Athens
Annual Town Meeting takes place at 10 a.m. at the elementary school.
• Town budget: Voters will consider what sum of money will be needed for the town's expenses.
• New school panel: Voters will consider forming the Athens School Advisory Commission, consisting of three members to be appointed by the Selectboard. The panel would advise the Windham Northeast Unified School District on budgets, facilities, and other matters of interest.
• Bathroom for Town Garage?: Voters will consider the construction of a septic system and bathroom for the Town Garage, at a cost of $32,000.
• Social services: Voters will be asked to approve $4,836 to support eight nonprofit organizations serving the town.
Brattleboro
• Elections: Town elections (technically, a Town Meeting article by Australian Ballot) will take place at American Legion Post 5, 32 Linden St., from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. by Australian ballot.
• Weighing in on mayoral government: A referendum question on the ballot will let voters express their opinion to the Selectboard on the issue of whether to pursue a change to a mayoral form of government. This is a non-binding question.
All registered voters may vote.
• Representative Town Meeting takes place Saturday, March 21, at 8:30 a.m., in the multipurpose room at Brattleboro Area Middle School. Town Meeting members representing the three districts in Brattleboro will participate. To contact your representative, visit the town clerk's page on brattleboro.org after the election for a list of your district's representatives and their contact information.
Brookline
Town Meeting takes place Monday, March 2, at 6 p.m., in the multipurpose room downstairs at the former Brookline School building.
• Elections: After nominating a town moderator, voters will elect town officers, including town clerk, town treasurer, and collector of delinquent taxes.
• Town budget and taxes: Voters will be asked to approve $125,047 for the General Fund and $157,679 for the Highway Fund, then decide the dates to collect town taxes.
• Social services: Voters will be asked to approve $6,656 to support 20 nonprofit organizations serving the town.
• Miscellany: Voters will consider appropriating up to $22,000 to cover recycling costs, and elect one school director for a three-year term to the West River Modified Union Education District Board.
Dover
The Annual Town Meeting and Town School District Meeting are set for Dover Town Hall, 189 Taft Brook Road, at 10 a.m.
• Australian ballot voting: The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Budgets: Voters will consider a proposed general fund budget of $2,105,244 and a highway budget of $1,532,000. They will also be asked to add $650,000 for the capital paving fund, $300,000 for the capital equipment fund, and $80,000 for the capital building improvement fund.
• Miscellany: Voters will be asked to appropriate $236,198 for the Dover Free Library, $20,000 for Deerfield Valley Rescue, $20,000 for Support and Services at Home (SASH), $10,000 for The Gathering Place, and $3,372 for Southeast Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS).
Dummerston
Town Meeting begins at 10 a.m. at Dummerston School.
• Election: Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Money matters: Voters will decide whether to raise $210,000 through taxes for the Capital Fund. Voters will also consider total FY21 general fund expenditures of $486,492. For the highway budget, voters will decide whether to approve $563,232.
• New mower and payloader: Voters will consider buying a new payloader for $150,000, and a new Tiger flail mower for $22,750, both to be financed by the Capital Fund.
• Blasting and crushing: Voters will consider establishing a Highway Blasting & Ledge Crushing Fund, with $18,000 to start, for future blasting and crushing.
• Fixing up the town offices: Voters will consider spending $750 to strip and wax the floors in the Town Offices, $1,500 to clean up the Town Office attic, and another $960 for exterior painting.
• Property-tax exemptions: Voters will decide whether to grant a one-year tax exemption to the Evening Star Grange and Green Mountain Camp.
Grafton
Annual Town Meeting begins at Grafton Elementary School at 10 a.m. Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Town expenses: Voters will consider $175,000 for capital expenses, $601,093 for highways, $226,523 for the Selectboard's budget, $39,500 for emergency services, and $9,741 for social-service agencies.
Guilford
Annual Town Meeting begins at 10 a.m. in the Guilford Central School gymnasium. Polls are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Town budget: Voters will consider a highway fund budget of $1,020,911 and a general fund budget of $855,311. Other budgetary items include decisions on appropriating $238,450 for the volunteer fire department, and $6,363 for SeVEDS.
