Here’s what happened at each of the town meetings in Addison County and Brandon.

ADDISON

ADDISON — In Australian balloting on Tuesday, March 4, at the Addison Community Center (formerly the Addison Central School) gymnasium, Addison residents returned an incumbent selectboard member to office and chose between two newcomers to fill a second vacancy on the board.

In one selectboard contest, farmer and multi-term incumbent Peter Briggs defeated Levi Barrett, an Addison Town Hall Committee member who is self-employed, for a two-year term, 217-171.

Briggs had also defeated Barrett for a one-year term in March 2024.

The other selectboard race pitted artist and former Apple and Gap Inc. employee Michael Hollis, an Addison Planning Commission and Town Hall Committee member, against Vermont Agency of Transportation employee Geoffrey Grant. They were also on the 2024 ballot, both coming up short in a five-way race won by incumbent Roger Waterman.

Hollis did earn a few more votes than Grant a year ago in the crowded field, but this time Grant came out on top, 225-160.

Other Addison candidates for office were unopposed. Incumbent Adam Thomann earned another two years on the Tri-Town Water board after being appointed to the board during the past year to fill a vacancy.

Also, Addison is one of the towns that still elects its town clerks and treasurers, and incumbent Cheri Waterman was unopposed for another three years in both those posts.

Voters also backed all other measures, including the selectboard’s proposed higher town spending for the coming fiscal year.

The town’s general fund budget, including all spending except that on roads and nonprofit donations, was proposed at $788,655.50. That’s about $55,000, or 7.5%, higher than the spending plan residents approved in March 2024. It prevailed by a 258-136 tally.

The selectboard also proposed a $1.024 million road budget, up by about $85,000, or 9%, from the spending voters backed a year ago. A culvert replacement on Nortontown Road drove that higher spending, which passed by 279-114.

The selectboard plans to use ARPA funding to help offset any tax increase driven by the higher spending, according to town officials.

Residents also backed nonprofit requests that totaled $63,931, an increase of $1,100.

In a separate article, Addison residents also gave “the Selectboard or its agents” the authority to negotiate leases for “portions of the Addison Community Building” for up to five years, with renewal rights for five more years. This measure will allow the town to start earning rental income from the building, including from a proposed child care business. That article passed, 268-122.

Another housekeeping item will give the selectboard authority to rename a reserve fund “the Addison Community Center Reserve Fund.” Currently $23,143.65 sits in the former “Addison Central School Fund” that the Addison Northwest School District transferred to the town along with the title to the former central school.

According to the article, the selectboard would use the fund for “voter approved budget appropriations for the purposes of covering expenditures that cannot be supported by a regular budget.”

Voters backed that article, 271-119.

BRANDON

After Town Meeting Day voting, the Brandon selectboard will see one incumbent keep his seat, one familiar face not currently on the board win a seat, and one newcomer claim the third seat up for grabs.

Selectman Ralph Ethier easilty defeated challenger Isaiah K. Webb, 756-89, for a three-year seat on the board. In a four-way race for two one-year spots on the selectboard, one-time member Cecil Reniche-Smith was the top vote-getter with 600. Jeff Haylon also won a one-year seat with 565 votes. Two others on the ballot Vicki Disorda (323 votes) and Raymond Marcoux (188) finished out of the money.

More than 900 votes were cast on the municipal budget, which passed by a comfortable margin. Last year, voters rejected the town budget on the first try.

Residents on Tuesday voted 607 yes, to 318 no on proposed FY2026 general fund spending of $3,403,965, which represents a 2.25% increase over the current year. The amount to be raised by taxes — $2,876,645 — is a 1.4% hike.

The margin of approval for a separate article asking voters to raise $50,000 to put aside for a capital fund was similar; 567 voted yes, 333 said no.

Brandon voters joined their peers in Leicester, Whiting, Goshen, Sudbury and Pittsford in casting ballots on the budget and board members representing the Otter Valley Unified Union schools. Last year, those voters rejected the proposed OVUU spending plan twice. This year they approved it on the first round — but only by a single vote.

The Brandon-area district in 2024 approved a spening plan of $26,808,222.

The board this year warned a FY26 spending plan of $28,022,999, which is 9.38% higher in per pupil spending than the budget approved last year. It passed by a tally of 817 yes, 816 no.

The approved spending represents a 4.5% hike ($1,214,777) from last year.

There were no surprises in the election of school board members. The winning school directors in uncontested races were

Lauren Thomas (Brandon), Lesley Bienvenue (Leicester), Laurie L. Bertrand (Sudbury), Brett Mullin and Jessica Markowski (Pittsford) and Barbara Ebling (at-large). Two OVUUS board seats — one representing Whiting and one at-large — appear to have not garnered enough write-in votes to pick a winner. The new board will have to appoint those members.

BRIDPORT

Bridport residents on Town Meeting Day agreed to all the spending articles on their warning, including a $75,000 request for a new one-ton truck with equipment (to be financed over three years), and to use $194,220 in general fund surplus as a state grant match to finance an estimated $971,100 culvert replacement project on Middle Road.

Other requests receiving overwhelming approval at Bridport’s March 4 gathering included:

• A combined general fund/highway budget of $1,765,090 for fiscal year 2026.

• A request that — in accounting for repairs related to the August 2023 rainstorm damage — any deficit from the fiscal year 2023-2024 public works budget be softened by any fund balance from the department’s 2022-2023 fiscal year budget.

• $30,000 to support the Bridport Fire Department during FY’26.

• A combined $52,165 in social service agency requests from nonprofits that serve Bridport residents.

There were no contested municipal elections in Bridport this year. Those unopposed included Drexel Wheeler, three years, selectboard; Stephanie Ouelette Pope, two years, selectboard; Tim Howlett, one year, town moderator; Darwin Pratt, three years, water commissioner; and Vicki Major, three years, town lister.

Bridport residents in Australian ballot voting on Tuesday helped decide a proposed 2025-2026 Addison Central School District budget of $51,719,284 to run Middlebury-area schools; a Patricia Hannaford Carer Center FY’26 budget of $5,704,280; and a five-person race for three Middlebury seats on the ACSD board, which were voted at-large in the district-member towns of Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. Please see separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

BRISTOL

Perhaps the most surprising result from Town Meeting Day voting in Bristol was a tie for a two-year term on the Lawrence Memorial Library Board of Trustees. Audrey Beckwith and write-in candidate Peter Hewitt both received 253 votes for the seat.

Bristol Town Clerk/Treasurer Sharon Lucia said that according to state statute, the town must now warn a runoff election within seven days. That election must then be held between 15 and 22 days after the warning.

Only the candidates who tied will be on the ballot for the runoff election, unless one of them withdraws within five days after Town Meeting Day, in which case the other tied candidate would be certified as the winner.

The two-year term was one of six seats on the Lawrence Memorial Library Board of Trustees on the March 4 ballot. Nine candidates filed to run for the spots, and those seats went to:

• Elizabeth Guilbeault, the top vote-getter in a four-person contest for two two-year terms on the board, earning 406 votes. Beckwith and write-in candidate Hewitt received the second-most votes, tying with 253 tallies each. Jill Danyow (139 votes) and Ashley “Boots,” Bennett (73 votes) finished out of the running.

