Hartland Town Meeting: stakes high, interest low?

By Curt Peterson

Maybe it was the recent significant snowfall and cold temperatures — whatever the reason, a half dozen Hartland residents tuned into Zoom Monday evening, Feb. 10, for a discussion/review of the articles that will be on this year’s Town Meeting ballot. The in-person crowd at Damon Hall was only slightly larger.

Town Manager John Broker-Campbell moderated the Q&A, beginning with a reading, and basic explanation, of each of the 11 articles.

Article proposes elimination of town listers

One controversial article would eliminate currently-elected Board of Listers and provide future assessment services on a contract basis. Full-time elected lister and board chair Stacey Bradley would no longer be full-time, although she could apply for a part-time position as a town employee.

Bradley told the Mountain Times she plans to speak against the article at Town Meeting on March 4.

“I didn’t file a petition for re-election to the board,” Bradley said. “If the article fails, the Select Board can reappoint me.”

The board consists of Bradley and Bob Quaderer as part-time lister. The third position has been vacant for some time. She has talked to both professional assessment contractors and towns that have gone the contractor route.

“The decision is usually made because the town can’t find people to serve as listers,” Bradley said. “Bob and I make a quorum in our three-member Board, so the vacancy hasn’t been a problem.”

Bradley said once the Board has been eliminated, the town can’t go back. 

“Look at it this way — elected listers answer to the voters, and a professional contractors answer to the Select Board and town manager,” she said. “Local listers are familiar with the town, and have unique responsibilities — the selectmen are qualified to oversee rebuilding Quechee Road, for example, but are they qualified to oversee a two-year re-assessment project?”

Bradley had planned to request a $5,000 increase in the board’s 2026 municipal budget, mostly for increaseed mapping costs and cost-of-living compensation increases. The total proposal was about $117,000, she said.

Select Board chair Phil Hobbie explained increasing demands for lister services has encouraged many towns to make the elected official to regional contractor switch. And one contractor has already expressed interest in Hartland’s proposed format.

Hobbie told the Mountain Times the “listers’ line item” isn’t in the proposed municipal budget, anticipating the article will be successful.

“The new part-timer would be a town employee, and not a ‘lister expense’,” Hobbie said.

School for sale

After decades of vacancy, heated and electrified, sale of the North Hartland School is on the ballot for possible sale. Broker-Campbell said the school building and the adjacent and popular parkland are on separate land parcels, so there will be no subdividing issues involved. 

“The school is on the town water supply,” the town manager said. “But the building needs considerable work —  probably more than converting to a residence would justify, the chimney needs work, and the existing septic system is an ‘unknown.’ Also, the building is not Americans With Disabilities Act compliant, Someone might want to tear the structure down and start from scratch.”

Voters will be asked to approve sale the school. 

“According to statutes,” Broker-Campbell said, “The Select Board can buy property without voter consent, but they must have voter approval to sell it.”

The municipal budget and resulting tax effects are always of interest. The proposed budget would increase what property owners will pay by $21.60 per $100,000 of assessed value.