• Windham Regional Commission: Voters will also decide whether the town should continue its membership in the Windham Regional Commission, and to raise and appropriate $5,041 for the town's share of its expense.
• Social-service organizations: Voters will consider funding $15,880 for 13 organizations, as well as an additional $6,000 for Guilford Cares.
Halifax
Voters will meet at 10 a.m. in the multipurpose room at Halifax Elementary School in West Halifax.
• Elections: Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. to elect town officers.
• Town expenses: Voters will decide whether to approve Selectboard and highway expenditures of $1,432,881, of which $1,245,381 shall be raised by taxes and $187,500 by non-tax revenues.
• Social services: Voters will decide whether to appropriate $20,390 for local social-service agencies, the Whitingham Free Public Library, Halifax EMS, and the Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice.
• Old Home Day: Voters will decide whether to appropriate $10,000 to help support the Halifax 270th Old Home Day Celebration this July.
• Broadband: Voters will be asked whether the town should enter into a communications union district, to be known as Deerfield Valley Communications Union District.
Jamaica
Town Meeting begins at 10 a.m. at Jamaica Town Hall on Route 30. Polls are open for Australian ballot from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Elections: Voters will elect a moderator, hear the report of the professional auditors, and elect a Selectboard member for a term of three years (by ballot); two Selectboard members for a term of one year (by ballot); lister for a term of three years (by ballot); first constable; second constable; town grand juror; town agent; trustee of public funds; agent to deed land; a library trustee; and two West River Modified Education District officers.
• Town budget: Voters will decide how much money will be needed for the town's expenses.
Londonderry
Voters will meet at the Town Hall, 139 Middletown Rd., South Londonderry, at 9:30 a.m.
• Policing: Voters are asked whether to fund $5,000 for contracting with the Vermont State Police for law enforcement in the town.
• Highway equipment: Voters are asked whether to approve raising $120,000 for the Highway Equipment Reserve Fund.
• Reserve fund: Voters are asked to approve $100,000 for the Town Buildings Reserve Fund.
• Organizations and associations: Shall the town vote to raise $20,000 for Champion Fire Company No. 5? $10,000 for the South Londonderry Library Association? A combined $51,802 for 19 other social service organizations?
• Fighting the Emerald Ash Borer: Voters will be asked to appropriate $3,000 to establish an Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) fund to support the town's efforts to prevent and address the effects of an EAB infestation on the town's ash trees.
• Cannabis sales: Voters will be asked to weigh in on an article that states “We, the residents of Londonderry, Vermont, want the opportunity to develop legal cannabis-related business, and to form a healthy, safe, locally-based marketplace within Londonderry for cannabis goods and services.”
Marlboro
Town Meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Town House.
• Australian ballot: Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Town Office.
• Town expenses: The town seeks $275,000 for the general fund, $360,000 for highways and their maintenance, $26,317.42 for emergency services, $3,000 for the Marlboro Mixer newsletter, and $3,234 for SeVEDS.
• Social services: Voters will consider $9,929 in spending for 12 agencies.
• Broadband: Voters will be asked whether the town should enter into what would be known as the Deerfield Valley Communications Union District.
Newfane
Town Meeting will take place at Union Hall on West Street beginning at 9 a.m. Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Budget: The proposed FY21 budget for town and highway operational expenditures is $1,523,911, with $1,216,264 to be raised through taxes and $307,647 through non-tax revenue.
• Capital Funds: Voters will consider authorizing $268,895 from the town's Capital Fund and to raise $123,500 by taxes to add to the Capital Reserve Fund.
Putney
Meeting begins at 10 a.m. at Putney Central School, 182 Westminster Road. Polls are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• New fire truck: Voters will be asked (by Australian ballot) whether the town wants to take out a $550,000, 10-year bond for a 2021 fire engine for the Putney Fire Department.
• Budget: The proposed FY21 budget for General Fund expenditures is $1,415,587, and $1,218,594 for Highway Fund expenditures.
• New dump truck: Voters will be asked to borrow $190,000 over five years for a new dump truck for the Highway Department.
• Clearing the air: Voters will be asked to borrow $103,000 over five years for a new vehicle exhaust system for 13 emergency vehicles at the Fire Department.
