Town Meeting Preview
February 25, 2010, page 5
by Nancy Wood

Editor’s Note: This is a review of Articles on the Town Meeting Warning. For Profiles of each of the candidates for town offices see the last issue of The Charlotte News, here on our website. The only contested race is between Marilyn Richardson and Richard Hess for the CVU 3-year term. See page 17 of this issue for their information and for a profile of retiring director Dottie Waller.

PHOTO CAPTION: Selectboard member Winslow Ladue points out features of the LeBoeuf property and explains the value of the available low interest rate at Candidates Night at the Senior Center. The Selectboard is holding two more information sessions, tonight (February 25), 7 p.m. at the Senior Center, and Monday night, 7:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room at CCS, and will lead tours of the property Saturday and Sunday at noon, meeting in the Town Hall parking lot.

Do you have questions about town activities that are not specifically related to the budget or another article on the warning? There is a good chance you’ll find mention in one of the reports in the Annual Town Report. Your one and only opportunity to ask them is under Article 1: “To hear the reports of the Town officers and to act upon the same.” Be there at 9 a.m. to bring your issue up. Be sure to mention the name of the report and page number.

Discussion of the Town budget is often the highlight of the meeting. Check the “change” column on pages 7–13 of your town report. Are you worried about speeding on local roads? Ask why there is no increase for enforcement. Are other expenses increased or decreased? Ask why.

Significant increases in the general fund budget over last year include $12,181 for Fire & Rescue Services, $11,500 for maintenance of the town cemeteries, $7,000 for the library, $2,500 for purification of the well water at the Town Beach (see page 10), and $35,000 for the Town Hall, split between computer equipment and necessary painting and repairs.

If passed, Article 3, “Will the Town adopt the Selectboard’s budget of $2,504,178 for the fiscal year July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011 less anticipated revenues?” will result in a town tax rate of about $.1597 and a property tax of about $160 per $100,000 of assessed value.
Article 5 adds another one and one half cents for the Fire and Rescue Capital Reserve Fund. This goes toward major equipment purchases, planned many years in advance (see page 51). It results in a tax of $15 per $100,000 of assessed value.

Article 6 commits the town to contributions of $40,000 per year to the Charlotte Housing Trust Fund for five years. The Housing Trust Fund began three years ago to encourage the creation of affordable apartments and homes. The cost in property taxes is about $4 per $100,000 of assessed value.

Articles 7 and 8 will create a “Charlotte Trails Fund” and fund it with $25,000 for each of three years. (See Elizabeth Bassett’s Out-doors column on page 12 of this issue for more information.) The cost in property taxes this year would be about $3 per $100,000 of assessed value.

Would you like to have a drop-off center for waste and recyclables closer to home? Article 9 is a non-binding question asking if the town should investigate locating a staffed Chittenden Solid Waste District drop-off facility within Charlotte.

Articles 11 (the election of Town Officers) and 12 (approving $1.2 million for the purchase of the 51-acre LeBoeuf property in the West Village) will be voted by Australian ballot. New rules passed by the State Legislature in 2008 allow discussion of ballot items other than the election of officers, so Article 12 as well as the school budget in the afternoon may be discussed, but with no action, at the appropriate times. The LeBoeuf purchase would increase taxes paid in 2010 by about $3 per $100,000 of assessed value, and by $16 in the following year.

The bottom line for municipal taxes for 2010-2011, if all of the above articles are passed, plus another two-cent tax for the Conservation Fund (which does not require a vote) and a bit more for “local agreement” exemptions, would total about $206 per $100,000 of assessed value. For a residential property of median value in Charlotte ($519,000), the municipal property tax would be about $1,065.

CCS and CVU budgets will be voted by Australian ballot. Both are close to last year’s (CCS slightly lower, CVU slightly higher), but because of the increase in the statewide education tax rates, there will be an overall increase of a little over 6% in the education property tax. Income sensitivity reduces the impact for many homeowners.