Joe Cormier: Lots on the ballot for Moultonborough Town Meeting

To The Daily Sun,

There will be a good turnout at Moultonborough's Town Meeting this year. The attraction is Article 9 "acquiring” of the CruCon facility. Majority will decide.

There are 35 Articles; 15 of which are petitions, 13 petitions looking for money. They skirt the issue of not allowing the “spending of public money on private endeavors," which is illegal. The Moultonborough “piggy bank” is being asked for $169,616.

In Moultonborough, normally these 13 money articles, “Hearts and Flowers,” have been “bundled” under one vote. A new law should affect "bundling" this year. “Primary petitioners” must be allowed 10 minutes to introduce the petition, or sign that right off to another. Maybe they will all give up that right and the practice will resume the bundling of petitioned money articles.

However, all voters have the right to increase or decrease the amount of money in each article. How can that happen if they are all bundled into one vote? It may have been illegal all along, but never challenged. The offices of NH Secretary of State and NH Attorney General have been asked, but no response yet. Still time before meeting day.

Article 29 is to rescind the town adoption of RSA 41:14-a, whereby the selectboard can buy, sell properties, without a town vote. The reason CruCon is up for a town vote is the capital reserves with the selectboard as “agents to expend” aren't enough, currently, There is enough money in the “general fund,” but that money has to be appropriated by a vote.

If CruCon gets approved, then the selling of town hall, recreation building, and former Lions Club does not need to come to Town Meeting and probably won't. Sale proceeds come back as general funds?

Special town meetings can allow non-monetary up or down voting on properties.

Let voters vote on all.

Joe Cormier

Moultonborough