Athens
• Annual Town Meeting on Monday, voting Tuesday: In-person Town Meeting will be held Monday, March 6 at the Athens Community Center (former elementary school) at 6 p.m. All voting for town officers will occur on Tuesday, March 7 by Australian ballot. Polls will be open between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Athens Town Office.
• Budget: Voters will be asked to vote on a budget of $632,621.95 general budget.
• Financial contributions: Voters will be asked whether the town will raise and appropriate a total of $6,476 in support to 10 organizations.
• More information: athensvt.com.
Brattleboro
• Annual Representative Town Meeting on March 25: Representative Town Meeting members will gather Saturday, March 25 and, if necessary, Sunday, March 26, at 8:30 a.m. in the gymnasium of the Brattleboro Union High School. (Articles not acted upon by 5 p.m. on Saturday will be moved to Sunday at 8:30 a.m. unless the meeting votes to continue.)
Two informational meetings for voting representatives are tentatively scheduled for March 15 and March 22 at the Academy School campus at 6 p.m.
The Commons will cover some key items on the agenda in the weeks preceding the meeting.
• Election: Election of town officers, Representative Town Meeting members, and members of Windham Southeast School District will take place on Tuesday, March 7, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., at American Legion Post 5, 32 Linden St. Absentee ballots are by request only this year.
• More information: brattleboro.org.
Brookline
• Annual Town Meeting March 6: Town Meeting will be held in the multipurpose room at the former Brookline School building (624 Grassy Brook Rd.) on Monday, March 6, at 6 p.m.
• Elections: Voters will elect town officers on the meeting floor.
• Financial: Voters will consider the allocation of $179,262 to the general fund and $409,520 for the highway fund, for a total of $588,782.
• More information: brooklinevt.com.
Dover
• Annual Town Meeting will be held Tuesday, March 7 at 10 a.m. at the Dover Town Hall, 189 Taft Brook Rd.
• An informational pre-town meeting (only in person) will take place on Wednesday, March 1 at Dover Town Hall, 189 Taft Brook Rd. Polls will open for Australian ballot voting at 10 a.m. and remain open until 7 p.m. Voters are asked to bring the 2023 Annual Town Report.
• Elections: Elections will take place, with no contests.
• Financial: Voters will be asked to authorize a general fund expenditure of $2,819,284.41 and an expected $1,619,759.03 from the highway fund for a total of $4,439,043.44.
• More information: doververmont.com.
Dummerston
• Town Meeting by ballot this year: Annual town meeting will take place by Australian ballot - not in person - at the Town Office (1523 Middle Rd.) on Tuesday, March 7. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be an informational zoom session on Wednesday, March 1 at 7 p.m.
• Elections: Contested elections this year: a two-year term on the Selectboard (Mark Kracum and Alex Wilson), WSESD director from Dummerston (Michelle Luetjen Green and Eva Nolan). Other WSESD director positions are on the ballot. Candidate statements appear in the current issue of Views of Dummerston.
• Financial: Voters will vote on a general fund of $536,120 and a highway fund of $661,693 for a total of $1,197,813.
• Fire truck: Voters will consider authorizing up to $500,000 for the purchase of a fire truck, with payment of debt service from the Capital Fund commencing in FY 2025-26.
• Diversity, equity, inclusion: Voters will be asked whether to adopt a non-binding declaration of inclusion as proposed on the ballot. Nearly 100 other Vermont communities have signed a similar “Declaration of Inclusion.”
• More information: dummerston.org.
Grafton
• Annual Town Meeting will take place Tuesday, March 7 at Grafton Elementary School (58 School St.) at 10 a.m.
• Financial: Voters will be asked to approve a budget of $233,894 for the Selectboard and $607,080 for the maintenance of highways and bridges.
• Public safety: Voters will decide whether to raise $43,450 for emergency and public safety services (ambulance service, fire department, rescue squad).
