, also it's easy to do a 2nd thing in the background while sort-of listening to the proceedings. The quality of engagement is not the same.

Are we talking about no-excuse remote access, or are we talking about requesting remote access with good reason and on a case by case basis.

Andrei Radulescu-Banu, Pct 8


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Jessica Steigerwald

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Apr 28, 2023, 11:32:18 AM4/28/23
to andrei rădulescu-banu, lextmma

I hope we will keep up the tradition of assuming positive intent.

One might trust that everyone choosing to do this work as unpaid community servants is bringing their best energy and attention to the work.  People don’t sign up to run (opposed or unopposed) to do a bad job - they sign up to do a good job. 

We are hearing from colleagues that they could do a better job if they were able to participate remotely when they are not able to get there in person.


I feel that people’s focus can’t be determined by whether they are in the room at Cary, or in a remote location. People multi-task all the time, including in Cary Hall. 

Everyone has to know how to manage their own attention.  For example, I recall a former member once (years back) telling me they had on a sports broadcast with an ear phone during Town Meeting. I would not be able to focus that way, but many people work well with background noise. I am able to listen attentively while I crochet, but I find background noise very distracting.  

While some of the debate period raises new ideas or information, many of us watch the videos and read materials in advance, so the presentations are often second viewings.


I hope any new rules are based on assuming positive intent. I also hope we continue in a hybrid format. Though I personally prefer being at Cary Hall, I think hybrid isn’t about preference, it is about making sure that members can participate without unnecessary barriers. 

I think we have improved the way we participate thanks to all of the work that went into developing the software. At first it seemed odd to use it in person, but it worked well. Instead of people standing and waiting at microphones, I felt we could see and hear better with the screen showing us who was “in line.”  Using the exact same process for hybrid is equitable. Members of the public can also see who is in line just as readily. It’s even easier for all of us to identify who is speaking because the speaker’s name is printed out.


My big wish for improvement is to have a larger font size on slides. Participating from home, I was able to read the screens much better than in Cary Hall.  It was also easier for me to look up reports from committees on my laptop.

- Jessie

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Valerie Overton

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Apr 28, 2023, 12:19:32 PM4/28/23
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Yes, I agree with Jessie on this. I think we need to trust Town Meeting members to participate in person or remotely based on their personal situations. I don't think any of us should be the arbiter of what is a good reason for someone else to participate remotely.

Valerie Overton (she/her)
Precinct 1
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Jessica Steigerwald

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Apr 28, 2023, 12:40:25 PM4/28/23
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Also - I should say Marge Battin Hall !

- Jessie

Christian Boutwell

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Apr 28, 2023, 12:41:25 PM4/28/23
to Valerie Overton, Lex...@googlegroups.com
As we're seeing in all aspects of 21st century life, the power of digital technology and communication simultaneously brings to society both potential benefits and harms.

I fear that virtual participation has the potential to weaken the community bond/spirit that is formed and/or strengthened simply by spending time in real, physical proximity with each other as living, breathing human beings engaged in the sometimes challenging work of guiding our town. There is ample evidence out there in the world that the propensity to interact with each other through our screens, and the attendant dehumanization, is fraying the social fabric.

That said, as Jessie, Valerie, and others have highlighted, there are clear benefits to lowering the barrier of access and increasing participation by those for whom in person attendance isn't possible for whatever reason.

I hope that as a body we can develop an ethos in which we each individually strive to darn and mend (and knit and crochet!) our social fabric by meeting together in person to the greatest extent possible and reserve remote participation as a last resort for those occasions that in person attendance simply isn't possible rather than just isn't convenient; some TMMs may need to be remote for all sessions, others may only need to attend remotely in the case of unforeseen circumstances, and for many remote participation will likely be a matter of convenience rather than a need. I hope that we will all fight the urge to "go remote" in the latter cases.

Best,
Christian Boutwell
Precinct 7

andrei rădulescu-banu

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Apr 28, 2023, 12:44:47 PM4/28/23
to Jessica Steigerwald, lextmma
I hope we will keep up the tradition of assuming positive intent.

Connecting remote is not a tradition. We don't need to trust Town Meeting members. We want to trust them. The no-excuse remote is a want - a strong, maybe super-strong want. But, there is a trade-off.

