AUGUSTA (AP) – Next month marks the start of Maine’s town meeting season, but for a growing number of communities it just won’t be the same.

Some towns in central and coastal Maine have switched to a secret-ballot or referendum system that enables townspeople to go to the polls to weigh in on matters ranging from zoning to the budget.

Those favoring the change say it’s less time consuming than sitting for hours as arguments are batted back and forth. But traditionalists say it doesn’t give people the chance to debate issues and try to persuade others to vote their way.

“I don’t think, as far as pure democracy in New England, it’s the greatest way to go,” Windsor selectman Dick Hagan said. “The problem in not having a meeting is you don’t have a chance to discuss things. You vote cold turkey.”

Windsor is among the towns that have abandoned the traditional town meeting. Others include Monmouth, Whitefield, Jefferson, Waldoboro, Boothbay and Wiscasset.

Still, there’s no indication that the town meeting is an endangered species. Most of Maine’s 450 or so towns and plantations still hold an annual meeting, which combines the business of local government with a chance for people to get together and socialize after the long winter.

Monmouth ditched its town meeting two years ago after a successful petition drive to establish a referendum process. Selectman Pete Thibodeau said participation jumped from 100 to 200 at town meeting to 600 to 700 referendum voters. “There are a lot of people who wish we had a town meeting,” he said. “They got to see people, talk to people. I hear people saying, we wish we could have town meeting back.”

Proponents of referendum votes say town meeting no longer attracts voters, said Mike Starn, communications director for the Maine Municipal Association.

People are too busy to attend, Starn said, and some believe a small turnout for town meeting allows a “special interest group” to control the outcome.

In Norridgewock, only 100 to 200 out of a population of 3,300 are likely to attend, but Town Manager and former selectman John Doucette said no one has introduced the idea of a switch to a referendum. He says that’s fine with him.

“We were born with a town meeting, this country,” Doucette said. “I like the town meeting because you get the questions asked. You can explain why the school budget is going up.”

Jefferson Town Clerk Lynne Bond said some older residents miss the pie sale and neighborliness at town meeting, but a quick vote at the town office or by absentee ballot is probably a better fit for the busy lives of younger families who commute long distances to work and then drive their kids to school games.

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Information from: Kennebec Journal, http://www.kjonline.com/