The League of Women Voters of Hamilton Wenham Tips for Informed Voting

Title: The League of Women Voters of Hamilton Wenham Tips for Informed Voter.  
In the next two weeks, the Annual Town Meetings and Annual Town Elections will take place in Hamilton and Wenham.   For the first time this year, the schedules have been coordinated to happen on the same day in both towns.

Annual Town Meetings – April 6, 2013

• Hamilton Town Meeting starts at 9am at the Hamilton Wenham Regional High School
• Wenham Town Meeting starts at 1pm at the Bessie Buker Elementary School

Annual Town Elections – April 11, 2013 (absentee ballots available from your Town Clerk)

• Hamilton Town Elections – vote from 7am to 8pm at the Winthrop School
• Wenham Town Elections – vote from 7am to 8pm at the Wenham Town Hall

As a resident voter, you have an opportunity to take part in determining the budget of your town and the officials that will lead the town for the year to come. Whether participating for the first or fiftith time in these civic events, the League of Women Voters has a few tips to help you be an informed voter.

During March, the League held two public forums for the public to learn more about town meeting issues and local candidates.   For your convenience, these events were recorded by our local cable access channel 8 on Comcast and channel 36 on Verizon 36.  The schedule and on-demand viewing can be accessed through the www.HWCam.org site.

First, the League Candidate’s Night gathered the local candidates to answer questions important to the community. Candidates for the contested races of Board of Selectmen in both towns and the School Committee were given additional time to make statements.  Check the schedule for this program on www.HWCam.org, by searching for LWV Candidates Night 2013.  

On March 13, the League hosted an information forum about the Community Preservation Act and  projects recommended for funding this year.   Representatives from each town presented the history of the CPA, projects funded in prior years and details of the projects for the next year. Check the schedule for this program on www.HWCam.org, by searching for CPA Forum.

This year the LWV advocated for information about town meeting to be posted on-line for easy access for voters. The Town Meeting documents and budgets can be on the town and school district websites at the following locations.  

• Hamilton – www.hamiltonma.gov – – Click Town Meeting tab is on the left, then select Warrants and April 2013 Warrant & Appendices link
• Wenham – www.wenhamma.gov – – scroll down to the Annual Town Meeting heading to find the Warrant Book 2013-14 link. Hamilton Wenham Regional
• School District – www.hwschools.net– Under Budget Information, click on the link for FY14 Budget Book.

The League of Women Voters of Hamilton-Wenham encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government. It influences public policy through education and advocacy. If you would like to learn more about our organization, visit www.hw.ma.lwvnet.org.