A committee that is studying a change in how Durham residents conduct the annual town meeting has elected a chairwoman and scheduled its next meeting for Aug. 20.

Donna Church, who spearheaded a move to change the town meeting budget vote from an open meeting to a secret ballot, is the chairwoman of the Alternative Warrant Exploration Committee. The committee held its first meeting on July 20 at the Town Office.

Church thinks that the expanded hours of a referendum vote – usually 8 a.m.-8 p.m. – not only would attract more people to vote in important town affairs, but also the new format would make it more convenient for people who can’t make it to a Saturday morning meeting because of their jobs. This past spring, voters approved $2,306,057 in municipal spending for 2016. Church and others on the Alternative Warrant Exploration Committee believe that’s too much money for the 100 to 125 people who attend the town meeting to decide.

She gathered signatures to put an article on the April 4 town meeting warrant, asking residents if the town should explore “other means” of voting on the town budget, in the interest of including more people in the process. Residents at the meeting voted in the affirmative.

Church said last week that the six-person committee is studying how other towns have switched from an open town meeting to a secret ballot vote.

“The first meeting went well,” Church said. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to go over. We all know where we want to end up. We want more of the public involved. We want all the articles at the town meeting to be voted on in secret. That’s what we’re striving for.”

Terry Kirk is vice chairman of the Alternative Warrant Exploration Committee. Jill Gastonguay is the secretary, and other members include John Ricker, Alice McPeake and Linda Bowie.

Church said that Ricker provided a printout of other towns that have changed from a traditional town meeting to a referendum-style vote. Ricker said those towns include Whitefield, Wiscasset, Dover-Foxcroft, Ogunquit, York, Monmouth, Windsor, Jefferson, Jay and Lebanon, according to his research.

“We all took paperwork home on other towns that have done this, and how they have done it,” Church said.

Church said that the committee wants to get the matter on next year’s town meeting warrant.

“We’re hoping to have it for the next town meeting, definitely,” she said. “We want to be all set.”

Ricker said that the committee wants more involvement.

“Whatever we need to get more representation,” he said.

Jeff Wakeman, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said that the committee would have to provide the board with a plan a couple of months prior to the April town meeting in order to get an article on the warrant.

“It’s fairly open as far as what options they come up with,” Wakeman said. “But they’re looking to increase participation, while keeping voters informed. In town meetings now, there’s an exchange of ideas.”

Wakeman said he has been attending town meetings in Durham since he was a kid. Recent town meetings have drawn 110 to 120 people, he said.

The committee’s next meeting begins at 2 p.m., at the Town Office.