January is a great time to get involved in local government.
Why?
Well, for many towns, preparations for town meeting kick into high gear this time of year.
Boards and committees prepare budgets and ordinances for other boards and committees to review.
Another good reason: for many towns, this is the time when any resident, no matter how disreputable, can pick up paperwork from the town office, gather signatures from a few unsuspecting neighbors, and get his or her name on the ballot for town office.
We will warn that involvement in town government can be habit-forming.
One day you’re a curious citizen going to a public hearing about how many marijuana super-farms the town will allow in your neighborhood (asking for a friend), the next you’re nodding off at work after back-to-back four-hour budget meetings.
We jest, mostly.
But our towns have work to do and rely on volunteers to do much of it.
All it takes is an interest and some time.
Now’s the time – go sign up.