•In a race for three three-year terms on the board Vicki Coyle earned the most votes with 492, followed by Darren Klinefelter with 428 and write-in candidate Ken Johnson with 340. Nakeeya Deas finished fourth with 227 votes and Alison DaBica received 197 votes.

• Daniella Sutherland won a one-year term on the board with 312 votes. Sutherland was the lone candidate on the ballot, but write-in candidate Betsy Almeter received 273 votes.

In other Town Meeting Day voting, incumbents Elizabeth Sayre and Meredith Rossignol were elected to continue serving in their spots on the Mount Abraham Unified School District Board. In the three-person race for two three-year terms, Sayre earned the most votes with 506 and Rossignol received 421 tallies. Chanin Hill received 238 votes.

MAUSD board member Melissa Laurie was unopposed for a two-year term.

Selectboard incumbents Ian Albinson (three-year term) and John “Peeker” Heffernan (two-year term) won re-election. Both ran unopposed.

Over 200 Bristol voters turned out for the town’s annual meeting on Monday — 229 in person and 30 watching online, in addition to around 15-20 nonvoters in attendance. Monday’s turnout saw a substantial increase from last year’s annual meeting, when 66 residents attended in person and 20 over Zoom.

Bristol town officials and community members this year implemented a few strategies to try and attract more people to the annual event, including offering free childcare, starting the meeting an hour earlier and having food trucks outside Holley Hall prior to the meeting for residents to grab dinner.

At the annual meeting, residents OK’d:

• A General Fund Operating Budget of $1,096,775, with $909,845 to be raised in taxes. That figure includes capital appropriations for the building and maintenance, sidewalk, technology, cemetery reserve, conservation reserve and reappraisal funds.

• Public works department spending of $1,292,108, with $1,177,108 to be raised in taxes. That amount includes capital appropriations for the Highway Equipment, Capital Paving and Road funds.

• Arts, Parks and Recreation Department spending of $463,484, with $314,684 to be raised in taxes. That includes capital appropriations for the Recreation Equipment and Facilities Fund.

• Fire department spending of $501,093, which would all be raised in taxes. That figure includes appropriations for the Fire Equipment and Fire Vehicle funds.

• A total of $435,363 in appropriations to civic organizations, including the Lawrence Memorial Library.

Voters also amended a couple of articles from the floor: opting to increase the appropriation for the Have-a-Heart Food Shelf from $6,000 to $10,000 and decrease the limit set on the penalty charged for late property tax payments from 4% of the amount owed to 2%.

At the polls on March 4, Bristol residents living in the police district (primarily the village) approved a proposed fiscal year 2026 police budget of $688,370 — which reflects an increase of $61,742, or 9.85%, from the current year. Voters OK’d the spending plan, 300-103.

Bristol voters on Town Meeting Day also weighed in on a $34,894,443 MAUSD spending plan for the 2025-2026 school year and an article asking district voters whether to allow district officials to transfer up to $1.04 million from the Capital Reserve Fund to the General Fund to help pay for replacing Mount Abraham Union High School’s roof.

They also fielded a proposed Patricia Hannaford Career Center FY’26 budget of $5,704,280 to deliver vocational-technical education to Addison County students. See separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

CORNWALL

Cornwall residents at their town meeting endorsed every item on their warning, including proposals to have their town clerk elected (instead of appointed), and to allow the selectboard to appoint the community’s planning commission members to one-year terms, instead of the current practice of electing them by Australian ballot.

It was only recently that Cornwall had decided to appoint its town clerk, rather than continue the process of electing that official. But incumbent Town Clerk Laura Fetterolf — a Cornwall resident — suggested to the selectboard that the town revert to electing its clerk, and the panel agreed to allow local voters to decide the matter. The measure passed by an overwhelming voice vote — following a 30-minute discussion — at Saturday’s annual meeting, which drew around 125 residents, according to former Cornwall Town Clerk Sue Johnson.

The practice of voting on the town clerk (for a three-year term) will take effect next Town Meeting Day, and Fetterolf has pledged to be on the ballot.

Also passing by comfortable voice votes on Saturday were proposals to:

• Adopt a fiscal year 2026 general fund budget of $548,081, and a recommended FY’26 highway budget of $515,050.

• A $81,200 appropriation to help fund the Cornwall Volunteer Fire Department during FY’26.

• A recommendation to exempt the fire department and its two properties at 1952 Route 30 and 63 North Bingham St. from property taxation for the next five years.

• A $5,000 contribution to the Cornwall Free Public Library to pay its expenses during FY’26.

• $26,395 for various social service agencies that serve Cornwall residents.

On Tuesday, residents cast ballots on some contested seats for the Addison Central School District board, and on uncontested races for various municipal positions.

There were no contested elections on Cornwall’s municipal ballot. Those running unopposed in Tuesday Australian ballot elections included Cy Tall, town moderator, one year; Don Burns, selectboard, three years; Tanya Byker, selectboard, two years; Laura Fetterolf, Richard Isenberg, Patricia McCormick and Kristina Simmons, library trustee, all four terms of two years; and Don Burns and Steve Mahoney, planning commission, both for terms of three years.

Cornwall residents on Tuesday also helped decide a proposed 2025-2026 Addison Central School District budget of $51,719,284 to run Middlebury-area schools; a Patricia Hannaford Carer Center FY’26 budget of $5,704,280; and a five-person race for three Middlebury seats on the ACSD board, which were voted at-large in the district-member towns of Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. Please see separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

LOU MCLAREN ASKS Sen. Ruth Hardy a question about military pensions at Ferrisburgh’s town meeting on Saturday.
Independent photo/Steve James

FERRISBURGH

At Ferrisburgh’s town hall on Saturday morning, Ferrisburgh residents from the floor of town meeting approved by unanimous voice vote the selectboard’s proposed 2025-2026 spending plan of $2,830,154.

Likewise, residents also backed by voice vote $38,895 of nonprofit requests, all in a single amended motion. The amendment came from the floor and boosted the town’s donation to American Legion Post 14 in Vergennes from $300 to $1,000.

Thus, the overall increase in spending residents supported was $210,970, or roughly 8%.

Residents retain the right to amend the budget from the floor of the meeting in Ferrisburgh.

According to Town Clerk and Assistant Treasurer Pam Cousino, each penny on the town’s tax rate raises about $55,000, meaning if all things were equal the higher spending could raise Ferrisburgh’s municipal (non-school) rate by about 3.8 cents.

But Ferrisburgh is sitting on an undesignated fund balance of about $840,000, some of which the selectboard could choose to use to offset a tax increase.

Selectboard Chair Clark Hinsdale said before the meeting the selectboard would wait until the board sets the tax rate this summer — the new fiscal year begins July 1 — to decide whether to apply some of that surplus toward lowering the tax rate.

By then, town officials said the town’s fiscal picture will be clearer, including how much growth there will be in the grand list, a factor that will affect how much money that penny on the rate raises.

The town is undergoing a property reappraisal, but officials said it would not be completed in time to affect FY2026 tax rates.

Also, according to Addison Northwest School District estimates, Ferrisburgh’s homestead school tax rate will be lower. That final rate could influence the selectboard’s decision, Hinsdale acknowledged.

