We are fast approaching the Spring Annual Town Meeting, scheduled for Monday, May 16, 2022 at 7:00 PM.

The preparation of Dedham’s two Annual Town Meetings (Spring and Fall) involves the coordinated efforts of a number of town officials, boards and committees. Following each Meeting, many of us involved in the planning and execution of the Meeting, receive suggestions for making the Meetings work better including ideas about the flow of information prior to the Meeting and the procedures for conducting the Meeting. Over the years, we have made some changes based on these ideas that we hope have helped.

This year, we thought we would try something different.

Rather than waiting to hear ideas after the Meeting, we are going to ask for your ideas, suggestions, and ideas for improvement before the 2022 Annual Town Meetings.  There are many Town Meeting Representatives, both veteran and new, who can help us to improve the overall process, by sharing their experiences: what has worked well and in what areas we can improve.

The Town Meeting Forum will be held on Monday, April 25, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. at Dedham Town Hall.

The intent of this forum is to collect ideas and have discussions. All ideas will be carefully reviewed. While we may not be able to make significant changes before the Spring Town Meeting, as it will be three weeks after this Forum, we will work to incorporate some proposed changes for the Fall Annual Town Meeting.

Sarah Sally, Mike Butler and Kevin Preston have been asked to facilitate this forum. Dan Driscoll and Cherylann Sheehan will be present primarily to listen and learn.

Thank you to those who continue to reach out and share feedback.  We hope this will be an opportunity to have a wider discussion that encourages more conversation, and to hopefully identify some ideas that will make the overall Town Meeting experience more meaningful.