• Humanitarian expenses: Voters will consider $9,181 for 14 local and regional organizations, plus separate appropriations for Grace Cottage Hospital, the Gathering Place, and SeVEDS.
• More information: graftonvt.org.
Guilford
• Annual Town Meeting will take place Tuesday, March 7 at Guilford Central School gymnasium (374 School Rd.) between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Polls will be open by Australian ballot. A pre-Town Meeting information session took place on Feb. 23. The video from BCTV can be streamed at bit.ly/704-guilford-info.
• Elections: Incumbent Verandah Porche and Jason Herron are competing for the three-year selectboard term, while Tara Cheney and Jason Herron face off for the two-year position. While Jamie Dunham is listed on the ballot for the two-year seat, she withdrew from the race after the ballots were printed.
• Financials: Voters will consider operating expenses of $659,201 for general fund expenditures and $1,041,439 for highway fund expenditures for a total of $1,700,640.
• Humanitarian spending: Voters will consider spending $27,393 on human services organizations.
• More information: guilfordvt.gov.
Halifax
• Annual Town Meeting will be held Tuesday, March 7 starting at 10 a.m. at Halifax Elementary School (246 Branch Rd.).
• Elections: Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The only contested election this year is between incumbent Patricia Dow and Bob Teree for the three-year term as town treasurer.
• Financial: Voters will consider $1,250,626 in Selectboard and highway expenditures.
• School budget: Voters will debate a school budget of $2,084,485.
• Humanitarian spending: Town Meeting will be asked to consider $15,890 in spending to organizations such as the Halifax Fire Company and the Women's Freedom Center.
• More information: halifaxvt.com.
Jamaica
• Annual Town Meeting will occur on March 7 when the meeting starts at 10 a.m. at the Jamaica Town Hall.
• Elections: Voters will elect town officers on the meeting floor.
• 1% local-option taxes: In three articles, voters will consider separately whether to adopt the state's 1% local-option taxes for sales, meals and alcoholic beverages, and rooms. The additional tax is administered by the Department of Taxes and a portion returned to the towns.
In Windham County, Brattleboro, Wilmington, Stratton, and Dover have adopted all three 1 % local sales tax options.
• Financial: Voters will discuss the proposed General Fund of $730,920 and a highway fund of $1,126,910 for a total of $1,857,830 between the highway and general funds.
• More information: jamaicavermont.org.
Londonderry
• Annual Town Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 7, at the Town Hall, 139 Middletown Rd., South Londonderry, starting at 9:30 a.m.
• Elections: Polls will be open at the Town Hall from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
• Town Office renovations: The town will consider, by Australian ballot, whether to issue a bond of up to $1.3 million for the purpose of renovating the town office building.
“Given the current state of the building, and evolving needs of Town administrative staff and various boards and committees, and the wish to improve accommodations for the use as Londonderry's Emergency Operations Center, the intent of this project is to address and improve the building,” according to a project narrative from Brattleboro-based JA Saccoccio Architectural Workshop.
The project calls for the first floor to be “selectively demolished and upgraded,” and will include a new staircase to the basement and an elevator to meet accessibility requirements.
The basement will be “extensively overhauled” to create offices, a meeting room, a bathroom, and a storage area.
Repairs will also include exterior work, including a new paint job and repair of rotted trim, a ramp to the first floor, repair and refurbishment of historic windows, and new lighting. The project also calls for new electrical, data, heating, ventilation, and plumbing, as well as enhancements of building security.
• Financial: Voters will determine the necessary size of the general fund for the upcoming year. Town Meeting will also consider $70,500 for fire and rescue organizations and the South Londonderry Library Association.
• Humanitarian and nonprofit spending: Voters will consider $47,500 to support more than 20 local and regional organizations.
• Minute taker: An article seeks voter approval for $3,500 to hire a part-timer to take minutes for the Selectboard and other municipal boards.