Within the selectboard budget, one proposal is to add a town administrative position. After debate on whether to make the position fulltime, the selectboard added into its spending plan $48,000 for an 80% position. But Hinsdale said the board could use some of the surplus to expand the position’s hours. Board members agree that with Road Foreman John Bull leaving at the end of the year and Cousino doing so this summer, an administrator could become necessary.

One item not on the warning came up for discussion. The selectboard declined earlier this year, after hearing arguments both pro and con at board meetings, to include an article calling for a vote on criticizing the state of Israel for its actions in the war in Gaza and its treatment of the Palestinian people. The board said that the issue did not pertain to town business.

Moderator Kyle Rowe also declined to allow an amendment to the warning to allow the issue, as the law gives the moderator power to do so. Rowe agreed with the selectboard position that the proposed article was not relevant to town business. But town meeting also allowed residents to ask for a vote to overrule a moderator’s ruling if they could achieve a two-thirds majority.

Officials asked for those in favor and those against allowing a vote to stand in turn, and Cousino said the vote against won by a substantial margin.

In Australian balloting on Tuesday there were no contested races on the ballot, but also no major offices left unfilled.

Running without opposition and elected to the selectboard were former selectboard chair Rick Ebel, who filed for a three-year term to return to the board after an absence of a few years, and two incumbent board members, current Selectboard Chair Clark Hinsdale and Walter Reed.

Hinsdale filed for the one-year remainder of the term of former selectman Steve Fleming, who resigned from the board. Another former board chair, Jessica James, has been serving as an appointee to fill Fleming’s seat, but only through Town Meeting Day. And Reed filed for another two-year term.

Ferrisburgh ANWSD board member Nikki Bearor’s term expired, and she ran unopposed for another three years.

GOSHEN

Perhaps it was the new town moderator, or something in the water, but for whatever reason, Goshen on Monday experienced the fastest town meeting that anyone could remember.

“Thirty-eight minutes,” Town Clerk Martin Fjeld reported.

Michael Medeiros stepped in as moderator, and by all accounts kept the business of the meeting moving along.

By voice vote, the 40 or so citizens in attendance approved the warned $618,960 in general municipal spending, even though that figure was $349,199, or 130%, more than they approved last year. The big difference is that the new budget includes a big project to renovate the town hall, making it much more energy efficient. The project will be paid for with a $334,057 Municipal Energy Resilience Program (MERP) grant, that just came in this past October. Taking out that federal grant, the proposed increase in municipal spending is around $15,000, or about 3%. Once the MERP renovations are completed, the upstairs in town hall will be available for community gatherings.

Goshen voters also OK’d $749,200 to spend on the roads, which is an increase of less than $2,000 (.03%). But here too outside grant money decreases the need for local tax dollars. The selectboard says that minus outside grants, town taxes for roads will represent a net 9% decrease from last year.

Medeiros must’ve made a positive impression. In Australian ballot voting on Tuesday, he won 28 of the 37 ballots counted for town moderator and won a one-year term.

Selectboard member Diane O’Classen decided not to seek re-election, and Alyza McKeighan was the winner of a three-year seat. Fjeld was re-elected as town clerk.

Goshen voters joined their peers in Brandon, Whiting, Goshen, Sudbury and Pittsford in casting ballots on the budget and board members representing the Otter Valley Unified Union schools. Last year, those voters rejected the proposed OVUU spending plan twice. This year they approved it on the first round — but only by one vote.

The Brandon-area district in 2024 approved a spending plan of $26,808,222. The board this year warned a FY26 spending plan of $28,022,999, which is 9.38% higher in per pupil spending than the budget approved last year. It passed on Tuesday by a tally of 817 yes, 816 no.

The approved spending represents a 4.5% hike ($1,214,777) from last year.

There were no surprises in the election of school board members. The winning school directors in uncontested races were Lesley Bienvenue (Leicester), Lauren Thomas (Brandon), Laurie L. Bertrand (Sudbury), Brett Mullin and Jessica Markowski (Pittsford) and Barbara Ebling (at-large). Two OVUUS board seats — one representing Whiting and one at-large — appear to have not garnered enough write-in votes to pick a winner. The new board will have to appoint those members.

GRANVILLE

Discussion at Granville’s town meeting on Tuesday evening wasn’t too loud, but it may have lasted a little longer than some people like. There was a question about how the fire department explained its funding in the town report (the question was resolved), a little talk about the $500,000 Municipal Energy Resilience Project (MERP) grant that the town will use to make energy improvements at the town clerk’s office and town hall, and the legislators gave an in-person report that seemed to last a little longer than some residents thought was necessary.

When it came time for the estimated 40 people to vote on a noise ordinance, they instructed the selectboard not to create one.

“People just have to talk with their neighbors when there’s a problem,” Town Clerk Cheryl Sargeant said.

As far as the MERP grant, Sargeant said that a portion of funding coming from the state is already being used to advertise for a designer and an engineer to begin planning the updates to the town clerk’s office. But the uncertainty around federal funds right now — the Trump administration has put holds on federal disbursments or threatened to —means the town is going slow on some portion of the energy-saving upgrades.

Residents OK’d the town spending as proposed. Specifically, Granville has budgeted $420,820, which was a hike of $14,934, or 3.7%, from what was approved last year. The selectboard’s budget broke that down as muncipal spending of $223,912, up 2.3% from last year, and road spending of $196,908, which is 5.2% more than last year.

On the personnel front, Granville lost a long-time selectboard member. Board chair Bruce Hyde said he didn’t want to serve in that post again, and so residents elected Kelli Eckroth to a three-year seat on the selectboard. Hyde isn’t completely going away; he was elected as second auditor. Others winning election were Sargeant re-elected as town clerk, Eckroth re-elected as moderator, Nancy Needham town treasurer and delinquent tax collector, Jennifer Stickney second constable for East Granville, and Kate Stauss and William Brokoff as cemetery commissioners

HANCOCK

It took three hours for Hancock residents to work their way through a very consequential town meeting on Tuesday morning, but when they left, they knew they had made big changes in the little White River Valley town.

After much discussion, voters approved three measures that will change three key municipal jobs.

The first will allow a non-resident to become town clerk and town treasurer, and will also allow the selectboard to appoint those two key officials for the time being. Residents also agreed that Hancock should adopt the town manager form of governance. Selectboard Chair Scott Gillette explained that the job has just become too big, and requires too much specialized knowledge, for a selectboard made up of basically volunteers. He said that the recovery from the 2023 floods, which involved a lot of work with state and federal agencies, really showed the need for professionalization. At that time, Gillette told the Indepenedent, one of the board members was spending 20 hours a week just working on flood recovery for the town — in addition to a regular, full-time job.

“We’re missing out on a lot of grants,” because they take a special skill set to procure, he said.

While the changes in town government were passed by a vote from the floor of town meeting, Gillege said, “Voters were a little anxious about giving up control.”

The path to installing a town manager is not exactly clear. Hancock could not offer a full-time position to a person with the appropriate skills, so the selectboard will work with a regional planning commission to see if it can partner with a nearby town to split a town manager — thus giving the right applicant a good reason to take on the job.

