An informational meeting on the town warning will be held virtually on Monday, Feb. 28, beginning at 6:30. Voting by Australian ballot will be on Tuesday, March 1, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Story Memorial Hall.
BROWNSVILLE — For the second year in a row, the town will forgo the traditional floor meeting because of COVID-19 and decide all warning articles by Australian ballot.
New this year is an appropriation of $35,224 to be paid to the town of Weathersfield to cover West Windsor’s share of the cost to operate the transfer station in Weathersfield, which is also used by Reading, Vt., residents.
Selectboard Chairman Win Johnson explained that West Windsor currently gives Weathersfield the revenue it receives from access stickers sold to residents for the transfer station, but the sticker revenue does not cover West Windsor’s share of the facility’s fixed costs.
“Weathersfield approached Reading (which has been making an annual appropriation for its share of the costs) and West Windsor and said, ‘We have an issue here we need help resolving because this is not a viable operation the way it is financed and our taxpayers are holding the bag,’ ” said Johnson, who agreed that Weathersfield had a valid complaint.
The towns developed a formula that uses the number of housing units in each town to determine the percentage of the fixed costs each should pay. West Windsor, with 688 units, would pay 29% ($35,224) of the $120,630 transfer station budgeted fixed costs for the fiscal year beginning July 1, according to the town report. The formula does not include condominiums in town that are served by dumpsters, the town report states.
Johnson said the town will continue to charge $75 for annual access stickers to be fair to those who do not use the transfer station.
“That (sticker revenue) will offset about 50% of the cost,” Johnson said. “The tax burden instead of being the full $35,000 would be about half that because the income (from stickers) would go to us instead of Weathersfield and would be an offset to the lump sum payment we make to Weathersfield.”
About 240 residents use the facility and would have to make other arrangements after July 1 if the article fails. Johnson said the transfer station benefits the entire town. Those benefits were highlighted in the town report and include acceptance of waste materials not usually picked up by curbside collection such as “tires, old furniture, used motor oil, batteries, brush, construction debris and scrap metal; free management of electronics (which are banned from disposal) for all West Windsor residents whether they have a sticker or not; and free disposal of all West Windsor Green-Up Day trash.”
The combined general fund, highway, library and cemetery budget of $1.5 million is about a 7.5% increase from last year, but the estimated increase in the amount to be raised by taxes is just below 4%, Johnson said. However, with a projected increase in the grand list, the town tax rate is estimated to drop by about 1 cent per $100 of assessed valuation to .473 cents, Johnson said.
Two of the major budget increases are $11,000 for cybersecurity to protect the town’s computer systems and digital records and a projected 16.5% increase in the cost of diesel fuel.
“We have done our best to cut back where it is prudent,” Johnson said.
Appropriations for the fire department, FAST squad, historical society and Independence Day Committee are about the same as last year, as are the requests for 14 social service organizations.
In town elections, Mark Higgins is the only candidate for a three-year Selectboard term now held by Johnson, who is not seeking reelection. Moderator Matt Birmingham and Cathy Archibald, town clerk and treasurer, both longtime incumbents, are running unopposed.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
