WOODSTOCK
Town Meeting – Sat., Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. (Voice Vote) Woodstock Town Hall Voting
Tues., March 1 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. (Australian Ballot) Woodstock Town Hall
Woodstock voters will gather at town hall at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27 to consider a town budget of $4,888,958 that will result in a 3.479 percent increase in taxes. The majority of that increase is from the first of 15 annual payments towards a bond to cover the expenses from Tropical Storm Irene.
For a $250,000 house, taxes would increase by $31.50 for the town portion of the budget, if approved. With a total of $212,533 requested in 14 special articles ranging from $500 for the Green Mountain RSVP and Volunteer Center to $50,000 for the Norman Williams Public Library, if all of those requests for funding pass, there would be an additional $62 in taxes on that same home. Most special articles requested by nonprofits are seeking the same amounts as last year.
However, Woodstock is in the reappraisal process so those amounts are based on the current grand list and could change when the reappraisal is completed in time for the 2016 property tax bills. Residents who wish to schedule the reappraisers to see the interior of their homes in time for the reappraisal should contact the Woodstock Listers at 457-3607.
“You’re better off for them to see what you have rather than assuming what you have,” Town Manager Phil Swanson said.
On the school side, the Woodstock Elementary School budget, which will also be considered that day, at $3,233,006 has an overall increase of just $11,682 but an overall decrease of $210 per pupil due to an increase in local revenue, a slight gain in equalized pupils, and a reduction of one teacher and support staff person.
The reduction in the teaching position is based on student/teacher ratio according to board chair Paige Hiller as stated in her annual report. This lowers the teachers’ salary portion of the budget from last year’s $971,881 to $909,505. The Nature’s Classroom project, which had been removed from last year’s budget is back in at $4,000 (in the past this annual trip for sixth graders has been in the budget for as much as $12,260) in this proposed budget.
One item that Woodstock voters will consider this year is Article 1 that requests a $100,000 bond to build an addition onto the Welcome Center in the Village for the purpose of establishing an office that will be rented in a long-term lease by the Woodstock Area Chamber of Commerce.
“It won’t cost the taxpayers any money,” said Swanson, noting that rental income will offset all bond expenses. The plan calls for a 20-year bond and at least, a 20-year lease.
The town has invited three construction companies that have done work for them previously to do a design/build plan and estimate if Article 1 passes. Swanson thinks the estimates for the additional office space will come in at less than the $100,000. “We will be less than that. We will not borrow more money than needed.” The plan would be to build the addition in the spring or summer if the article passes.
While the discussion about the article will happen at town meeting on Saturday, the vote will take place during Australian balloting on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. along with voting for all town and school officers.
“It’s a maintenance budget,” Swanson says of the overall town budget. “The single biggest new expense is to repay the long term bond for Irene.” He notes that this expense of $63,100 this year will go down a bit each of the next 14 years as more of the principal is paid off and thus the interest is lower on the remaining principal.
Custodial services for the town are down by $8,000 since they have not been spending the budgeted amount. Lower oil prices have resulted in a reduction in both heating and transportation costs for the town. As this is a November election year, the printing costs are up by $3,000 for the Board of Civil Authority.
Twenty-thousand dollars has been put aside for the town’s portion of paving Church Hill Road (80 percent will be funded by the state). “We used to put in $50,000 for paving. However, in 2012 we had FEMA money for alternative projects and spent $250,000 paving,” Swanson said noting that the town had a few years without paying for paving projects.
New in this budget is $3,000 for cemetery improvements. “We are starting to put some money together that the cemetery commission can use to repair stones, stone walls, or fences,” Swanson said.
This year also marks the purchase of the third and final cardiac monitor for the ambulance department so that all three ambulances are outfitted with the same monitor. The fire department will get all new radios for each fire engine so that firefighters can communicate with the command center while they are working a fire. “Ours are old and broken,” Swanson says of the need for the $16,000 expense.
The capital reserve for a new ambulance was decreased this year from $55,000 to $25,000. Swanson says this is due to the plan to replace the cab and chassis but to move the existing ambulance box to the new vehicle.
— Michelle Fields
This article first appeared in the February 25, 2016 edition of the Vermont Standard.