By Virginia Dean
At Town Meeting on March 3, The Board of Aldermen is asking voters to approve a proposed municipal general fund budget of $22,054,009 for the fiscal year 2020-2021. According to Board of Aldermen President Sharon Davis, this sum is an increase of approximately 3%.
“At the end of the fiscal year, we’ll roll in revenues to offset the tax rate,” Davis said. “We don’t know what they are yet and won’t until the middle of July but we hope [those returns] will help to offset the budget to a flat increase. We’ll know the amount to be raised in taxes then.”
Voters will also be asked to approve the school board to expend $58,792,157. It is estimated that this proposed budget, if approved, will result in an education spending of $15,927 per equalized pupil which is 3.2 % higher than spending for the current year.
“The school budget is a concern to me because it’s up overall by 7% or about $5 million,” said Davis. “We’ve heard that there are continuing declining enrollments, and, if that’s true, why has it increased so much? Everybody takes pride in our school system. We’re blessed with school choice, too. We’ve got excellent teachers and educators, but my pockets are only so deep.”
A $5 million bond for the purpose of making public improvements including reconstruction, repair, rehabilitation and reclamation of city streets and highways at an estimated cost of $4 million and city sidewalks at an estimated cost of $1 million is also on Monday’s docket for voters to decide.
“I support the bond 100 percent,” said Davis. “We need these improvements. There seems to be some controversy about the roads and sidewalks as far as their locations not being disclosed, but I think City Hall might not want to make sure there is [no bias] in the voting.”
The bond is for a 30-year term and would not hit the tax rate fully until 2024 when there would be a $300,000 payment, Davis explained. Then, it would decline every year thereafter.
Voters will also be asked to appropriate the following sums of monies for the ensuing year: $10,000 for BROC-Community Action in SW Vermont; $30,000 for Rutland Mental Health Services; $43,000 to support the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice; $8,000 for RAVNAH Home and Community Health Services; $36,975 for the funding of One-2-One Program ($6,000), RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program)($8,475), InterAge ($2,500), and the Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging ($20,000).
In addition, voters will decide whether the city of Rutland should allocate $46,140 for the Marble Valley Regional Transit District’s public transit service within Rutland City; $27,500 for the Boys and Girls Club of Rutland County; $12,000 for the Mentor Connector; $10,000 for the New Story Center (formerly the Rutland County Women’s Network and Shelter); $35,900 to support ARC-Rutland Area; $65,980 for the Regional Ambulance Service; $12,000 for the Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum; $3,000 for Vermont Adult Learning; and $10,000 for the Vermont Center for Independent Living (VCIL).
Also on the agenda at the annual city election are candidate articles in which voters will decide to designate five Aldermen at large for two-year terms (see related story on page 1); four school commissioners for three-year terms; and ward officers for a two-year term in each of the city’s four wards.
Voters may register to vote at the city clerk’s office, City Hall, up to and including the day of the election. They may also apply in person in writing or by telephone to the same office for an absentee ballot until 5 p.m., Monday, March 2, 2020.
Polling places include: WARD 1 Godnick Senior Center, Deer Street; WARD 2 Christ the King School, Killington Avenue; WARD 3 American Legion, Washington Street; and WARD 4 Calvary Bible Church, Meadow Lane.
Voters should meet in their respective wards between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
