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Our Direct Democracy

Nearly all the population of our village a part of our government and can participate in deliberations and propose government action, policies, and municipal law. The graphic below shows the entire Fiscal Year 2025 population and government represented as squares for each individual. As a direct democracy, all eligible voters are members of our Village Assembly. If individuals play additional roles as special or standing committee members or as officers, that is noted in additional colors. Those on standing committees are grouped with a letter signifying their committee name: Environment, Finance, Public Works, Registration, Safety, and Coordinating.

Visualization of the village population 0f 229, of which 187 are eligible Village Assembly members, and some are officer or committee members.
Visualization of the village population 0f 229, of which 187 are eligible Village Assembly members, and some are officer or committee members.
Visualization of the village population 0f 229, of which 187 are eligible Village Assembly members, and some are officer or committee members.

The Village Assembly

The Village Assembly is the legislative body of our direct democracy. Any person 18 years or older, having resided for a period of at least 30 consecutive days, who currently resides in the Village for the majority of the calendar year, may participate as a voter at Village Assembly meetings. Residents include those renting housing units in the Village, as well as resident leaseholders. Regular meetings are held four times a year at the Buzz Ware Village Center, on the third Mondays of February, May, September, and November, and are open to the public. Special meetings are called, on occasion, to deal with single issues outside of the regular meeting schedule.

Officers & Committees

Some Village Assembly Members are elected by the Assembly to serve as officers or members of standing committee. In addition to ongoing standing committees, Village Assembly Chair can establish special committees, appointing Village Assembly members to them, usually for discrete and temporary purposes or for ongoing coordination with the villages of Arden and Ardentown. All positions are volunteer and we have no municipal staff. For more information, explore our officers and committees page.

Governance Documents

Our Charter establishes us as an incorporated municipality, recognized under Delaware State law, and grants us the powers to make our own laws and policies, so long as they are no less stringent than County or State laws, to which we must conform. Our laws are known as ordinances, but we can also take legislative actions through resolutions and set our own policies. For more information, explore our Governance Documents page.