Barnard Voters Asked What To Do with Surplus
Photo courtesy of the Town of Barnard
Barnard residents will vote Town Meeting Day on whether the town should use $400,000 from budget surpluses to reduce property taxes and fund road repairs, along with deciding several open spots in the town government.
Surpluses in the town’s municipal and highway budgets total to nearly $757,000. Voters will decide if they want to use $200,000 of that total to reduce property taxes for the following year. They also will vote on using another $200,000 from the surplus to bulk up the town’s major highway projects reserve.
The $200,000 toward property taxes is “a meaningful percentage of the town budget,” said Rob Ramrath, town and zoning administrator, so voters could expect to see a significant reduction in property taxes if the measure passes.
The proposed general fund budget is close to $832,600, lower than last year, and the anticipated revenue to come from taxes, about $549,000, is down by 2.3%.
The majority of the proposed highway budget will come from taxes, more than half of the close to $1.8 million requested. The proposed highway budget is up 35%.
Due to an ongoing problem with stolen and vandalized road signs and a laundry list of repairs needed, the proposed increase in the highway budget should work to repair these issues.
The town always has “a backlog of projects to do, and the projects are never fully covered by grants,” Ramrath said, so the $200,000 from the surplus would help.
Town Meeting Day will also see voters decide on several openings in town government.
Selectboard chair Rock Webster’s three-year term is ending, opening up a spot that Webster plans to run for again. Treasurer, town clerk and tax collector Diane Rainey is running for those positions again, too.
Because everything on Barnard’s Town Meeting Day Agenda must be voted from the floor that day, it’s unclear whether Webster or Rainey will face any challengers.
Voters will convene at 10 a.m. on March 7 at the Barnard Town Hall. Early or absentee ballots are not available for items voted on from the floor. All voters must be present to be counted.
