MECHANIC FALLS – Town officials want to see more citizen participation and are considering changing the annual town meeting from a weekday evening to a Saturday morning.

Town Council members on Monday reviewed the results of a townwide survey conducted in November. Nearly 50 percent of those answering the survey preferred the May town meeting to be on a Saturday morning. Thirty-six percent opted to keep the normal Tuesday evening slot.

The survey of 575 Mechanic Falls voters also showed that 242 attend town meetings, while 318 do not attend, and 15 did not answer.

“You have to wonder about the accuracy of those numbers,” said John Hawley, administrative assistant. “I’ve been to a lot of town meetings, and I’ve never seen 240 people.”

In May 2004, 133 of the town’s 1,890 registered voters participated in the town meeting. That means about 7 percent of voters decided how much money the town would spend on municipal and school needs.

Of the 318 voters who said they did not attend town meetings, 159 said they preferred a Saturday meeting. Of the 242 who said they did attend, 126 wanted a Saturday meeting.

“The thing about a Saturday meeting is that if it goes long, it can run into the afternoon,” said council member Roger Guptill. “If it’s on a Tuesday, then it has to go to the next night if we don’t finish. And people just don’t come back for a second night.”

Town Manager Dana Lee shared informal feedback that he had received from people who opposed giving up a spring Saturday and would rather attend on a night when they would normally be in town and not have other plans.

Council members decided to hold a public hearing on the issue before making a final decision. A date was not set Monday. The change would require a town charter amendment.

Other questions on the same survey asked voters whether they preferred the municipal and school budgets to be decided by the Town Council or by the traditional town meeting forum. Of those responding, 47 percent thought council members should decide budgets, while 48 percent opted to keep the citizen approval of spending.

However, many people seemed confused by the question, and the results may not portray an accurate picture, Lee said.

“I talked to several people who normally go to town meetings, and even they seemed confused and thought that the budget should be decided by both the council and citizens,” he said.

“I think there was some confusion with that question.”