Kathryn Stephan reported this story on assignment from the Bradford Journal-Opinion. The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.
Thetford residents will meet on March 2 to consider a $3.3 million budget that will result in a 5.6 percent increase in town tax collection.
“The last several years, the town was able to hold the tax rate lower than inflation,” said Brian Story, Thetford’s town manager. “This was good during a time when a lot of people were experiencing economic uncertainty and challenges, but we can’t hold it there for long without it impacting services and other offerings. We’ve had to make a few corrections to make sure that we’re still able to keep everything staffed and running.”
Among the many increases in general and administrative costs, the budget includes a big jump in funding for cemetery maintenance, from about $2,500 to $12,500 for the coming fiscal year. Town mowing and maintenance is also seeing a significant leap, going from $14,280 to $17,500, as well as composting, which will rise from $250 to $5,500.
Another ballot item in Thetford requests voters to approve a 50 percent boost to the town’s allocation for the Tri-Valley Transit regional bus service. For the past few years, Thetford has underpaid for its portion, which is calculated with a “fair share” formula town based on each town’s level of service and population, said Mike Reiderer, the Tri-Valley Transit spokesperson.
“This is the first time we’ve gone back to that formula since COVID,” Reiderer said, adding that Tri-Valley Transit has approached seven or eight towns to ask for an increase. Thetford’s annual payment would increase from $3,200 to $4,800, still below the roughly $6,400 price tag that the town should be paying, according to the transit system’s formula.
“The buses are really visible, and it’s easy to say, ‘I don’t need that service. That’s not something for me,’” Reiderer said. “But when you think about your older neighbors, we’re also out there with volunteers driving their cars, picking up your older neighbors and getting them to food, shopping trips and doctors appointments. And that’s the only way they have to get around. That’s a huge impact on the community.”
By Australian ballot on March 5, Thetford voters will elect several town officers, most of them running unopposed for their seats, including cemetery commissioner and a school director. Three of five selectboard members are up for re-election. Li Shen and David Goodrich are running unopposed. Incumbent David Forbes, who was appointed last year to serve out selectboard member Mary Bryant’s term after she resigned, is running against John Piecuch.
Forbes is chair of the town Planning Commission and a member of the Lake Fairlee Association.
West Fairlee will hold its town meeting on March 2, when voters will decide whether to raise the annual stipend for selectboard members from $1,000 to $1,200, with $1,400 for selectboard chair.
Selectboard Chair Delsie Hoyt said members haven’t had a stipend increase in a few years. “We noticed on the compensation survey that’s done every year that we were below average,” Hoyt said. “The current rate in no way compensates board members for their time. It was just a reminder that, while we’re looking at the other things, we should at least become average.”
West Fairlee residents also will vote on a $1,863 increase in the town’s appropriation for Upper Valley Ambulance, which is requesting a boost in funding from many towns that depend on the ambulance service, Hoyt said. “Everybody got that letter, so everybody’s rate went up across all towns,” she said. “It’s a per capita figure, and they set the rates that they feel they need.”
On March 5, town residents will vote by Australian ballot on a 10 percent tax increase to support an annual budget of $917,000. The proposed tax hike this year follows a 24 percent jump in the town’s property tax collection between 2022 and 2023.
Joe MacPherson, West Fairlee’s treasurer, said the major July flooding that decimated many parts of Vermont led to increased costs for highway repairs and maintenance.
The Town Meeting Day ballot also includes town officer elections, none of which are contested. Current selectboard members Bree Carlson and Delsie Hoyt are running to keep their seats. Carlson’s is a one-year term and Hoyt’s is two years. Stuart “Tiger” Bacon is seeking an open three-year term on the selectboard.