->Guilford approves all articles in speedy Saturday meeting
GUILFORD - All went well at the town's first-ever Saturday morning Annual Town Meeting on March 1.
According to Town Clerk Erika Elder, "Town Meeting wrapped up before lunch yesterday. It was a civil meeting with good turnout and discussion. All the articles passed with no amendments."
For fiscal year 2026, voters approved spending $1,149,557 for the town's Highway Fund, $805,776 for the town's general fund, $286,550 for the Guilford Volunteer Fire Department along with another $35,000 for the department's capital improvement fund, and $14,730.00 for 12 human service organizations with another $3,000 for Health Care and Rehabilitation Services of Southeastern Vermont (HCRS).
Officials nominated from the floor and re-elected were Rick Zamore, moderator (1-year term); Carol Schnabel, cemetery commissioner (5-year term); Nika Fotopulos and Jeannette Tokarz, library trustees (5-year terms); and Todd (Akiva) Mandell, trustee of public funds (3-year term).
Two residents proposed non-binding straw votes. Linda Hay asked voters to affirm the U.S. Constitution "as our country's governing document." Dina Kail proposed a communication to Vermont Gov. Phil Scott requesting he "publicly reaffirm his commitment to uphold the rule of law and the Vermont Constitution amidst federal overreach."
Both articles passed.
Westminster approves all budgets
WESTMINSTER - Voters on March 1 approved all budgets and articles in the first Town Meeting held in the Bellows Falls Union High School auditorium in several years.
A general fund budget of $1.4 million and a highway fund budget of $1.77 million for fiscal year 2026 was approved despite some grumbling about rising property taxes. The $364,000 Fire District No. 3 budget was also approved. A town school budget of $6.3 million was approved by a voice vote.
In a 124-7 vote by Australian ballot, an article to eliminate the elected office of town lister was rejected.
Voters also approved a non-binding resolution calling on Vermont Gov. Phil Scott to "reaffirm his commitment to uphold the rule of law and the Vermont Constitution amidst federal overreach," even if the state is confronted with federal threats related to funding.
Whitingham spurns local option tax...
WHITINGHAM- Voters have overwhelmingly rejected a 1% local option tax, which, according to state data, might have brought in just under $9,000 in net revenue a year.
Selectboard Vice-Chair James Weber explained that the board has debated enacting the optional sales tax for years. He said the board chose to put the tax before the voters to see if they would take it up.
Voters also approved spending $821,444 for general fund operating expenses and $1,681,683 for town roads. They also OK'd $161,986 for fire department operations, $60,000 for fire department equipment, $103,290 to operate the library, and $50,000 for the highway garage renovation/replacement fund.
… while Marlboro approves it
MARLBORO - This year, the town did not have an in-person Town Meeting, opting instead for Australian balloting on March 4.
Voters approved, by a vote of 214-107, a proposed 1% local option tax on retail sales, rooms and meals, and alcohol sales.
They approved $736,650 for the general fund (287-46), $1,291,490 for town highways (258-71), $35,000 to help defray fire department operating expenses (333-8), $50,000 for fire department capital improvements (307-30), $21,309.75 to pay Rescue Inc. for EMS services (321-17), and $40,000 to remove the former first aid building at Hogback Mountain Conservation Area (189-139).
No contested races were on the ballot. Voter turnout, according to Town Clerk Forrest Holzapfel, was 343 out of the town's 700 registered voters, or almost 50%.
Stratton passes town, school budgets
STRATTON - Twenty-eight voters made quick work of the annual town and school meeting warrants on March 4, completing the town meeting in 29 minutes and the school meeting in 25 minutes.
Voters approved the general fund budget of $1,080,047 and the Stratton School District budget of $1,060,950. They also approved $84,315 for fire department operations.
The only change came in the human services budget, when the Visiting Nurses Association told the town it would no longer be serving that part of the county and withdrew its request for $800.
According to Town Clerk Kent Young, the human services request was amended to $48,796 and approved, but the decrease was not reflected in the final General Fund budget as recommended by the town treasurer.
