Bethel Town Meeting will start at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 6, in the gymnasium at Whitcomb High School. The annual meeting of the White River Unified School District will take place at 6 p.m. at the Whitcomb gym.
Bethel
At 6 this Monday night in Town Hall, the board will explain why it’s planning to ask voters for nearly $101,000 — out of a total proposed budget increase of more than $185,000 — as the first annual payment toward retirement of debt that the town built up over the last several years.
“It became clearer to us in the last few months … that this was a substantial debt related to overspent budgets and other factors,” Russell said this week. “Legally, we could keep going on like this, but it makes no financial sense.”
In the annual town report, officials note that Bethel took out a $1.7 million line of credit with Mascoma Savings Bank in 2012, to cover expenses incurred during recovery from the floods during 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene. In subsequent years, the money was used to cover operating budget overruns and make up for taxes and fees that property owners and customers of the water and sewer systems failed to pay.
“I’ve heard a lot of misconceptions around town about what this means, as well as good feedback,” Russell said. “This board is very secure and forthright about the need to do this now. We’re prepared for the controversy.”
With the debt payment included in the final spending package, town officals estimate that property owners would pay 10.45 percent more in taxes in the proposed budget than in the current year. Under the current non-school tax rate, the owner of a house valued at $200,000 is paying $1,786 for the year for municipal services. If all of the new spending plan is approved, the estimated tax rate of 99 cents per $100 of assessed valuation would raise the municipal taxes on such a house to $1,980.
Not counting the debt payment, officials expect health insurance for town employees to cost at least 10 percent more than in the current year. And the parks and recreation department is seeking $5,000 to install LED bulbs in its street lights.
In addition to contributing more than $1.7 million in property taxes toward the operating budget, the town also is asking voters to spend another $165,000 through special articles on the Town Meeting warning — some $20,000 more than voters approved last March.
Proposed increases in annual special appropriations include $6,000 more for Bethel’s share of service from White River Valley Ambulance and $4,000 more to area social-service agencies.
In other warning articles, the fire department is seeking $10,000 for repairs and upgrades to the fire station’s heating system and exterior, and $5,500 to replace fire hydrants.
In addition to the budget, voters will be filling two seats on the five-member Selectboard, through nominations from the floor of Town Meeting. Incumbents Maurice Brigham and Lindley Brainard, whose terms expire this year, both said this week that if they are nominated they will stand for office again — Brigham for a three-year term, Brainard for two.
Meanwhile, Town Clerk Pamela Brown, who was appointed in January to replace 48-year veteran Jean Burnham, also says she will run if nominated from the floor.
On the evening of Town Meeting Day, voters from Royalton will join their Bethel neighbors at Whitcomb High for the inaugural meeting of the new White River Unified School District. The combined district is proposing to spend $11.6 million in 2018-2019, of which Bethel’s proposed share is $5.3 million.
David Corriveau can be reached at dcorriveau@vnews.com and at 603-727-3304.