• Fire truck: Voters will determine whether to authorize the purchase of a new pumper fire truck at an estimated $500,000, of which $120,000 would be raised through taxes. Voters will be asked to authorize the Selectboard to finance $280,000 for up to five years.
• Williams Dam: Voters will consider $20,000 for engineering costs related to the Williams Dam. The dam, originally constructed in 1883, was inspected in 2015 by the state Dam Safety Program, which graded its condition as poor, and the fate of the structure is still under consideration.
• Local option tax: Voters will consider whether to add or alter a 1% local option tax on such items as sales, rooms, meals, and alcohol.
• Shared recreation director: Voters will consider joining four neighboring towns in pooling resources to employ a shared recreation director, with Londonderry paying up to $95,386, Winhall $25,000, Peru $13,000, Weston $7,500. and Landgrove $3,900.
• More information: londonderryvt.org.
Marlboro
• Town Meeting by ballot this year: There will be no in-person Annual Town Meeting this year. Australian balloting takes place on Tuesday, March 7; ballots have already been mailed out to voters.
Ballots for Annual Town Meeting and Annual Town School District Meeting can be returned through the mail, in the drop box outside the Town Office, or hand-delivered to the office (call ahead to make sure there's an attendant).
Polls will also be open for in-person voting from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Marlboro Town House, 13 Town Hill Rd. (“Please bring your mailed ballot[s],” town officials implore.)
• Elections: Rachel Boyden and Celena Romo are facing off for the one-year term as school director.
• Closing grades 7 and 8: On the school district ballot, voters are asked to consider removing grades 7 and 8 from Marlboro School and tuitioning students to a public high school or an approved independent high school.
• Financial: Voters will consider a general fund of $420,000, in addition to $624,000 for the maintenance of town roads, for a total town budget of $1,044,000.
Voters will also be asked to approve a school budget of $3,920,171.
• Future ballot measures: Voters will be asked to consider whether the town should continue holding Annual Town Meeting via Australian ballot, one option permitted by a new state law enacted in January.
• More information: marlborovt.us.
Newfane
• Annual Town Meeting takes place on March 7 at Williamsville Hall (Dover Rd.) in Williamsville, starting at 9 a.m.
• Elections: Australian ballot elections will take place at the Williamsville Hall from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters will decide between Jeffrey Chevalier, Katy Johnson-Aplin and Cristine White for the two vacant one-year positions on the Selectboard.
• Financial: Voters will authorize a proposed general fund expenditure of $1,605,485.80.
• Humanitarian spending: Voters will consider approximately $43,000 in appropriations for 28 local and regional organizations.
• Nonprofit property tax exemption: Voters will be asked to consider exempting the South Newfane Community Association from property taxes for the former South Newfane Baptist Church (380 Dover Rd., South Newfane).
• More information: newfanevt.com.
Putney
• Annual Town Meeting takes place on Tuesday, March 7 at the Putney Central School, 182 Westminster Rd., starting at 10 a.m.
• Elections: Polls are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Financial: Voters will be asked to consider highway fund expenditures of $1,653,419 and general fund expenditures of $1,668,226 for a total of $3,321,645.
• Road equipment: Town voters will also consider appropriating up to $60,000 toward the purchase of a new highway truck and accessories.
• Non-binding articles on Cooper Field, proposed recreation board: Two non-binding articles appear on the ballot this year.
One would see if voters are in favor of the town spending up to $147,900 to buy Cooper Field from the Putney Community Center.
Voters would also weigh in on whether the Selectboard should form a town recreation board to be governed by a board of trustees of five to seven members.
• More information: putneyvt.org.
Rockingham
• Annual Town Meeting begins March 6: Town Meeting will take place this year in person for all articles for the expenditure of public funds.
The meeting takes place on Monday, March 6, at Town Hall Lower Theater (Bellows Falls Opera House, 7 Square), and it starts at 7 p.m.
The meeting will be broadcast on Zoom, but voting is not permitted via remote access.
