Published in the Mountainview
The registered voters of the town of Middlebury gathered at the Municipal
Auditorium Monday night, March 3 for the annual Town Meeting. Ten items were on
the agenda, two of which were voted on by Australian (secret) ballot on
Tuesday. March 4. As of this writing, those results are still pending. The
first seven articles were approved by voice vote, and the eighth, "other
business," provided the public a chance to offer otherwise unsolicited
input to the town governing process.
The meeting began with a call to order by Town Moderator
James Douglas. Prior to beginning official business, Selectboard Chair Peter
Lebenbaum was thanked by the board and the public for his nine-year service on
the selectboard.
The reports of the town officers were presented to the
attendees by members of the Selectboard. Questions from the floor were brief,
and residents seemed relieved that last year's reading of printed reports had
beendispensed with in favor of a more abbreviated summary presentation followed
by questions. After a unanimous approval, business moved to the budget.
The annual budget for fiscal 1997/98 was discussed at
length. The discussion included questions about provision of services,
alternative sources of funding, and other budgetary concerns.
Concerns were raised by residents about the condition of
sidewalks around town. Sidewalk repair is being level-funded this year, a fact
which one resident noted was ironic because "level is the exact opposite
of our sidewalk quality." A voice vote approved the annual budget and
taxation amounts.
Only one comment from the floor was offered about the
collection of taxes, and Town Manager Betty Wheeler explained that by popular
request, the payment of tax had been split into three payments rather than the
previous two, to accommodate those with less ready cash throughout the year.
Wheeler also noted that, due to confusion over this year's conversion from a
calendar year to a fiscal year, over half of the town residents had not paid
their taxes to the town as yet. The deadline for payment is March 5.
The voters unanimously voted to spend town money on highways
at a level to maintain state highway assistance funding.
The next item of business was the authorization of the use
of the Village Green by St. Stephen's Episcopal Church for a building
extension. St. Stephen's does not own the land on which it sits. That land is
owned by the town, and use variations must be approved by the town voters. The
church has long been looking to expand its facilities to accommodate more
office space, an elevator, and a meeting room. Many community groups use the
space, in addition to the congregation; the construction proposal is expected
to benefit those groups as well. After much discussion, use of the small strip
southeast of the existing structure was approved by voice vote, with some
dissent. Residents' concerns included potential interference with the railroad,
the border between the Village Green and the railroad property, building
design, and the precedent set by this action. A member of the church's vestry
explained that the Agency of Transportation had indicated no conflicts between
plans for the future of the railroad and the proposed use of the land. Other
issues were not appropriate for the venue, and were postponed until the
appropriate point in the planning approval process.
The final issue decided at the meeting was whether the town
should advise the Selectboard to continue to include in the Town General Fund
Budget, funding for health and social service agencies. Currently that funding
is provided within the general budget; other towns use other methods of approving
municipal funding to these agencies. Selectman Bill Perkins suggested that
municipal funding removes the impetus for voluntary charitable giving on the
part of the public, and removes some of the drive from these organizations to
raise funds from individuals in the community. Town Manager Wheeler argued that
there was greater control for the town, and
greater predictability for the agencies, if money was budgeted annually by the
town. Selectman Fred Copeland offered the voters a chance to have more say in
how their dollars were spent, by reviewing each of the agencies' proposals
separately from the town budget. Board members of several agencies offered
their opinions, which largely indicated that Seleetboard review was more
thorough than the general public would undertake, so scrutiny of agency budgets
was stricter with the current system. Members of the public also offered their
approval to the Selectboard for their handling of the matter to date, and
suggested that the Selectboard continue to review those agencies which have
traditionally been funded by municipal dollars. The advisory voice vote was to
continue to include the funding within the general town budget.
Other business included a question about dog license fees, a
proposal for the outlawing of smoking tobacco products by those not allowed by
law to buy tobacco, and a commendation to the American Legion for donating
their old property on Creek Road
to the town for recreational purposes, expected to be youth activities.
The meeting ended at 10 PM, after all business was
concluded.