Today, the Bedford Town Budget is approved by mere handfuls of people day after thousands of Bedford residents have visited the polls.
| Year | School Ballot | Town Budget Meeting |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | ~3600 Voters | ~171 Voters |
| 2020 | ~3700 Voters | ~80 Voters |
| 2021 | ~3000 Voters | ~71 Voters |
| 2022 | ~5015 Voters | ~72 Voters |
The goal of this initiative is to get our town budget on the ballot, so those thousands of committed voters can have their voices heard.
To do this, we need to change the Bedford Town Charter.
In order to “Put the Budget on the Ballot”, the following things must happen;
1. More than 1100 Bedford residents must sign a petition (this language has been pre-reviewed by the Town Council and the town attorney)
“Each of the undersigned voters requests the municipal officers to submit to the voters, at the next municipal election, the question of establishment of a charter commission to draft a revision to the municipal charter for the sole purpose of establishing official ballot voting under the current form of government.”
The petition is due before December 15th, 2022.
2. Nine (9) charter commissioners must be elected at the ballot.
3. The majority of the ballot commissioners must vote to approve the changes to the town charter to “Put the Budget on the Ballot”.
4. The majority of Bedford voters must support the charter change approved by the charter commission, at the ballot.
Therefore, to continue the campaign to get Bedford’s budget approval process out of the dark-ages and onto a modern ballot we will;
A. Broadly inform Bedford Residents on how to sign the petition.
B. Provide these paper petition forms, and gather no less than 1100 verifiable signatures from Bedford residents.
C. Recruit 9 commissioners to run for election.
D. Broadly encourage voters to support the charter change.
Rules for the Petition
1. Every signature must come from a REGISTERED VOTER IN BEDFORD.
2. All signatures must be original, no copies of signature sheets can be accepted. (No digital signatures either)
3. Share the electronic document with anyone, they can print and sign.
4. Signers can mail their sheets to the address on the form, and we’ll also schedule pick-up dates and group signings.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
The town budget will still undergo public discussion/negotiation sessions before the final vote.
Thanks again for your support for Putting the Budget on the Ballot!