The seats at Jaffrey’s specially scheduled Select Board meeting on Tuesday were filled with inquisitive townspeople asking hard-hitting questions.
The primary difference between this meeting and the normally scheduled meetings was the demographic: Tuesday’s special guests were Cub Scout Troop 33 of Jaffrey.
“Why don’t you guys have one big table?,” asked Liam McNeill, questioning the board’s use of two tables for three board members (the answer is that many different boards and committees meet in that room, with some groups having more members).
Not all of the questions were as hard-hitting as others, but the meeting was none the less informative for the youths in the room.
To start the meeting, board chair Don MacIsaac informed the troop of the organization of town government, a structure that is governed first and foremost by the taxpayers. MacIsaac compared the town to a business, with taxpayers being shareholders, the selectmen being the board of directors, and the town manager being the CEO.
“Registered voters are the most important people in town,” said MacIsaac.
A number of topics – both serious and silly – were covered Tuesday.
Selectmen fielded questions about why there were so few restaurants in town, why the town office doesn’t put up Christmas lights, and even why taxes are so high.
“I promise they weren’t coached,” said Scoutmaster Shannon Tremblay, with a laugh.
Scouts asked a number of questions about the school district, which brought up a valuable lesson for the Scouts: while much of the town’s taxes go to the Jaffrey-Rindge School District, the district has its own governing body and decision-making processes.
To conclude the evening, the Select Board passed out pins to the Cub Scouts to take home.