Town Meeting is Tuesday, March 5, beginning at 9 a.m. in Damon Hall to vote from the floor on the municipal budget and other appropriations. Voting by Australian ballot on the Hartland School District budget and the election of town and school officers is the same day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Damon Hall.
HARTLAND — At Town Meeting this year voters will decide on an $8.6 million school budget, a combined general fund and highway budget of $2.88 million and nearly $37,000 in several social service agency requests.
The Selectboard’s budget shows a slight decrease in general fund expenditures but an increase in the highway budget of about $127,000.
The proposed school budget shows an increase in part because of rising high school tuition and special education costs.
Town Manager Dave Ormiston said highway spending includes a 50 percent increase for paving, bringing it from $80,000 to $120,000.
“It wasn’t doing the trick,” Ormiston said, pointing out that the line item has not changed in more than a dozen years. “We need to do this to turn the corner and gain on paving. I feel as though we are falling behind.”
The budget also restores a buildings and grounds position for $63,000.
In his report on the budget, Ormiston said the position will relieve the highway department of having to take care of town buildings.
“It’s become apparent that it is best to keep the road personnel focused on the roads without the interruption of the buildings,” Ormiston wrote.
On the general fund side, legal expenses are up $34,500. Ormiston said town officials have seen more legal challenges on local ordinanceS and property valuations. One reduction is in the area of health insurance. The town switched plans and saved about $55,000.
Overall the budget is up 4.1 percent but the amount to be raised by taxes is increasing more than 9 percent, or $187,000, because last year surplus highway funds were used to lower the tax rate.
Also on the 10-article warning is $62,900 for the fire department, $14,500 for the rescue squad, $73,000 from capital reserve for breathing apparatus for the fire department and a new, $2,000 request for the Hartland Farmers Market.
The proposed school budget marks a 7.3 percent, or roughly $592,000, increase. School district officials said most of the increase is attributable to higher special education costs districtwide and increases in high school tuition.
“We will have a lot more students in high school,” School Board Chairwoman Nicole Buck said. “The incoming freshmen class is very big.”
Buck said after agreeing to decreases in the budget last year, school officials thought it would be detrimental to do it again this year.
“We felt more cuts would severely impact student learning,” Buck said.
There was also a drop in Hartland’s common level of appraisal, which also contributes to the projected homestead tax rate increase of 11 cents per $100 of valuation.
If all proposed school and town spending is approved, the homestead tax rate is projected to increase about 15 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, which would add $314 in property taxes to a home assessed at $200,000.
John Sammel is challenging Selectboard incumbent Phil Hobbie for a two-year term on the Selectboard while longtime Selectman Gordon Richardson is running unopposed for a three-year term. School Board members Scott Richardson and Colleen Spence are running unopposed for another term.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com
