Town Meeting has come and gone for another year. As always happens, officials in local communities are now charged with carrying out the wishes of voters. That’s part of the traditions, and challenges, of our form of democracy. Town Meeting has proven time and again to be one of the strongest threads in the fabric of our community.

As is often the case, we were surprised about some of the items that caused debate and consternation. Of course, we shouldn’t be. As one voter put it, commenting about his town’s meeting, “they don’t think twice about spending a bunch of money on a dump truck, but will argue about a small amount of money forever.”

Any Town Meeting veteran will probably agree with that statement, and have similar stories to tell. But that’s part of what makes Town Meeting unique. Voters have the right to stand up and say what they think about something. That process may sometimes seem insufferable, but it’s also critical to the exchange between voters and officials. It’s citizen government at its absolute best.

We want to offer our congratulations, and thanks, to everyone who took the time out of their busy lives to participate in a Town Meeting, whether it be town official, voter, or the volunteers who served coffee and lunch. Everyone has a role to play, and all the roles are important.

One thing we’d like to see is for some of those passions so prominently displayed on the floors of Town Meetings carry over into active community involvement through the rest of the year. There are numerous opportunities in just about every town for people to serve on boards or committees. We encourge folks to take some of that energy and put it to work throughout the year. The result can be very rewarding, and discussed at next year’s Town Meeting.