By Brett Yates
The Chittenden Recreation Committee’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 prompted debate at a Select Board meeting on Monday, Nov. 11.
Committee member Christian Stevens broke down the $6,500 request: $1,000 for equipment; $1,000 for trail maintenance; $2,000 for event-based insurance riders; $1,000 for “spontaneous events” and miscellaneous spending; and, for the first time, a $1,500 stipend for a recreation coordinator.
“We’re trying to put out programs, get people into playing basketball, soccer, Zumba,” Stevens said. “We would like to grow. We really like Pittsford’s model. They do a great job down there. They have a wonderful trail system, and it would be nice to have a map of our trail system for people as well.”
Select Board Chair Kathie Pratt pushed back, citing recent failures of communication and coordination between the board and the committee, including, by her account, unanswered emails. She also pointed to the unusual size of the request.
“We had somebody who went back and looked at all of the past budgets, and they’ve never, ever given them that much money,” Pratt said.
According to Selectman Andrew Quint, the Chittenden Recreation Committee has not previously received more than $3,000 from the town. Its members have recently considered going directly to the voters with a budget request on Town Meeting Day, but Pratt warned that, in order to receive its funding outside of the Select Board’s budgeting process, the committee would need its own insurance coverage, separate from the town’s.
The Chittenden Select Board expects to finalize its budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 on Mon., Dec. 9.