• Elections: Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, at the Masonic Temple (61 Westminster St.).
• Rockingham Meeting House: Voters will consider whether to raise and appropriate $103,000 toward structural repairs of the historic Rockingham Meeting House. Grants have been allocated to the project on the condition that they be matched with municipal funding.
• Financial: Voters will be asked to approve $6,314,959 combined general and highway fund for the upcoming year.
• Humanitarian spending: Voters will also consider $93,978 in contributions to humanitarian and community organizations.
• Future ballot measures: Voters will also decide whether the town will adopt the Australian ballot format for future articles of public spending.
• Policing for Rockingham: Voters will consider spending $6,000 to contract with the Windham County Sheriff's Office to provide patrols in rural areas of town. Story, A1.
• More information: rockinghamvt.org.
Stratton
• Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday, March 7 will begin at 10 a.m. at the Town Hall (9 West Jamaica Rd.).
• Elections: Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Financial: Voters will decide whether to raise and appropriate $988,794 for the general fund and $1.179 million to cover highway and road maintenance.
• Humanitarian spending: Voters will consider allocating $41,883 to 37 local and regional organizations.
• Property tax exemption: Voters will consider a request to exempt the Stratton Mountain Volunteer Fire Company from municipal and education taxes on land and buildings at 5 Brazers Way.
• School budget: Voters will also consider the proposed school budget of $1.383 million, which would result in a 6.16% increase in per-pupil spending over the current year.
• Reorganizing school board: Voters will decide whether to reduce the number of directors for the Stratton School District from five to three.
• Appointed positions: The town has open positions to be filled by members of the community. Call the Town Office at 802-896-6184 if you're interested in filling any of the positions.
More information: townofstrattonvt.com.
Townshend
• Annual Town Meeting starts at 9 a.m. at Leland & Gray Union Middle School and High School's Dutton Gymnasium (2030 VT Route 30, next to Town Hall) on Tuesday, March 7.
• Elections: There are town offices to be filled, but ballots will only be issued in the case of contested races.
• Financial: Voters will be asked to consider the amounts of $581,199 for general expenditures and liabilities and $723,214 for the maintenance of town roads. The combined ask for voters is $1,304,413.
• Back Windham Road: Voters will consider raising and appropriating $50,000 to be held in a reserve account for the repair of the stone arch bridge on Back Windham Road contingent upon successful award of grant funds.
As described in a news release from 2022 from the Townshend Historical Society, the bridge “carries Back Windham Road across Tannery Brook at the east edge of West Townshend village Local farmer and self-taught stone mason James Otis Follett constructed the bridge in 1910. With its span of 37 feet, it holds the distinction of being the longest dry stone arch bridge built by Follett in Townshend and the last bridge that he built before his death in 1911.”
“While its arch remains structurally sound and it continues to carry local traffic, erosion over the years caused by runoff, freezing and thawing, and, more recently, use by heavy vehicles, has caused serious structural damage to its foundation and walls.
“The restoration process will be carried out by a team of certified dry stone masons using the same techniques as the original builder. The project's goals are to restore one of the town's historic treasures and to give the bridge another hundred years of useful life. The total cost of the project, slated to begin in spring of 2024, is estimated at $800,000.”
The Townshend Historical Society has been awarded a $221,000 Save America's Treasures grant from the national Historic Preservation Fund. The grant, administered by the National Park Service, requires a matching sum raised by the Historical Society and the town.
• Municipal forest: Voters will consider whether to authorize the Selectboard to acquire land “by gift or purchase for municipal forest to promote reforestation water conservation and good forestry practices.”
• More information: unofficialtownshendvt.net.
Vernon
• Annual Town Meeting this year takes place on Monday, March 6, at 6:30 p.m., at the Vernon Elementary School gymnasium. Free child care will be available in the school cafeteria.
