Jericho
Jericho is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont that boasts a population of 5009 (as of 2010) people. Based on data collected by an inter-collegial team of students, here are our findings regarding its Town Meeting process.
2018 Town Meeting
Summary of Findings
In Jericho this year the notion that issues drive attendance and participation was proven to be accurate. This meeting had the highest attendance of any meeting with about 200 people showing up. The hot button topic was the purchase of a piece of land known locally as the Rivers Property. The citizens spent over an hour deciding whether or not to approve the raising of $150,000 in taxes to purchase this piece of property. One of the students who was collecting data in Jericho told us about an elderly woman who got up and said, “Like my grandmother used to say, ‘for that price, it can hang in your closet,’” meaning that there should be no debate about acquiring this beautiful piece of land. Minutes later the article was voted on and passed unanimously. The fact that this issue brought out so many people is significant because in the long term data, the meeting with the lowest rate of attendance was the 1998 meeting in Jericho. At this meeting only 36 people showed up, exactly 1% of registered voters, so topping the charts 20 years when a contentious issue was up for debate exemplifies the fact that people will show up only when an issue they care about is being discussed.
Major Data Points
| Year | Peak Attendance | Attendance Rate* | Participation Rate | Real Democracy Score** | Population | Meeting Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 200 | 4.83% | 23.50% | 28.33 | 5009 | 4:26 |
| 2011 | 90 | 2.32% | 43.33% | 45.66 | 3872 | 2:42 |
| 2010 | 146 | 3.82% | 34.93% | 38.75 | 3826 | 3:36 |
| 2009 | 166 | 4.16% | 19.28% | 23.44 | 3990 | 3:14 |
| 2004 | 169 | 4.88% | 35.50% | 40.39 | 3461 | 4:20 |
| 2003 | 219 | 5.51% | 29.22% | 34.73 | 3977 | 5:14 |
| 2002 | 145 | 3.71% | 42.07% | 45.78 | 3910 | 5:47 |
| 2001 | 116 | 2.99% | 34.48% | 37.47 | 3879 | 2:21 |
| 2000 | 172 | 5.00% | 44.19% | 44.19% | 3441 | 8:58 |
| 1999 | 257 | 7.47% | 29.57% | 37.04 | 3441 | 7:13 |
| 1998 | 36 | 1.07% | 83.33% | 84.41 | 3359 | 5:00 |
| 1997 | 108 | 3.22% | 18.52% | 21.73 | 3359 | 2:05 |
| 1996 | 143 | 4.16% | 30.77% | 34.92 | 3441 | 3:39 |
| 1995 | 129 | 3.94% | 36.43% | 40.37 | 3276 | 3:04 |
| 1991 | 220 | 7.86% | 24.55% | 32.41 | 2799 | 4:01 |
| 1990 | 232 | 9.65% | 19.40% | 29.05 | 2403 | 3:10 |
| 1989 | 255 | 10.25% | 17.25% | 27.51 | 2487 | 2:30 |
| 1987 | 166 | 6.65% | 23.49% | 30.14 | 2498 | 1:43 |
| 1984 | 272 | 11.23% | 19.49% | 30.72 | 2422 | 2:02 |
| 1981 | 211 | 9.83% | 29.86% | 39.69 | 2146 | 3:54 |
| 1980 | 265 | 12.24% | – | – | 2165 | 1:17 |
*Attendance Rates are calculated using the number of registered voters and peak attendance numbers.
**Real Democracy scores are calculated using attendance and participation numbers. For more infomation on them see the Data Overview Page
Student Involvement
Students help gather data and produce videos on town meeting. Lunch and mileage is paid for.