BETHEL — Voters at Town Meeting re-elected two Selectboard members and approved $2.49 million in municipal spending with little discussion on Tuesday morning.
No challengers emerged from the gathering of about 125 eligible voters at White River Valley Middle School, paving the way for Selectman Paul Vallee to win a three-year term and for Selectwoman Lindley Brainard to claim a two-year stint.
The operating budget, approved by a voice vote, requires property taxpayers to contribute $2.06 million, $55,000 more than they’re contributing during the current fiscal year. Town officials expect the tax rate for non-school expenses to rise from $1.02 to $1.05 per $100 of assessed valuation. Selectboard Chairman Chris Jarvis noted that the town in 2019 collected $39,000 more in non-tax revenue than it did the year before, helping to limit the overall tax increase.
Beyond the operating budget, voters also approved both separate spending articles on the warning — $123,900 for Bethel’s contribution to the White River Valley Ambulance, about $12,000 less than appropriated in 2019, and $26,400 to 14 social-service agencies, up from $24,650.
The only “no” voice votes of the meeting — less than a dozen — greeted the Selectboard’s request for a non-binding ruling in favor of an ordinance that empowers the town to regulate the accumulation of “garbage, trash, litter and solid waste” on private property.
Jarvis said the Selectboard started exploring its options after receiving complaints about putrefying heaps of rubbish on “10 or 12 or more properties,” some in the wake of widespread river flooding last spring. The town initially considered including junk cars and vacant house trailers among the items for which the town would issue warnings and penalties to property owners, before deciding that state law covers such breaches.
Resident Rebecca Best said that she worried that the new rules might “unfairly burden low-income people” who cannot afford regular rubbish disposal. Jarvis and Town Manager Therese Kirby replied that the ordinance allows for appeals and for mutually arranging “equitable remedies.”
David Corriveau can be reached at dcorriveau@vnews.com and 603-727-3304.