WEST WINDSOR
Town Meeting Tues., March 1 at 9 a.m. (Floor Vote) Story Memorial Hall
West Windsor’s annual Town Meeting has been warned to meet at Story Hall in the town hall at 9 a.m. on Tuesday March 1. No informational meeting has been scheduled.
The school district annual meeting is also scheduled to take place at the same place and time, but based on last year’s format, and subject to the moderator’s gavel and a call for a vote, that meeting will likely take place immediately following action on municipal articles.
Voters will be asked to approve combined municipal expenditures of $1,174,400 in 2016. The budget proposes $662,450 for highway expenses and $512,063 for general fund expenditures. The $50,000 increase (15 percent) in highway expenses comes mainly from a bump of $20,000 to the equipment fund and a hike in wages from $159,153 to $194,000. The town’s general budget will increase by just over $32,000 from 2015. This is an increase of under 1 percent.
Town officials propose to raise the funds for municipal expenses by way of $914,864 in property taxes, $90,864 from non-tax revenues, $25,000 from 2015 highway surplus, and $25,000 from the reserve fund. The total increase that will come from tax bills will be $53,744, or under a half of one percent.
The bulk of any increase in property tax for 2016 would come from the proposed education budget of $3,140,253, about a 15 percent increase from last fiscal year. School district chair Art Keating told the select board in mid-February that the increase mainly was due to “demographics.” An increase in the number of students and more special needs students were substantially responsible for the $424,000 hike in spending. There’s also a tuition increase of $175,000 in the overall number.
The education tax would increase the tax rate in West Windsor by about 22 cents, the superintendent said in early February. For a property assessed at $200,000, this would result in an increase of $440.
Municipal expense articles amounting to $94,132, will also be presented to voters. The largest ones being $51,100 for the volunteer fire department, and $16,000 for the Mary L. Blood Library.
Voters will also be called upon to consider and approve a general obligations bond of $500,000 for repairs, renovations and upgrades to the town’s water system under a separate Warning. That warning calls for a vote by Australian ballot between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
West Windsor has 820 registered voters, an increase of 16 from last year. If the turnout from the last two years is any indication, about 170 voters are likely to participate.
— George Calver
This article first appeared in the February 25, 2016 edition of the Vermont Standard.