A few things stand out from voters’ actions at Town Meeting this week. As always, there were some surprises on how certain issues were acted upon by voters.

In Dover, the surprise was how voters were willing to resurrect the town’s “Tax Reform Fund” and restart an active campaign to challenge Act 60, Act 68, and any new plans for school consolidation and funding reform. Of course there’s good reason to do so. Dover has been particularly hurt under Act 68, as have many towns in the Windham Central School District. When school board chair Richard Werner pointed out that the district combined sends $38 million over and above what it gets back from state education payments, jaws hit the floor. Of course, Dover is responsible for more than a quarter of that money, and many at Town Meeting felt it is time to act. What course that action takes remains to be seen, but there is no question that voters were willing to put aside money to fund something.

In Readsboro, voters decided they were not ready for a professional town manager. In some ways that is a curious decision, given the feeling expressed by many in the community that their town government needs a shake-up. In the end, we guess, the voters just weren’t ready to spend the money. In fact, they backed up that assumption by cutting their town budget across the board. Fiscal conservatism appeared to be the overriding concern.

As for the nonbinding vote on what to do about Twin Valley High School, there was certainly no clear message from voters, at least not a uniform message. Wilmington sent one message, which is to focus on renovating the current high school. Whitingham sent a different one, which is to continue exploring the elementary consolidation option and bring the high school to Whitingham. How it plays out over the next few months remains to be seen, but school board members certainly have full plates in front of them.

Wilmington voters were ready to move ahead on economic development, and were obviously ready to put the pergola controversy behind them. The decision to fund a joint development planner with Dover sailed through on a voice vote. Now the Tri-town Economic Development Committee can move ahead with the next stage of its plan. Voters clearly had enough of the pergola issue, with more than 60% of voters deciding the pergola should stay, regardless of however flawed the process may or may not have been.

In Wardsboro, voters showed sympathy for overdue property tax payers during these tough economic times, cutting interest rates on delinquent taxes. Wardsboro also suffered the same plight as many other towns, with a number of town positions going unfilled due to lack of interest or lack of time.

In all, voters in these and other towns remind us once again why Town Meeting is more than just a sentimental relic of a bygone era. Voters’ courage, compassion, attention to detail, and willingness to endure hours of debate show once again why Vermont’s form of participatory citizen government is as unique and as strong as ever.