• Blasting Fund: Voters will consider establishing a Gravel Pit Blasting Reserve Fund and, if approved, to fund it with a transfer of $18,000 from the highway capital fund.
• Tax exemptions: The town will vote on whether to grant municipal and education taxation exemptions for five years to the Putney Gun Club on Sand Hill Road.
Rockingham
Town Meeting begins Monday, March 2, at 7 p.m., in the Town Hall auditorium (Bellows Falls Opera House).
• Australian ballot: Voters go to the polls on Tuesday, March 3 at the Masonic Temple (61 Westminster St.) from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. to decide multiple school, local municipal, and town meeting articles by Australian ballot.
• Municipal budget: Voters will consider a budget of $6,208,639, of which $5,003,444 will be raised by taxes. Rockingham Free Public Library seeks $441,711 for operating expenses, with $379,250 to be raised by taxes.
• Schools: Rockingham Town School District voters will be asked to approve $10,888,771 in expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year, of which $19,621 is forecast to be spent per equalized student: a 12.64 percent decrease in spending over the current year.
• Social services: Voters will consider a request for $85,978 to be allocated to 15 local social-service agencies, as well as $3,000 to support Restorative Community Justice and $5,000 for the Community Bike Project.
• Rainy day money: Voters will be asked to transfer reserve funds for improvements to Hyde Hill ($100,000) and the Rockingham Meeting House ($42,000).
• New fire equipment: Voters will be asked to appropriate $12,500 to fund fire equipment for the Rockingham Fire Department.
Stratton
Annual Town Meeting begins at 10 a.m. at the Town Hall, 688 Stratton-Arlington Rd.
• Elections: Voters will decide elections for Selectboard (one three-year term, two one-year terms); Planning Commission (one three-year term and one one-year term; or two, four-year terms, if voters approve an article to change the term period); the lister, an auditor (if voters decide to keep the position), the cemetery commissioner, a delinquent-tax collector, trustee of public funds, constable, grand juror, and the town agent.
• Budget: Voters are asked to raise and appropriate $901,683 for the General Fund and $868,500 for the Highway Fund. Town officials also seek $41,012 to support 25 local service organizations and $53,800 for the Stratton Mountain Volunteer Fire Company.
• No more Auditor?: Voters will decide, by Australian ballot, whether to eliminate the office of Town Auditor and authorize the Selectboard to contract with a licensed public accountant for future town audits.
• Term change: Voters will decide whether to set the terms for Planning Commission members to three 3-year terms and two 1-year terms, to be implemented as current terms expire, so that each year one 3-year term will be up for re-election.
Townshend
Voters are asked to meet at Town Hall on Route 30 at 9 a.m.
• Budget: Voters will be asked to appropriate $552,047 to pay for the running expenses and liabilities of the town, $720,220 for the running expenses and liabilities of maintaining the town's roads, $54,000 to support the town library; $10,000 for a Fire Department capital expenditure fund for a future pumper; and $1,750 for the old cemetery fund.
• Social services: Voters will decide whether to raise $16,780 to support social services.
•Bridge fix: Voters will consider setting aside $55,000 in a reserve account for repairs to the stone arch bridge on Back Windham Road, contingent on the successful award of grant funds.
Vernon
Town and Town School District Meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 2, at the Vernon Elementary School cafeteria. The second night of Town Meeting, if needed, will take place there Wednesday, March 4, at 6:30 p.m.
• Elections: Voting takes place on Tuesday, March 3, in the downstairs of the Town Office building, and polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Town budget: Voters will choose whether to approve the $1,894,2855 total general fund expenditure. Voters will also decide whether to appropriate $252,923 to fund items approved in the capital plan, as well as $100,000 for the Town Road Upgrading Fund, $40,000 for the Town Culvert Fund, $15,000 for the Farmland Protection Fund, and $5,000 for the Elderly Assistance Fund.
• Library: Voters will consider a Library Fund expenditure of $87,453 for the Vernon Free Library, as well as elect three library trustees.
• Garbage time: Voters will decide whether to continue curbside pay-as-you-throw trash pickup and curbside recycling and compost pickup. If voters vote to discontinue curbside pickup, they will be asked to dissolve the Pay-as-You-Throw Fund. Voters will also be asked to appropriate $108,000 for municipal refuse, recycling, and compost disposal, as well as $14,518 for the Windham Solid Waste District Assessment.
