By Stephen Seitz
With Town Meeting Tuesday, March 7, for most area towns, here is a round up of some of the questions voters in the area will be asked to decide.
Killington: Killington voters will be asked to approve a $4.5 million budget. Also on the ballot are proposals to rescind the 1 percent local sales options tax and to abandon the Australian ballot system in favor of going back to floor voting.
Rutland City: Among the questions to be decided March 7 are whether to spend $51.6 million on the schools, and a city budget of $20.3 million. Also on the ballot is whether to float a $1.7 million bond for water system improvements. There is also a petition article to spend an additional $10,000 on BROC Community Action in Southwestern Vermont.
Rutland Town: The budget for this year is set at $963,065. Voters will also be asked to approve $254,595 for the police department, about $894,000 for the highway department, $197,850 for the fire department, and $122,274 for the recreation department.
Bridgewater: Bridgewater conducts business the traditional way, from the floor. Voters will consider a town budget of $1.2 million and whether to appropriate $15,000 to study the question of whether to build a new handicapped accessible community building, to include a meeting room and to house the fire and rescue squad.
Chittenden: The town budget for this year is about $450,000. The highway budget is $530,000; voters will also be asked to create a number of reserve funds, including highway equipment, bridges and culverts, and historic building preservation, among others.
Ludlow: Voters here will be asked to approve a budget of $3.8 million. They will also be asked to create a cemetery capital fund, whether to grant tax-exempt status to the Gill Odd Fellows Home for two years, and exempt the Ludlow Masonic Building for five more years.
Mendon: Mendon sets its budget at town meeting. Voters will also consider a proposal whether to replace the law enforcement fund with a public safety fund.
Pittsford: Voters will be asked to approve a $1.4 million town budget, as well as $1.2 million for the highway department.
Woodstock: in Woodstock, the budget is set at $5.4 million. Voters will also be asked to approve just over $1 million for the sewer department, most of which will be raised by user fees. There are also numerous petition articles asking to fund social service agencies.
