Barre Town sets $2.8M budget for May vote
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By David Delcore TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: April 6, 2009
BARRE TOWN – It's all over but the voting in Barre Town, where a soon-to-be-reconfigured selectboard has put put the finishing touches on two budgets and a bond issue that they will ask voters to approve next month.
According to Town Manager Carl Rogers the only substantive change board members made to the budget that was recommended by a citizens committee involved a decision to fully fund the town's $5,000 contribution to Barre's municipal swimming pool.
Last week the committee narrowly recommended including $2,500 in the budget to directly reimburse town residents who use the city's swimming pool. However, Rogers said the board opted to continue its historic practice of contributing to the operation of the pool and boosted that line item by $2,500.
Based on that change and a host of other adjustments proposed by the committee and accepted by the board, Rogers said voters will be asked to approve a pair of spending proposals totaling more than $5.35 million during the town's annual elections on May 12.
That's roughly $2,500 more than Rogers proposed at the outset of the committee's deliberations. If both budget requests are approved next month Rogers said the town's tax rate would increase by roughly 1.5 cents – adding roughly $22 to the tax bill for a home valued at $150,000.
According to Rogers, most of the increase – nearly 1.4 cents – would be triggered by approval of the $2.8 million general fund budget that was adopted by the selectboard during its weekly meeting Tuesday.
The balance of the rate hike – less than .2 cents – would be needed to help finance a $2.6 million highway fund budget proposed by the board.
Both proposed budgets call for spending slightly less than voters approved a year ago, but due to a variety of factors, including last year's use of $100,000 in surplus funds to cover a series of one-time expenses – the budget requests will collectively require a small rate increase.
Meanwhile, voters, who will replace two sitting selectmen and consider nearly $70,000 in special spending requests next month, will also be asked to approve a $226,000 bond issue that could help leverage federal stimulus funds to pay for a water line replacement project on Mill Street.
According to Rogers, the project, which involves replacing about two-tenths of a mile of water line on Mill Street, between Websterville Road and the bridge near Route 302, was previously permitted by the East Barre Fire District, but shelved because of finances. He said the next month's bond vote is viewed as a key step to securing federal funds by proving the project is "shovel ready."
According to Rogers, if a federal subsidy, in the form of a 50 percent loan forgiveness, is secured, the town would use roughly $80,000 that was earmarked for the project but remained unspent when it took over the East Barre Fire District to help cover the $113,000 balance.
Topping the list of special spending initiatives on the May 12 ballot include a proposal to add roughly $27,500 to the general fund to help cover the cost of operating the town's cemeteries during the coming fiscal year. The remaining monetary requests total about $43,000 and help finance a number of area organizations. Those requests rang in size from $500 for the Washington County Youth Service Bureau and the Sexual Assault Crisis Team of Washington County to $15,000 for Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice Inc.
With two of the town's selectboard members planning to step down next month there will be an infusion of new blood on that five-member panel.
Berlin Police Chief William Wolfe, who got his start as a patrolman in Barre Town, is running unopposed for the two-year seat now held by veteran Selectman Charles "Chip" Castle.
Two members of the town's budget committee Jeff Newton and Fred Thumm, are both vying for the three-year seat now held by Selectman Gerard Otis Jr.
Town Clerk-Treasurer Donna Kelty tops a short list of candidates – mostly incumbents – who are running unopposed this year.
That list includes veteran Town Moderator Tom Koch and Town Constable Robert Edwards. John Pizzo is the lone candidate for an auditors position now held by Charles Miller.
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