Town Clerk Wendy Stender was appointed in December. Gillette said she was very capable, and one possible route would be to get her training to become a town administrator. If that does come to pass, Gillette said the town could return the town clerk position to an elected job, rather than appointed.

Tuesday’s Hancock town meeting also featured some familiar work. Attendees approved a town spending proposal of $436,244, plus $7,019 in voter approved appropriations, for a total of $443,265. That respresents a decline in spending of around $29,000. There was one change from the warned budget figure; the town added $9,000 as the municipal match to a $60,000 grant awarded in January to help the town plan expanded housing development in the center of the village at Tyler Meadow.

The selectboard also discussed the town’s recently awarded Municipal Energy Resilience Project (MERP) grant — $342,155 that will be used to weatherize town buildings.

Finally, incumbent Jim Leno won re-election to a three-year seat on the selectboard.

LEICESTER

Like they often do, Leicester residents came to their in-person town meeting at the Leicester Meeting House on Monday evening and approved municipal and road spending by a voice vote.

But the next day, Leicester voters went to the polls and adopted Article 3 — “Shall the Town of Leicester adopt all budget articles by Australian ballot … beginning 2026?” — by a large margin. In Australian ballot voting, 132 residents voted yes, and 54 voted no. Next year there will be no floor vote on the municipal budget.

Not like there was a lot of changes this year.

The selectboard proposed town spending of $825,216, which was down $9,470 from last year. The amount to be raised in property taxes will increase $23,014, or 3.7% — from $617,966 last year to $640,980 this year.

The Leicester selectboard broke budgeted town spending into two chunks: general town expenses and highway expenses. Voters OK’d $349,401 for general expenses, with the amount raised by taxes pegged at $300,580. They approved proposed spending on roads of $475,815, with the amount to be raised by taxes $340,401.

In addition to voting on the town budget, residents will on Tuesday cast ballots on a handful of elected positions. Incumbents won: Richard Reed, 1 year as moderator; Diane Benware, 3 years selectboard; Tom Barker 2 years selectboard; Beth Ripley, 1 year delinquent tax collector; and Donna Pidgeon, 3 years auditor.

The other result from Tuesday’s Australian ballot voting approved spending $1,000 to support the Whiting Community Food Shelf; the tally was 161 yes, 28 no.

Leicester voters joined their peers in Brandon, Whiting, Goshen, Sudbury and Pittsford in casting ballots on the budget and board members representing the Otter Valley Unified Union schools. Last year, those voters rejected the proposed OVUU spending plan twice. This year they approved it on the first round — but only by one vote.

The Brandon-area district in 2024 approved a spending plan of $26,808,222. The board this year warned a FY26 spending plan of $28,022,999, which is 9.38% higher in per pupil spending than the budget approved last year. It passed on Tuesday by a tally of 817 yes, 816 no.

The approved spending represents a 4.5% hike ($1,214,777) from last year.

There were no surprises in the election of school board members. The winning school directors in uncontested races were Lesley Bienvenue (Leicester), Lauren Thomas (Brandon), Laurie L. Bertrand (Sudbury), Brett Mullin and Jessica Markowski (Pittsford) and Barbara Ebling (at-large). Two OVUUS board seats — one representing Whiting and one at-large — appear to have not garnered enough write-in votes to pick a winner. The new board will have to appoint those members.

LINCOLN

On Town Meeting Day, Lincoln resident Jessica Erwin earned 32 write-in votes for the one year remaining of a two-year term on the selectboard, enough to win the open seat. Bay Jackson received 23 write-votes for the spot.

Lincoln selectboard members Ken Stockman (three-year term) and Lisa Sargent (two-year term) ran unopposed to continue serving in their spots on the board.

Lincoln school board members Jeanne Albert (three-year term) and Mary Gemignani (two-year term) were also unchallenged in their bids to continue serving on the school board.

Over 100 Lincoln voters filed into Burnham Hall for the town’s annual meeting on Monday evening. Those in attendance voted from the floor to approve a general fund budget of $672,065 and $1,157,856 in highway spending for the upcoming fiscal year. The general fund spending reflects an increase of 7.8%. The highway budget saw an increase of $70,176, or 6.5%.

Later on in the meeting, residents approved 28 voted appropriations to local organizations totaling $153,390, including $44,000 for the Lincoln Library and $56,000 for the Lincoln Volunteer Fire Company.

Voters spent about an hour on Article 7, which asked voters to authorize the town clerk’s salary to be raised by $10,123, plus $1,382 in associated taxes and benefits. Town Clerk Sally Ober explained that the request was intended to bring her salary in line with the actual number of hours she works, which was previously assumed to be an average of 34 hours a week and is actually 40 hours. Adopting the article would shake out to a new pay rate of around $28.20/hour, town officials said.

The article was amended to raise the town clerk’s salary by $14,636.60, which would bring the hourly pay rate up to $30.37/hour, the average Vermont town clerk’s salary according to town officials’ presentation. In the end, voters agreed to raise the town clerk’s salary by the amended amount, 107-36.

Lincoln residents on Monday passed Article 8, which asked if the town should eliminate the office of lister “and replace it with a professionally qualified contracted assessor appointed by the selectboard.” They also OK’d a sum of $175,000 for “further restoration and improvement of existing Class 2 asphalt surface town highways,” which would be deposited in the paving reserve fund.

Voters authorized spending up to $10,000 for contracted law enforcement services. That request has in recent years been shot down by voters and prompted a lengthy discussion.

Article 9 asked Lincoln voters whether the town should move to voting on all money articles by Australian ballot beginning next year. After discussion, residents voted by division of the house in favor of tabling the article, 85-48.

During the Lincoln School District’s annual meeting, voters approved a $5,179,244.76 spending plan for the 2025-2026 school year, an increase of 5.1% over the current year. Town officials estimate the spending plan would translate to a homestead tax rate decrease of 20.8 cents per $100 of assessed property value, or 16.4%. Residents that pay education taxes based on their income are expected to see a decrease of around 20%.

Voters also agreed to allow school officials to transfer up to $380,000 of the district’s audited surplus funds to the Education Reserve Fund. District officials expect a surplus of $481,173.55, and the proposed FY’26 budget accounts for applying $100,000 of the surplus to offset taxes for the upcoming year.

Residents were also asked if the district should adopt its budget by Australian ballot beginning next year. Voters ultimately decided to table the article, 48-35.

MIDDLEBURY

Middlebury residents at their annual gathering on Monday, and in Australian ballot voting on Tuesday, endorsed all the money items that were presented to them — including a $49.5 million bond to perform a major upgrade to the community’s wastewater treatment plant.

A crowd of around 125 people turned out for the annual meeting, held in the Middlebury Union High School auditorium. The biggest item on their to-do list: Decide a fiscal year 2026 municipal budget of $14,548,535, of which $9,162,148 is to be raised by taxes.

Those present passed the budget by a unanimous voice vote following around 40 minutes of discussion.

Middlebury Town Manager Mark Pruhenski explained the budget will require a 5.33-cent increase (5.99%) in the municipal tax rate, to 94.27 cents per $100 in property value.

