BARNARD — Town Meeting voters approved spending $250,000 — roughly half of a budget surplus that had built up over the last six or so years — to help pay down a construction loan on the new emergency services building.
The one-time payment knocks four years off what began as a 15-year loan in 2018. The $1.2 million building is now due to be paid off in 2029. “We think that’s a pretty good investment,” Selectboard Chairman Rock Webster told residents.
Voters also approved spending $11,194 to pay Barnard’s portion for a regional energy coordinator who will work for several Upper Valley communities in a one-year pilot program. However, the plan for the position depended on funding approval from seven participating towns, and Pomfret rejected its energy coordinator article Tuesday.
The town budget of $1.77 million passed on a voice vote. Of that, $1,301,400 will be raised through property taxes.
Town Clerk Diane Rainey, lister Virginia Nix and auditor Linda Caruso were among elected officials who won new terms. Webster was elected to the Selectboard for his eighth term. They all ran unopposed.