WILTON – Selectmen will hold a public hearing to discuss conducting a straw poll during the November election when they meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the town office.

The poll would be used to determine the town’s interest in secret-ballot voting for next year’s annual town meeting, Town Manager Peter Nielsen said.

A citizen met with the board earlier this summer to discuss the change in procedure from a practice in place for decades, he said. After a couple of board members expressed interest in the proposal, the board opted to bring it up again this fall and discuss holding a straw poll.

The poll would be nonbinding, Nielsen said, but would give the board guidance regarding a change. Selectmen decide whether to write the warrant for the town meeting as in the past or to hold a public vote as some other towns do.

Nielsen said he had spoken with Jay Town Manager Ruth Marden, who said the public vote was a big improvement. She feels its a great thing, he said.

Increased citizen participation is one expected result of changing to a ballot vote, he said. A total of 700 votes is more meaningful than 100, he said, but it also raises a question of how informed people will be. Most towns hold an informational meeting in advance of the vote, he said. Attendance at that meeting could also be an issue.

Other reasons purposed for the change include less opportunity for retaliation for unpopular votes and shortening the time required to determine the next year’s program, he said in a release.

Reasons not to change include the value of public discussion in helping people decide, the opportunity to offer specific amendments in light of discussion and less need for follow up elections if failed articles are resubmitted at lower amounts, he added.

“If a $300,000 police budget doesn’t pass the vote,” he said, “does that mean a budget of zero or $50,000 or $100,000 less?”

The town may support the police department but decide it can’t afford that much, he said. The opportunity to deal with it at town meeting would eliminate some of the guess work on what a no vote means.