Pruhenski told attendees the biggest FY’26 budget drivers are a $492,329 increase in negotiated wage and benefits for municipal employees, a $123,451 bump for capital improvements, a $91,474 hike for equipment maintenance and purchases, a $28,500 rise in parks & recreation administration expenses, and a 16% increase in healthcare premiums.

“Inflation, fixed costs, equipment purchases and maintenance, and very necessary capital improvements, are driving this year’s increase,” Pruhenski said, adding, “that trend is likely to continue.”

Resident Ross Conrad, among others, asked about surging health insurance costs.

“Is there anything the town can do … to control healthcare costs, or are we totally at the mercy of what goes on at the state and federal level to pay whatever costs come down the pike?” he asked.

Some meeting participants suggested the town partner with other towns and area schools to create more bargaining clout with insurance carriers. Pruhenski said the town is working with the Vermont League of Citizens & Towns on options for stabilizing healthcare premium increases for FY’27.

Resident Dave Silberman took issue with the proposed police budget of $2,311,650. He noted the budget had grown by around 30% over the past three budget cycles.

“That’s a lot,” he said. “It’s a big driver of the overall increase in taxes. Why is it going up by so much, and has the selectboard spent time thinking about whether the police department we have, is the police department we need?”

Middlebury Police Chief Jason Covey said the FY’26 PD budget reflects a 4.87% increase in spending, with most of that related to wages.

“The police department is still understaffed,” he said, adding that current wages are also a reflection of “the most educated police department we’ve ever had.”

He discussed the difficulties PDs nationwide are having in recruiting and retaining qualified officers.

“I believe we need the PD that we have, and I believe we need a larger PD,” he said. “We are struggling at times to keep up with our call volume.”

Last year’s calls-for-service were almost 1,000 more than the year before, according to Covey.

“The police log is just a small snapshot of what we’re doing,” he said. “Last Saturday alone, our department (dealt with calls about) two stolen vehicles in town, a DUI that required use of force, and an attempted murder.”

Middlebury PD, he added, is the only municipal police agency in the county that operates 24/7, at times when mutual aid isn’t available.

“If Middlebury residents want the service they expect right now, this is the cost of doing business,” he said.

Silberman asked for a response from the selectboard, and Chairman Brian Carpenter weighed in.

“We’re very proud of our police department. Our PD has been very frugal, when you look at the services you’re getting and what it costs us,” he said. “If you want to look at a community that defunded the police, look at Burlington. We don’t intend to be like Burlington.”

Resident Victoria DeWind asked about the town’s $119,000 charge for Middlebury Regional EMS service in FY’26. Carpenter explained the ambulance service wasn’t making ends meet under a prior fee schedule, and elected to up the ante in 2024 by assessing a higher per capita fee to the communities it serves to reflect the true costs of business and ensure periodic replacement of its ambulances.

LOCAL OPTION TAXES

Participants learned the FY’26 budget’s tax impact could have been more severe, were it not for the $1.3 million in local option tax (LOT) surplus that will be applied to the spending plan. Approved by Middlebury voters in 2008, the 1% local tax on rooms, meals, sales and alcohol is raising far more than its intended purpose: to pay the town’s share of annual debt service and maintenance on the $16 million Cross Street Bridge project.

The LOT — paid by anyone who shops, dines or pays for lodging in Middlebury — is conservatively estimated to bring in $1.3 million next year. Middlebury College is underwriting $600,000 annually for debt on the Cross Street Bridge, leaving the town’s share of next year’s debt at $234,137. This leaves 1,065,863 for investing in local capital projects that would otherwise languish or require taxpayer investment.

Officials estimated the LOT surplus fund will amount to $2,398,473 at the end of this fiscal year (June 30). The selectboard proposed using $131,264 from the fund to offset debt on the now-completed conversion of a former wastewater treatment plant building into storage space for the police department, and up to $125,000 from the fund to offset engineering and construction for a planned Exchange Street bike-pedestrian path.

Voters approved both those expenditures, by unanimous voice vote, through article 3 on the warning.

Middlebury residents were given a chance on Tuesday to reiterate their desire to use future LOT surplus for capital projects. They voted 900-238, though article 6, in favor of removing what had been a Sept. 20, 2038, sunset for the LOT. This means that once the Cross Street Bridge is paid off, all local option tax revenues will be available to lower local taxpayers’ responsibility for capital improvements.

Town meeting attendees on Monday also paid tribute to longtime civic volunteer Gary Baker (to whom this year’s town report was dedicated); the winners of the annual Robert E. Collins award for “extraordinary commitment and dedication to the Parks & Recreation Department”: Casey and Marc McDonough; former Middlebury police Chief Tom Hanley, for stepping in as acting town manager prior to Pruhenski’s hiring; and Selectperson Heather Seeley, who chose not to seek reelection this year after nine years of service.

In Australian ballot voting on Tuesday, Middlebury residents endorsed:

• By a 1,021-134 margin, a $49.5 million bond to finance a major makeover of the municipal wastewater treatment plant (see related story on Page 1A).

• By a 1,022-106 margin, $2 million in proposed improvements to a major municipal water pump station off Rogers Road.

• By a 985-138 margin, a $1 million plan to install a stormwater treatment system for the Adams Acres subdivision.

There were no contested municipal elections on the Middlebury ballot. Elected unopposed, for three-year terms, were incumbent Selectpersons Isabel Gogarty and Andy Hooper, as well as first-time candidate Megan James; Natasha Sen and Dianne Lawson, for three-year spots on the Ilsley Public Library board; incumbent Susan Shashok, one year, as town moderator; and Beth Dow, three years, as lister.

Middlebury residents in Australian ballot voting on Tuesday helped decide a proposed 2025-2026 Addison Central School District budget of $51,719,284 to run Middlebury-area schools; a Patricia Hannaford Carer Center budget of $5,704,280; and a five-person race for three Middlebury seats on the ACSD board, which were voted at-large in the district-member towns of Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. Please see separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

MONKTON

Monkton voters on Town Meeting Day elected three new faces to serve on the town’s selectboard.

In a three-person race for a three-year term on the board, Jessica Demeritt earned the most votes with 301. The second top vote-getter was Tom Steadman (97), followed by Scott Gordon (73).

John Dunham prevailed in a four-person contest for a two-year term. He earned 172 votes, Matthew Huizenga won 142 tallies, Randall Charboneau received 124 votes and Anthony Delgreco earned 14 votes.

Sam Peisch ran unopposed for the one year remaining on a three-year seat on the board.

Mount Abraham Unified School District board member Kielee Pelland was unchallenged for a three-year term on the school board.

Around 90 Monkton voters gathered for the town’s annual meeting this past Saturday.

At the annual meeting, residents approved $877,790.72 in general fund expenditures, a decrease of $23,628 from what voters approved last March.

Voters also OK’d:

• $1,498,207 in highway fund expenditures, an increase of $687,100.4 from what voters approved last March. It’s worth noting Monkton had a highway fund surplus of $290,286.16 that factored into the amount voted on last year.

•  $20,849 in total appropriations for 27 local social service agencies, down $9,348 from what was approved last March.

Monkton voters at their town meeting also OK’d a sum not to exceed $114,801 for the purchase of a Ford F550 truck.

