Most things in Maine have their seasons, and this time of year might be dubbed “government season.” Not a time to stir the soul, perhaps, but there’s plentiful evidence that this season is upon us: in Augusta, the legislature is in full swing, grappling for better or worse with matters that affect us all. And in rural and island communities, town meetings are underway, acting on topics ranging from road maintenance to the public’s right of access to the shore to fish and shellfish to town floats and parks. As always, the decisions tend to affect everyone in the community.
What happens at all these meetings depends on two things: the political climate in the months leading up to “government season,” and the questions people are asking. Both reflect what’s on the public’s mind and — along with the pressures of various interest groups — they determine what governing bodies are asked to do. In other words, the agenda.
In the case of the legislature, the right questions are being asked this year. Public concern about rising real estate prices has led to a proposed bond issue for access to working waterfronts; related concern about skyrocketing property taxes has prompted the legislature to take a second run at current-use taxation. A bill to allow municipalities to establish land banks funded by local option real estate transfer taxes is another response to the pressure on coastal real estate, and a bill to establish a Fisheries for the Future program would give needed tools to fishermen for business plans and marketing.
Topics at town meetings may be more prosaic, but they do suggest the public mood. When Swan’s Island voters turned town an ordinance that would have tightened up parking rules for businesses, they were expressing frustration over its potential costs. When North Haven voters increased the budget for maintenance of town floats and parks, they were endorsing their town’s amenities and the public’s access to them. In the town of Cranberry Isles, voters stepped up to the plate and authorized borrowing for a needed new town office.
Making such decisions is seldom easy. Money is always short, and funding one project usually means something else doesn’t get done. Still, as “government season” proceeds, it’s providing ample evidence that in Maine at least, the democratic process is alive and well.