Tunbridge Town Meeting is on Tuesday, March 5, at 10 a.m. at Tunbridge Central School. A pre-Town Meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 26, in the same location. The First Branch Unified School District Annual Meeting is at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 4, in Tunbridge Central School.
TUNBRIDGE — Residents will vote on a proposed $602,365 general fund budget, marking a 2.8 percent increase, and an $889,845 highway budget, which is up 6.6 percent, in part because of rising costs for road material, including sand and culverts.
The town also is proposing to place $50,000 apiece from a surplus last year into the capital improvement fund, the reserve fund, and the bridge fund, with another $51,088 being used to reduce taxes in the upcoming fiscal year. Officers are voted from the floor. Selectboard Chairman Gary Mullen, a dairy farmer, is not seeking another term.
On the school side, the First Branch Unified School District is seeking approval for a $6.7 million budget, which equates to education spending of $17,317 per equalized pupil, a 3 percent increase from the current school year.
After the Common Level of Appraisal is factored in, the projected school tax rate in Tunbridge would be $1.475 per $100 of valuation, down 3 cents from the current school year. In Chelsea, the projected school tax rate is $1.59 per $100 of valuation, an increase of more than 8 cents.
— Staff report