Residents also decided to add back in $40,000 for the Monkton Volunteer Fire Department that was previously eyed for reduction as a way to cut down the tax rate.

Departing selectboard chair Stephen Pilcher explained that there was a significant jump in the tax rate for various reasons, in part due to how the town has in recent years had a surplus in the highway department, which was not the case this year. Thus, there was a significant increase in the tax rate, and the selectboard looked at ways to decrease various expenses and bring the rate down.

One of the reductions town officials made was to cut $40,000 from the fire department’s request, but voters at the annual meeting decided to add those funds back in.

On Town Meeting Day, Monkton residents agreed to adopt the Monkton Town Plan 2025-2033 as approved by the selectboard in December, voting in favor 358-71.

Monkton voters on Town Meeting Day also weighed in on a $34,894,443 MAUSD spending plan for the 2025-2026 school year and an article asking district voters whether to allow district officials to transfer up to $1.04 million from the Capital Reserve Fund to the General Fund to help pay for replacing Mount Abraham Union High School’s roof. They also fielded a proposed Patricia Hannaford Career Center FY’26 budget of $5,704,280 to deliver vocational-technical education to Addison County students. See separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

NEW HAVEN

New Haven voters on Town Meeting Day weighed in on a two-person contest for a two-year seat on the Mount Abraham Unified School District Board, electing Sarah Louer to continue serving in the spot she was appointed to fill in July. Louer received 192 votes, and Britney Cyr earned 148 votes.

Also on Town Meeting Day, selectboard incumbent Michael Audy was unchallenged for a three-year term and Chris Bataille was unopposed for a two-year seat on the selectboard.

New Haven voters also approved:

• $875,573.21 in general fund expenses, up $61,326.73 from last year’s request.

• $1,573,462.59 for the proposed road fund budget, with $994,129.57 to be raised by taxes.

• $3,400 in voted appropriations for local organizations. An additional $26,558.25 in appropriations for 19 other organizations are included in the proposed general fund budget and detailed in the town report.

Voters in New Haven were asked to weigh in on several other articles. Residents agreed to:

• Spend up to $300,000 from the road equipment fund for a new town truck.

• Spend up to $85,000 from the reserve facilities fund for asbestos remediation, installation of a vapor barrier with new flooring on the first floor of the Town Hall and to upgrade the restrooms to be ADA compliant.

• Combine the town treasurer position with the trustee of public funds for a three-year term starting in 2028.

• Transition the New Haven Community Library from an incorporated entity to a municipal library beginning in January 2026.

• Spend up to $60,000 from the Bridge Fund for the replacement of the Plank Road Bridge.

Residents also voted in opposition to an article asking whether the town should discontinue paying for the trash/recycling drop-off site effective May 2025, shooting down the article 220-148.

New Haven voters on Town Meeting Day also weighed in on a $34,894,443 MAUSD spending plan for the 2025-2026 school year and an article asking district voters whether to allow district officials to transfer up to $1.04 million from the Capital Reserve Fund to the General Fund to help pay for replacing Mount Abraham Union High School’s roof. They also fielded a proposed Patricia Hannaford Career Center FY’26 budget of $5,704,280 to deliver vocational-technical education to Addison County students. See separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

ORWELL

The most intensly buring question that residents in Orwell considered on Town Meeting Day was not whether to approved $2 million in town spending. It was who to elect as town moderator.

That’s because they’ve had the same moderator for nearly five decades. Mike Audet was pressed into service as moderator in 1978. He returned year after year to conduct the annual town meeting. This year he said it would be his last.

Among the 14 town offices up for election Tuesday, only town moderator saw a contested race. In the end, Glen Cousineau defeated Joe Andriano, 182-152.

Others on the ballot winning elections were Town Clerk Betty Walker, Town Treasurer Bryan Young, Selectboard Chair Andrea Treadway (who won a three-year seat), Selectman Mike Christian (one year), and Harold “Joe” Pouliot (two years on the selectboard, among others).

At Tuesday morning’s meeting residents OK’d the warned town budget of $2,100,909, which was $322,361, or 18.1%, greater than the spending figure approved last year.

There were plenty of other spending items on the town meeting warning that were also approved. Among the $25,750 in town projects that got funding were $16,000 for operating the Wright Memorial Library Building, $4,000 for the historical society, $2,200 for the Orwell Parade Committee, $1,000 for the youth rec program, and $14,500 for the painting the town clock tower.

The $112,076 sewer budget, which voters approved, will be paid for by user fees.

Nearly $14,000 in requests for funds to social services agencies that service Orwell was led by $5,000 requested by Addison County Home Health and Hospice. All were approved.

If anything could be called controversial it was the question asking Orwell voters if they wish to instruct the selectboard to develop an ordinance for the recreational use of ATV/UTVs on town roads. The measure came up last fall when a petition with 61 signatures was presented to the selectboard asking the question to be put to voters. On Tuesday, 182 voters said yes — they did want the selectboard to create such an oridnance. Only 169 said no — they were alright with the status quo.

Also at the polls on Tuesday, Orwell voters joined those in other Slate Valley Unified Union School District on deciding the fate of the $32,086,270 school budget. Although it was expected to result in an education property tax decrease in four of the district’s six towns — including in Orwell — the budget was defeated.

PANTON

Panton residents on Tuesday unseated their multi-term selectboard chair in favor of a first-time candidate.

Reese Jaring, a Collins Aerospace employee described by a supporter in an email to the Independent as having an “extensive background in finance and budget administration,” edged longtime incumbent Howard Hall, a former veteran Chicago firefighter and EMT and union head, 85-79, in 29% turnout.

In another selectboard-related vote, residents backed a proposal to expand the three-member board to five members, 101-60.

Another contested Panton race saw two candidates vying for one of two open Panton seats on the Vergennes-Panton Water District Board. In that duel, challenger Kathy Kennett defeated appointed incumbent Bob Hartenstein for the remainder of a two-year term, 99-55. Incumbent VPWD board member Chris Cook ran unopposed to serve another three years.

The selectboard’s proposed $1,119,514 budget won support, 105-59. That spending plan shaves off a little more than $10,000 from the current spending level.

The lower spending plan was achieved despite several major expenses added to the upcoming year’s budget, chief among them being $72,000 for the first year of payments on a new truck for the highway department (approved by voters a year ago) and about $35,000 in higher costs for health insurance benefits for the town’s three fulltime employees.

Some items eliminated from previous spending levels in the current budget proposal were $7,500 in a selectboard discretionary fund, $7,000 from office IT and supply costs, and $20,000 in summer and winter road materials.

But the major offset for those increased costs in the budget is a reduction in what the selectboard is proposing to put into reserve funds in the coming year. On the March 4 ballot were only two such funds: $2,400 as an Emergency Fund and $2,000 toward Panton’s next town-wide reappraisal. That $4,400 total is $71,600 less than voters were asked to approve for a half-dozen such funds in 2024.

Voters backed both those smaller reserve funds, as well as $13,451 of tax money to help fund nonprofit organizations.

Town Clerk and Treasurer Kyle Rowe said he was hopeful the town’s municipal tax rate would drop by 4 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

RIPTON

Ripton voters at their annual meeting on Monday endorsed a proposed fiscal year 2026 town/highway budget of $869,487, and all the other financial asks on their warning.