All incumbents were voted back into office.
Brookline, Wilmington consider using non-residents to fill local posts
Almost a dozen communities are voting on calls to replace elected - yet increasingly elusive - citizen listers with professional assessors.
Thinking even more out of the box, Brookline and Wilmington are seeking permission to fill some local posts with non-residents.
In the latter case, voters on March 4 approved allowing longtime meeting Moderator Robert Fisher to run for re-election after he recently moved just over the town line into neighboring Marlboro.
"I reached out to other people to take it on," Wilmington Town Clerk Therese Lounsbury said, "but nobody would."
Brookline found the situation tricky enough to vote at its March 3 Town Meeting to allow Vermont residents who don't live in the community to be elected or appointed to local offices, excluding Selectboard and justice of the peace.
"There's fewer and fewer people stepping in, and we sometimes have a hard time filling those seats," Brookline Town Clerk Guy Tanza, who's retiring at age 81, said after his community approved the request. "This takes care of that."
Wilmington approved all of its articles and appropriations, including $3,625,986 for the general fund and $1,847,744 for the highway fund.
Athens narrowly approves town budget
ATHENS - By a 26-23 margin, voters on March 3 approved a $754,729 town budget in a brisk 80-minute meeting.
The turnout was one of the smallest in recent years. Voters also approved spending $15,000 to replenish emergency highway material reserves for future environmental events affecting infrastructure, $3,500 for cemetery upkeep, and $2,500 for the Athens Brick Meeting House.
Dummerston incumbents re-elected, vacancy remains for three-year Selectboard seat
DUMMERSTON - All of the incumbents on the Dummerston town ballot were reelected, according to Town Clerk Laurie Frechette.
Turnout was just under 15%, with 233 of the 1,571 registered voters casting ballots. Frechette said there was no winner for the three-year seat on the Selectboard being vacated by Alex Wilson. No candidates took out nomination papers for the seat, and Frechette said not enough write-in votes were cast.
No results were immediately available for the Windham Southeast School Board election.
Dunbar, Golec, North elected to Rockingham Selectboard
ROCKINGHAM - Voters turned out to the polls March 4 for town and school elections.
In contested races, John Dunbar beat Deborah Wright for the three-year Selectboard seat, 434-119. Peter Golec and Bonnie North won the two one-year Selectboard seats; North got 357 votes, Golec received 341 votes, and David Barrett got 215 votes.
The winners in the six-way race for three trustee seats for the Rockingham Free Public Library were Margo Ghia (330), Bonnie North (296), and Virginia Driscoll (215). They defeated Carol Blackwood (201), Ryan Coyne (171), and Colin James (81).
Chris Kibbe ran as a write-in candidate against Priscilla Lambert for a Rockingham School District director three-year seat. Lambert got 232 votes and there were 249 write-in votes. The names of the write-in candidates were not available by press time.
Virginia Driscoll won against Lambert for the three-year seat on the Union High School board, 359-142.
The Rockingham Town School District budget of $11.25 million passed 329-194, as did the Bellows Falls Union High School budget of $8.5 million, as did the River Valley Tech Center budget of $3.4 million.
Grafton elects Fisher, approves budgets
GRAFTON - Challenger Warren "Buzz" Fisher defeated incumbent Joe Pollio, 132-38, for a two-year seat on the Selectboard in the only contested race on the March 4 ballot.
Voters approved all budgets, including $375,060 for the general (Selectboard) budget and $733,347 to maintain highways and bridges, as well as $43,575 for emergency and public safety services and $12,231 for area human services organizations.
The elementary school budget was passed by a combined vote of 155-69, with Grafton voting 120-45 in favor and Athens approving the budget, 35-34.
Grafton voters also approved the Bellows Falls Union High School budget, 107-60.
With additional reporting from Kevin O'Connor of VTDigger.org, and Olga Peters, Virginia Ray, and Randolph T. Holhut of The Commons.
This News item was submitted to The Commons.