(DHCD) recently awarded $10,377 to the town of Poultney in state municipal planning grant funds for a municipal merger feasibility study, the town announced in a news release Jan. 26.
Poultney currently has two municipalities that govern the community: the town of Poultney and the village of Poultney. As the community continues its recovery from the loss of Green Mountain College in 2019, the desire to investigate municipal merger has increased. With the grant award, the town is acting on a directive from voters to investigate the feasibility of municipal merger.
The town’s Select Board and Village Trustees will soon form a local steering committee to undertake the project with the assistance of a qualified consultant. The work plan asks the consultant to guide the steering committee through existing conditions analysis, to support public engagement through committee meetings and public presentations, and to create a merger feasibility report that will inform the community’s next steps.
The report will include the follow two analyses:
A review of the finances, administrative functions, departmental operations (non-administrative functions, staffing levels/compensation, equipment/capital materials, and real estate assets of the Town and Village.
A merger cost/benefits analysis that addresses labor and staffing levels between both municipalities, revenues and expenses for Town and Village and resultant impacts to tax rates and services. Through this planning effort, the Town intends to lay the groundwork for a future capital planning project that will assist the community to implement recommendations and act on recent planning efforts.
The intended long-term outcomes are to educate and inform residents of the roles of the municipalities; to ensure the local government has streamlined processes and is operating at its highest efficiency; and to prepare for capital planning and/or planned growth.
Poultney successfully competed against 56 municipalities and was one of 31 funded. The town will have two years to complete this project.
“As our state works hard to ensure a future with vibrant and resilient communities, we need to continue to provide our municipalities with the tools they need to adapt and evolve. Municipal planning grants are one way that the state can empower communities to lay the groundwork for a stronger future,” said DHCD Commissioner Alex Farrell.
Awarded annually and administered by DHCD, the municipal planning grant program supports local community revitalization and planning initiatives. Since 1998, the program has provided $15 million to 240 cities and towns across Vermont, bringing people together to adopt useful and relevant municipal plans and implementing those plans through downtown revitalization, updated regulations, improved capital budgeting and innovative projects that prepare for the challenges they face.
For more information, visit: accd.vermont.gov/community-development/funding-incentives/municipal- planning-grant.