Requests winning approval by voice vote included:

• $44,950, to help fund the Ripton Volunteer Fire and First Response Department through FY’26.

• $6,000 for the Ripton Cemetery Commission.

• $25,000 to seed a capital fund for future “long-term or large infrastructure projects.” Plans call for the sum to be built over time, with voter permission required before it can be expended.

• A combined $21,846 in social service agency requests pitched by various nonprofits that serve Ripton residents.

Voters selected, in a series of uncontested municipal elections, incumbent Selectman Bill Hunsinger for another three years on the board; Tim O’Leary, moderator, one year; Chris Smith, town constable, one year; Carolyn Smith, delinquent tax collector, one year; and Erk Eriksen, town lister, three years.

Town meeting participants also received an update on efforts to keep Ripton Elementary School viable. That effort suffered a setback on Monday when Addison Central School District Superintendent Wendy Baker announced that Ripton Elementary’s effort to reach the district’s 10-student minimum for grades K/1 for the 2025-26 academic year had failed (see related story in this edition).

Ripton residents in Australian ballot voting on Tuesday helped decide a proposed 2025-2026 Addison Central School District budget of $51,719,284 to run Middlebury-area schools; a Patricia Hannaford Carer Center FY’26 budget of $5,704,280; and a five-person race for three Middlebury seats on the ACSD board, which were voted at-large in the district-member towns of Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. Please see separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

Steve Cash was unopposed in his run for Ripton’s seat on the ACSD board; incumbent Joanna Doria chose not to seek reelection.

SALISBURY

Salisbury residents on Town Meeting Day approved all the money items on their warning, with the closest vote being a 120-59 endorsement of a request to give $17,868 to the Otter Creek Watershed Insect Control District to apply adulticide to control mosquitos this year.

Voters decided their entire town meeting agenda by Australian ballot. Items earning majority voter buy-in included:

• A proposed fiscal year 2026 general fund budget of $401,174, which passed 164-15.

• An FY’26 highway budget of $537,370, which prevailed by a 163-17 margin.

• A proposal to apply general budget surplus (in excess of $30,000) from the current year to help stabilize the FY’26 tax rate. That passed by, 165-13.

• A combined $107,925 to help fund Addison County social service agencies that serve Salisbury residents.

There were no contested elections on this year’s ballot. Those elected unopposed included John Nuceder, town moderator, one year; Allen Hathaway, town clerk, one year; Patrick Dunn, selectboard, three years; Jonathan Blake, selectboard, two years; Brenda Burchard, lister, two years; and Jeff McDonough, first constable, one year.

Sue Mackey, with 21 write-in votes, won a one-year  term on the selectboard.

Salisbury residents in Australian ballot voting on Tuesday also helped decide a proposed 2025-2026 Addison Central School District budget of $51,719,284 to run Middlebury-area schools; a Patricia Hannaford Carer Center FY’26 budget of $5,704,280; and a five-person race for three Middlebury seats on the ACSD board, which were voted at-large in the district-member towns of Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. Please see separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

SHOREHAM

Shoreham residents at their town meeting endorsed all the requests put before them, including a proposed 2025-2026 municipal budget of $473,018, and a proposed highway budget of $1,072,955.

Both the municipal and highway budgets passed by a resounding voice vote at the annual meeting Monday night, as did requests to transfer $40,000 in General Fund balance to the town’s Highway Equipment Reserve Fund, and to set Nov. 12 as the deadline for paying taxes.

There were no contested municipal elections on the Shoreham ballot. Elected unopposed were Barb Wilson, one year, town moderator; Steve Goodrich, selectperson, three years; Rebecca Kerr, selectperson, one year; Kelsey Cummings, library trustee, five years; Linda Larrabee, planning commission, two years; Scott Douglas, water commissioner, three years; and Tom Rose, lister, three years.

In write-in campaigns for positions that had no takers, Mark Spitzner earned 66 tallies for a one-year term on the selectboard, Tamra Hawley-House earned 52 votes for three years as auditor, and Heather Stafford received 30 votes for a term on the planning commission.

Voters also approved a variety of social service funding requests for nonprofits that serve Shoreham residents.

Shoreham residents in Australian ballot voting on Tuesday also helped decide a proposed 2025-2026 Addison Central School District budget of $51,719,284 to run Middlebury-area schools; a Patricia Hannaford Carer Center FY’26 budget of $5,704,280; and a five-person race for three Middlebury seats on the ACSD board, which were voted at-large in the district-member towns of Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. Please see separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

STARKSBORO

A total of 127 voters turned out for Starksboro’s town meeting this past Saturday, which lasted around three and a half hours.

Those in attendance voted from the floor to approve:

• $1,215,919 in general fund spending, an increase of $14,045, with $958,395 to be raised in taxes.

• $67,689 for the Fire Equipment Reserve Fund, an increase of $5,589.

• $126,505 for the Road Equipment Reserve Fund, an increase of $7,161.

• $51,958.83 for the Starksboro Public Library, an increase of $7,766.83.

• $13,520 for the Bristol Rescue Squad to provide ambulance service to parts of Starksboro, an increase of $5,930.

Residents approved a total of $96,013 for 37 organizations that serve Starksboro and other parts of the county.

Voters also agreed to spend $50,000 to support the Starksboro Village Meeting House and Starksboro Cooperative Preschool renovation project.

On Town Meeting Day, selectboard incumbent Eric Cota (two-year term) and Tony Porter (one-year seat) were unopposed in their bids for spots on the selectboard.

MAUSD board member Brad Johnson was unchallenged for a three-year term, and Herb Olson ran unopposed for a two-year term on the school board.

Starksboro voters on Tuesday also weighed in on a $34,894,443 MAUSD spending plan for the 2025-2026 school year and an article asking district voters whether to allow district officials to transfer up to $1.04 million from the Capital Reserve Fund to the General Fund to help pay for replacing Mount Abraham Union High School’s roof. They also fielded a proposed Patricia Hannaford Career Center FY’26 budget of $5,704,280 to deliver vocational-technical education to Addison County students. See separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

VERGENNES

Vergennes residents by Australian ballot on Tuesday, March 4, backed measures related to the Vergennes Opera House and the city’s fire and recreation departments. There were no contested races on the ballot, although one write-in candidate made some noise. And another ballot measure asked whether residents should advise the city council to take a position on the war in Gaza.

Vergennes residents do not weigh on city spending. The city council will set the 2026 Fiscal Year budget for the city in June.

Residents did back all nonprofit requests on the ballot, and there was one other financial issue on the ballot, a revote of the fire vehicle bond residents originally approved more than a year ago. Citizens in December 2023 backed a proposal to bond for up to $1.75 million for the city’s fire department to spend on replacing a 21-year-old heavy rescue truck and a 25-year-old ladder truck.

Since then city officials discovered that vote was not properly warned, and that quality used trucks could be purchased for less money.

Thus, residents were instead asked to back a new bond for up to $1.233 million for the purpose of financing the purchase of a used heavy rescue fire truck, a used ladder truck, and upgrading radio and safety systems for the vehicles. They did so, 476-93.

There were also two articles related to the Vergennes Opera House.