• School budget: Voters will decide, by Australian ballot, whether to approve a proposed school budget of $6,353,800. The proposed FY21 school budget, if approved, will result in education spending of $17,178 per equalized pupil, which is 5.8 percent higher than spending for the current year.
• No more Listers?: Voters will decide, by Australian ballot, whether to eliminate the office of Lister and authorize the Selectboard to contract with or employ a professionally qualified assessor.
Wardsboro
Annual Town Meeting is set for 9 a.m. at Town Hall. Town officers, including a member of the River Valleys Unified School District Board, will be voted upon by a floor vote.
• Town budget: Voters will consider how much money will be needed for the town's expenses.
• Social services: Voters will decide whether to raise $115,159 to support social services. That sum includes $35,450 for the Wardsboro Public Library and $62,000 for the Wardsboro Volunteer Fire Department.
• Tax exemptions: The town will vote on whether to grant municipal and education taxation exemptions for five years to the Wardsboro Volunteer Fire Department.
Westminster
Annual Town and School Meeting takes place Saturday, Feb. 29, at 10 a.m., at the Bellows Falls Union High School auditorium. If necessary, any remaining articles from the Saturday session will be taken up there on Tuesday, March 3, at 8 p.m.
• Elections: Elections take place by Australian ballot Tuesday, March 3, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Westminster Institute on Route 5.
• Budget: Voters will consider a town budget of $2,232,411 as well as spending $130,000 for the Town Equipment Reserve Fund; $15,000 for the Bridge Reserve Fund; $9,534 for SeVEDS workforce and economic development coordination, and $7,500 for the Westminster Institute and Butterfield Library.
• Tax exemptions: Voters will consider granting five-year tax exemptions to the real estate of the Westminster Aqueduct Society, Westminster Fire District #3, and Westminster Recreational Club.
• New school panel: Voters will consider forming a School Advisory Committee consisting of five members to be elected at Town Meeting, with two members to serve three-year terms and three members to serve two-year terms. The panel would have the responsibility to review, develop, and recommend for approval items that pertain to K-8 education of Westminster students.
Whitingham
Town Meeting starts at 10 a.m. at the Twin Valley Middle High School Auditorium on Route 100.
• Australian ballot: Polls are open for elections from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Financial matters: Voters will consider $608,406 for general use, $18,878 for upkeep of the Town Hill Common, $76,046 for the Town Fire Department, $20,000 for the Fire Department Equipment Fund, $1,369,882 for highways, $85,000 for the Highway Equipment Fund, $82,556 for the library, $10,000 for the Municipal Facilities Fund, and $15,000 for Deerfield Valley Rescue.
• Broadband: Voters will be asked whether the town should enter into what would be known as Deerfield Valley Communications Union District.
Wilmington
Town Meeting begins at 10 a.m. at Twin Valley Elementary School on Route 100.
• Australian ballot/elections: The Australian ballot portion of Annual Town Meeting takes place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Town finances: Voters will consider a $2,155,219 general fund budget and a $1,518,452 road budget.
• Funding existing accounts: Voters will be asked to appropriate $221,000 for the Planning and Acquisition for Town Facilities fund, $175,000 for the Highway Equipment Capital Fund, and $150,000 for the Fire Department. Other articles will address capital fund needs for bridges ($35,000), Memorial Hall ($20,000), the police department ($20,000), library ($12,000), the firehouse ($5,000), and the Town Hall ($20,000).
• Broadband: Voters will be asked whether the town should enter into what would be known as Deerfield Valley Communications Union District.
Windham
Annual Town Meeting begins 10 a.m. in the Meetinghouse. 25 Harrington Rd.
• Schools: Voters will consider a $534,075 budget for FY21 for the Windham School District which, if approved, will result in education spending of $24,855 per equalized pupil, which is 16 percent higher than spending for the current year.
• Budget items: Voters will debate spending $148,556 for the General Fund, $482,520 for road maintenance, and $105,000 for repaving and bridge repair.
• Miscellany: Voters will consider appropriating $30,000 for Windham Volunteer Fire and Rescue and $30,000 for the New Road Machinery Fund.