In person meetings get more interaction - and, overall, a better quality. You can see the person speaking. Watch other people's body language. A group of residents may come at the gallery or town employees may wait at the door to speak to you about their grievances. Others can see what is discussed hush-hush around the room.

Boards do have Open Meeting law, to avoid side discussions between members when they are not posted on a public agenda. So everybody has an equal chance to participate. Town Meeting does not have this requirement. But, by having business being openly conducted on the floor, you do get some guarantee against backroom-dealing.

Boards can caucus on the Town Meeting floor. Are we saying it's OK for them to caucus remotely, out of view? Would that not contravene Open Meeting Law?

So. Overall, for me, I see this as a must for some - but a convenience for others, not all good and rosy - but also with downsides.

Andrei Radulescu-Banu, Pct 8

Lauren Black

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Apr 28, 2023, 3:20:48 PM4/28/23
to andrei rădulescu-banu, Jessica Steigerwald, lextmma
While I cannot speak for others I can certainly offer my own experience as another one for why hybrid participation would be beneficial. Before I get to that, full disclosure that I tend to subscribe to Jesse's line of thinking that we should assume positive intent. In general, I would guess that the vast majority of those who would like to use the remote option would either be people who were ill or traveling or those with younger kids at home. I'll rephrase/ reiterate something that Jesse said, which is that people who have young children who are serving in town meeting are doing so because they want to engage in this process and they want to be involved, and this often comes at some cost to their family life. 

Speaking from my own experience with 4 kids ranging in age from 3 to 12 (including one who is disabled) I can attest that there is a lot going on at my house even at 7:30 pm at night. If you look through this Meeting's votes, you will note that I was not present for a single attendance vote, and if an article was voted on within the first 30-45 minutes of the evening I did not vote on it. This was because there was no way for me to be able to access Town Meeting prior to 8-8:30pm when I could finally leave my home with most of my kids asleep and get to the meeting. Had the remote option been available, I would have participated in those articles discussions and voted on them, and I think this is a likely use case for parents of younger children: remote at the beginning of the night while they are still getting things settled at home and then in person when they can leave the house and make it to town center. 

I would love to be able to be in person for the entirety of town meeting, and have -and will continue - to do everything I can to in person for as much as possible, but right now it is impossible for me to be there for every minute of every session and a hybrid form of meeting would allow me to be able to represent my constituents and participate in those portions of the meeting that I cannot be in person for.  

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Katie Reynolds

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Apr 28, 2023, 10:32:42 PM4/28/23
to Lauren Black, Jessica Steigerwald, andrei rădulescu-banu, lextmma
Hi everyone,

I appreciate reading the viewpoints on this. I agree that there are pros to being able to attend in person, which a hybrid model incorporates by allowing for both types of attendance.  Since others have shared examples of where a remote option would have allowed them to participate more, I thought it may be helpful to share my experience this Town Meeting as well.

During the first week, I had a contagious illness.  In April, some members may have noticed a kid sitting in the center balcony.  My husband was serving on US military duty in California for two weeks, and my daughter attended Town Meeting with me as late as a 10 yr old could stand on multiple school nights.  I could have participated significantly more if we had a remote attendance option.

Best,
Katie

b...@metaprosystems.com

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May 1, 2023, 11:21:15 AM5/1/23
to Town Meeting Members

My opinion on this issue is that I would like to have most people meet in person with an option for members with a legitimate excuse such as travel or illness to attend remotely. I don’t know how you enforce this though. I see most people attending remotely which will discourage those who show up in person to wonder why bother?

 

Bob Avallone

Town Meeting Member

Precinct 8

 

.

Dinesh Patel MD

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May 1, 2023, 11:29:00 AM5/1/23
to Town Meeting Members
Hellow
My thoughts are to open up if that helps more participation without any disruption
       Thanks
Dinesh Patel
Precinct 6 tm 

Sent from my iPhone

On May 1, 2023, at 11:21 AM, b...@metaprosystems.com wrote:


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Umesh

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May 1, 2023, 11:52:39 AM5/1/23
to b...@metaprosystems.com, Town Meeting Members
I would support any system that would increase participation. Furthermore, I see no reason why anyone must have a “legitimate excuse” to go remote. 

Let it be their choice. 

Umesh Shelat, P7

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