The first asked voters to amend the lease between the city and the theater (the Vergennes charter requires voter approval of all city real estate deals) to reduce the theater’s liquor liability insurance from $2 million to $1 million, both per occurrence and overall, in the existing lease between the city and the Friends of Vergennes Opera House.

The issue, according to officials, is that no insurance company will underwrite $2 million of such insurance. Thus the lease must be rewritten to be legal. Residents backed the lease amendment, 500-68.

The second ballot item related to the opera house handled a technical requirement from the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service as a condition of a jointly awarded $500,000 grant toward the theater’s All Access Project.

City and theater officials said it is intended to formalize protection of the opera house’s historic features through voter approval of a 15-year easement. Residents supported the article, 525-47.

Voters also backed two other articles seeking nonprofit status for two entities, thus allowing folks to make tax-deductible donations. One would create a Parks and Recreation Fund, and the other would establish a Vergennes Burying Ground Fund Reserve to help pay for improvements to the old School Street cemetery that it is no longer in use. The parks-and-rec measure passed, 535-52, and the cemetery article was backed by 513-67.

A petitioned article the council approved for the ballot gave residents a chance to weigh in on a non-binding advisory vote on Gaza. It read:

“Shall the voters of the City of Vergennes advise the City Council to adopt the following pledge? We, the Vergennes City Council, affirm our commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people and all people; We oppose all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression; and we declare ourselves an Apartheid-free community and to that end, we pledge to join others in working to end all support to Israel’s Apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation?”

The article was defeated, 392-162.

Voters also checked off names for elective office.

For major offices, in unopposed races, the following candidates were reelected with these vote totals:

Mayor: Christopher Bearor, 503 votes.

City Council: Susan Rakowski, 462; Mark Koenig, 461; Carson Harder-Hyde, 406. Rakowski and Koenig are incumbents.

Michael Kane was returned to the Addison Northwest School District board with 464 votes, but Jon Kidde amassed an impressive write-in total of 126 votes

Also, there was an open city seat on the Vergennes-Panton Water District Board. There were 30 write-in votes for the position, but no one candidate received enough votes to qualify for election, city officials said. An appointment looms.

WALTHAM

Around 40 Waltham residents on Monday night gathered in their town hall for the community’s annual town meeting. They elected a new selectboard member in a contested race and supported higher town spending.

Residents picked Dan Morris to fill a three-year on their selectboard. Morris and Peter Emerson were nominated for the job, and the former beat the latter, 23-11, in a paper ballot vote.

All other positions were filled without opposition, including incumbent Mimi Clark being returned to the Addison Northwest School Board, Robin Jackman voted in as a lister, and Jay Stetzel chosen as an auditor.

Voters at the Monday meeting also supported the selectboard’s proposed $64,000 increase, or 23%, in town spending for the upcoming fiscal year. That’s for a combined general fund ($141,013) and road maintenance ($107, 850) spending.

Road spending is projected to drop slightly by around $2,000, but town officials cited several factors for pushing the general fund higher, most notably a $25,600 payment on a $200,000 culvert project.

Salaries and benefits for the clerk/treasurer and assistant clerk/treasurer are projected to rise by $15,565, and the town also hopes to add a part-time zoning administrator for $8,700.

Meanwhile, the cost of Vergennes Fire Department protection will increase by $6,000. Other increases are small and spread around in a number of line items.

Separately, residents backed a total of $5,099 for a number of nonprofits, another $10,692 to support the Bixby Library, and a total of $29,000 to place in four reserve funds.

Waltham is in the middle of a town-wide reappraisal of its taxable property, and officials said the property tax impacts of the higher spending are difficult to predict. But based based on the status quo, the average increase per town property could be $250.

WEYBRIDGE

Weybridge residents at their town meeting Monday approved all the articles on their warning in a series of decisive voice votes, including a request for a $70,000, 1-ton truck for the highway department.

Plans call for the town to borrow the money for the truck from the municipal equipment fund and pay it back during a five-year period.

Other items dispatched by voice vote without much fanfare at the town’s annual gathering included requests for:

• A proposed fiscal year 2026 general fund budget of $210,882, and a $618,748 ask for highway department operations.

• $30,000 to help fund fire protection for the town.

• $13,000 to continue the town-sponsored recycling program.

• $25,060 to continue a program that allows Weybridge residents full access to Middlebury’s Ilsley Library. Weybridge currently doesn’t have its own functioning municipal library.

• A proposal to consolidate the town’s two building funds into a single capital fund.

• A nonbinding resolution in support of a “commitment to freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people and all people,” and in opposition to “Israel’s apartheid regime, settler colonialism and military occupation.”

There were no contested elections on the Weybridge ballot. Those elected unopposed included Spencer Putnam, town moderator, one year; William Mayers, selectboard, two years; and Megan Sutton, selectboard, three years.

Weybridge residents in Australian ballot voting on Tuesday helped decide a proposed 2025-2026 Addison Central School District budget of $51,719,284 to run Middlebury-area schools; a Patricia Hannaford Carer Center FY’26 budget of $5,704,280; and a five-person race for three Middlebury seats on the ACSD board, which were voted at-large in the district-member towns of Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. Please see separate stories in this edition revealing those results.

Incumbent Jamie McCallum was unopposed in his bid for a new, three-year term representing Weybridge on the ACSD board.

WHITING

After the polls closed on Tuesday, Whiting residents gathered in their town hall for one of the shorter annual meetings in recent memory. Town Clerk Heather Bouchard clocked it at 47 minutes.

Nevertheless, voters took care of some weighty matters — all by voice vote.

Perhaps the weightiest was approving $512,293 in town spending, which represents an increase of $24,618, or 5%, over the figure approved at last year’s town meeting. That figure will result in raising $316,098 through property taxes, which represents a $1,000 decrease compared to last year.

Eight town officials were up for election. Incumbents winning re-election were Marcia King, three years on the selectboard; Peg Allen, three years as lister; Alison Remy, three years as auditor; Rani Fallon, one year as delinquent tax collector; and Mike Dame, one year as first constable. Three library trustees were re-elected: Heather Mattison (three years), Jaime Quenneville (two years), and Tara Trudo (two years).

In addition, one other important piece of town business garnered a lot of attention at Tuesday’s meeting: Setting June 28 as the date for the Whiting town picnic.

Whiting voters joined their peers in Brandon, Leicester, Goshen, Sudbury and Pittsford in casting ballots on the budget and board members representing the Otter Valley Unified Union schools. The OVUU spending plan passed — but only by one vote.

The Brandon-area district OK’d a FY26 spending plan of $28,022,999, which is 9.38% higher in per pupil spending than the budget approved last year. It passed on Tuesday by a tally of 817 yes, 816 no.

The approved spending represents a 4.5% hike ($1,214,777) from last year.

There were no surprises in the election of school board members. The winning school directors in uncontested races were Lesley Bienvenue (Leicester), Lauren Thomas (Brandon), Laurie L. Bertrand (Sudbury), Brett Mullin and Jessica Markowski (Pittsford) and Barbara Ebling (at-large). Two OVUUS board seats — one representing Whiting and one at-large — appear to have not garnered enough write-in votes to pick a winner. The new board will have to appoint those members.