The Gray Town Council will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, July 7, at 7 p.m. at Stimson Hall to discuss the elimination of the annual town meeting.

The board is considering placing on the ballot next year a townwide referendum that would allow residents to vote on whether to continue the annual meeting. Under the proposal, residents would approve the budget by referendum at the polls each June rather than at the town meeting.

Councilors voted May 19 to work on the amendment, likely to go on the ballot in November 2010.

The proposal was brought up by the council after just 75 people attended the May 2 town meeting, at which residents decided on the budget that will be voted on at the polls June 9. In making the vote, councilors said the low turnout at town meeting was troubling, since it meant around 1 percent of the town’s residents are making decisions for the rest of the community.

However, some residents at a meeting in June on the issue said the solution may be making the annual tradition of debate and decision-making more important rather than eliminating it altogether.

Some residents argued to eliminate instead the referendum vote, which was enacted by voters in 2006. Many people have been opting not to attend the hours-long weekend meeting now that they have a more convenient opportunity to vote on the budget, they said.

The Gray Town Council will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, July 7, at 7 p.m. at Stimson Hall to discuss the elimination of the annual town meeting.

The board is considering placing on the ballot next year a townwide referendum that would allow residents to vote on whether to continue the annual meeting. Under the proposal, residents would approve the budget by referendum at the polls each June rather than at the town meeting.

Councilors voted May 19 to work on the amendment, likely to go on the ballot in November 2010.

The proposal was brought up by the council after just 75 people attended the May 2 town meeting, at which residents decided on the budget that will be voted on at the polls June 9. In making the vote, councilors said the low turnout at town meeting was troubling, since it meant around 1 percent of the town’s residents are making decisions for the rest of the community.

However, some residents at a meeting in June on the issue said the solution may be making the annual tradition of debate and decision-making more important rather than eliminating it altogether.

Some residents argued to eliminate instead the referendum vote, which was enacted by voters in 2006. Many people have been opting not to attend the hours-long weekend meeting now that they have a more convenient opportunity to vote on the budget, they said.