• Election: Polls will be open on Tuesday, March 7, downstairs at the Town Office from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voters will consider Ken Bloom, Brandon Bucossi and Susan Miller for a two-year term on the Selectboard. Community members will also vote to fill two seats for library trustees, one of which is an unexpired term.
Also on the ballot: consideration of a $7.65 million school budget.
• Financial: The town proposes a general budget of $2,214,819 through the fiscal year.
• Annual Town Report: Voters will be asked to consider a change in the method of distribution of the Annual Town Report and Auditor's Report by “postcard, mailed to all registered voters” at least 30 days prior to Town Meeting, “in lieu of mailing or otherwise distributing the Town Report and Auditor's Report,” as authorized by state law.
• More information: vernonvt.org.
Wardsboro
• Annual Town Meeting in May: This year's Annual Town Meeting will take place on Saturday, May 13.
Westminster
• Annual Town Meeting on March 4: This year's Annual Town Meeting starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 4, at the Bellows Falls Union High School auditorium. Voters will reconvene at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7 if necessary.
• Elections: Polls at the Westminster Fire Station are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7.
• Financial: Voters will consider a general fund of $2,632,577 for town expenses through the year.
• School budget: Will the electorate approve a budget of $5,149,731 for the upcoming school year? The proposed budget results in an increase of 14.4% per student spending.
• School building improvements: Voters will consider use of up to $245,000 “to enhance indoor and outdoor learning environments, as well as community engagement,” improvements that include outdoor learning and play areas for the pre-kindergarten-to-grade-six students at Westminster Central School and Westminster West School.
The article also lists “additional shelter, outdoor classroom spaces, tools for hands-on learning, supplies and accommodations for children with special needs, enhancing landscapes and garden areas for outdoor learning, providing musical instruments, arts and sports or recreational equipment for qualifying students, and providing for transportation and related costs for field trips and/or mentoring opportunities for students” within the region.
• Catamount Library Network: Voters will consider raising and appropriating $7,000 for the Westminster West Library, for additional staff time and other expenses associated with joining the Catamount Library Network.
The nonprofit library network offers a shared catalog and integrated online library system and serves a consortium of participating Vermont libraries. It is built on Koha, free and open-source web-based library software.
• More information: westminstervt.org.
Whitingham
• Annual Town Meeting occurs at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 7 at the Twin Valley Middle/High School Auditorium (4299 Vt. Route 100) to act on town articles from the floor.
• Elections: Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Twin Valley Middle/High School. All financial articles for the Twin Valley Unified School District meeting - including a $9,974,057 budget for the Twin Valley Unified Union School District for the next school year - appear on the ballot.
There are no contested elections for town offices.
• Financial: Voters will be asked to consider general fund operating expenses of $740,771 for the upcoming year.
• Picnic pavilion: Voters will take up the question of renovations totaling $46,000 for the pavilion at Town Hill Common.
• More information: whitinghamvt.org.
Wilmington
• Annual Town Meeting will take place at the Old School Community Center (OSEC), 1 School St., at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 7 for discussion of articles that don't require Australian ballot.
• Elections: Polls will open at the OSEC at 7 a.m. and run through 7 p.m. All financial articles for the Twin Valley Unified School District meeting - including a $9,974,057 budget for the Twin Valley Unified Union School District for the next school year - appear on the ballot. There are no contested elections for town offices.
• Financial: Voters will decide whether to approve a general fund of $2,626,218 and $1,499,549 to cover the town road budget for a total of $4,125,767.
• Fate of town lister: Voters will determine whether to keep the position of town lister or replace it with a professionally qualified assessor with the same duties and responsibilities.
• More information: wilmingtonvermont.us.
• Future decisions by Australian ballot?: Voters will consider two articles that will require all budget items and public questions in subsequent Town Meetings to be decided by Australian ballot rather than floor discussion and vote, as permitted by a new law signed this January.
Windham
• Annual Town Meeting in May: Windham has postponed its Annual Town Meeting until Saturday, May 20.
• More information: townofwindhamvt.com.