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You may wish to have a look at our playtest report over at Enworld.
Basically, I DID have town guards, militia, merchant guards and even townsfolk doing things. I increased the raid a lot and narrated 'off-scene' actions by others.
I even came up with a very fast mechanic for the players to roll Towns Folk vs Goblins and some fun little charts to describe what happened.
I am sorry - I cannot picture all townsfolk doing nothing, inc the mayor, sheriff, etc. I don't care what the 'goal' of the encounter was - how could there be any respect for these heroes and leaders if they do nothing.
I had a goblin attack the night before on outlying farms, so guards were sent out of town to investigate and keep an eye on things. That left a smaller crew in town, but they still did something.
I had Sheriff Hemlock take most guards to an attack on the North Gate when the goblins arrived in the market square (I used the open area in front of the cathedral). He ordered others to guard the cathedral, along with the mayor and Father Zantus.
The PCs still finished the battle at the North Gate, helping the sheriff end the raid by clsing the gates.
How could PCs have any respect for these NPCs if they do nothing )especially considering some of their backgrounds).
Anyway - if you want to check it out, along with all attached docs, head over here:
Connors RotR Playtest