A number of folks viewing this are likely Town Meeting Members ~ maybe a few more will be after tomorrow’s caucus (Wed., Mar. 12 – Town Meeting Informational Meeting & Caucus preceding meeting to fill vacant Town Meeting Representative seats – Academy School, 5:00pm)
Do you want another opportunity to discuss the issues? What about the Local Option Sales Tax?
- The Brattleboro Reformer recently made an argument in favor of the 1% tax – Our Opinion: “Pass the 1 percent local option tax,” http://www.reformer.com/ci_25315142
- Does this argument invalidate Art Woolfe’s study, “A River Divides It: A Comparative Analysis of Retailing in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire”? http://www.aims.ca/site/media/aims/riverdividesit.pdf
| Excerpts from the Representative Town Meeting Warning ARTICLE 14: To see if the Town will approve the repurposing of the funds from the Agricultural Land Protection Fund to establish an Energy Efficiency Fund with the principal amount of $50,000 and to appropriate the remainder in the fund, being the accrued interest in the agricultural protection fund, to reduce the fiscal year 2015 tax levy. ARTICLE 19: To see how much money the Town will raise, appropriate and expend to defray its expenses and liabilities. ARTICLE 21: To see if the Town will assess a one percent (1%) local option sales tax in accordance with 24 V.S.A. Section 138. ARTICLE 30: To see how much money the Town School District will raise and appropriate to defray its expenses and liabilities. https://www.ibrattleboro.com/sections/town-news/brattleboro-selectboard-special-meeting-annual-town-meeting-warnings |
The “Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast” will take place on Friday, March 21, 2014 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.
=> Because we really need to plan for the number of people having breakfast, please RSVP by no later than Tuesday, March 18, by replying to <Robt.Oeser@gmail.com> – (or call 518-505-9031 [c])
=> The breakfast, provided by Senior Meals will feature scrambled eggs. Cost is $6.00 for those under 60 years of age. ($3.50 is the suggested donation for those over 60 years.)
Follow up - with references
Thank you if you are one of the 15 who have already said you will attend; you still have until Tuesday to reply if you choose.
A Breakfast Meeting the Day before Representative Town Meeting
Do you want another opportunity to discuss the issues?
The “Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast” will take place on Friday, March 21, 2014 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals.Doors open at 7:30 am.
=> Because we really need to plan for the number of people having breakfast, please RSVP by no later than Tuesday, March 18, by replying to – (or call 518-505-9031 [c])
=> The breakfast, provided by Senior Meals will feature scrambled eggs. Cost is $6.00 for those under 60 years of age. ($3.50 is the suggested donation for those over 60 years.)
A List of References
The Brattleboro Reformer’s argument in favor of the 1% tax – Our Opinion: “Pass the 1 percent local option tax,” http://www.reformer.com/ci_25315142
Art Woolfe’s study, “A River Divides It: A Comparative Analysis of Retailing in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire” ? http://www.aims.ca/site/media/aims/riverdividesit.pdf
What do we expect of town government? – Ralph Meima – Brattleboro Reformer – Mar. 8 http://www.reformer.com/letterstotheeditor/ci_25299704/letter-box
We need fire station, but can we afford it? Nancy Miller – The Commons – Mar. 12, p. D-2 http://www.pdfs.commonsnews.org/COMM-0245.pdf
Brattleboro Finance Committee warns about rising taxes – Brattleboro Reformer Mar. 12 http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_25323284/finance-committee-warns-about-rising-taxes
24 V.S.A. § 138 states “(a) Local option taxes are authorized … to facilitate the transition … that may be caused by reforms to the method of financing public education ….” But it also says (d) “Revenues received … may be expended for municipal services only, and not for education expenditures.” http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/fullsection.cfm?Title=24&Chapter=005&Section=00138
The Town website has a page on the Local Option Sales Tax http://www.brattleboro.org/index.asp?SEC=%7B762E243A-D3A3-4B22-A8D4-53C5077AE569%7D&Type=B_BASIC&persistdesign=none
. . . including a link to a VT Tax Dept. handout, “What is Taxable and Exempt? http://www.brattleboro.org/vertical/Sites/%7BFABA8FB3-EBD9-4E2C-91F9-C74DE6CECDFD%7D/uploads/What_is_Taxable_and_Exempt.pdf
F. What can be done to a Budget at Town Meeting?
Many myths abound about what action can be taken on a budget: “It can’t be amended;” or “it can only be amended down.” The Secretary of State and VLCT agree that town budgets and budget line items properly warned for an open town meeting may be amended up or down. New line items cannot be added, but existing line items can be deleted.. . . VLCT Selectboard Handbook – April 2006 http://www.vlct.org/assets/MAC/VLCT_Selectboard_Handbook_Chapter_11_Town_Meetings.pdf
Check the Charter
“town budgets and budget line items properly warned for an open town meeting may be amended up or down.”
But, Brattleboro doesn’t have an open town meeting. It has a representative town meeting.
From the Reformer editorial
“‘We respect everybody who came out to vote, but it was a very small number of people who came out and we don’t know if the vote reflects the population as a whole,’ said O’Connor, who is also a member of the Selectboard.”
Hilarious! When 840 voters go to the polls to weigh in on a question, O’Connor doesn’t know if “the vote reflects the population as a whole.” In October 2012 (admittedly before O’Connor’s tenure on the board) 133 Town Meeting Representatives voted on the bond for the police/fire facility. Every year, in fact, some fraction of Brattleboro’s 145 Town Meeting representatives make decisions on many millions of dollars worth of expenditures. Is anyone sure each vote reflects the population as a whole? Since it’s a “very small number,” does that mean Town Meeting Representatives decisions should be thought of as mysterious and advisory?
Line Item Veto in TM or RTM?
It is true indeed that Brattleboro has a Representative Town Meeting.
from Brattleboro’s Charter:
Art. II (4)(C) provides for a Finance Committee which has the duty of “reviewing proposed and actual expenditures by the town, town school district, and such other budgets . . . [and] making recommendations to the representative town meeting and the voters”
and:
Art. III (1) states (A) In addition to the powers granted under this charter, the town shall have all powers conferred upon towns by the constitution and laws of the state. Enumeration of particular powers in this charter shall not be construed as limiting the general powers of the town.
(B) All powers of the town not specifically delegated in this charter to the voters or to the selectboard, school directors or other boards, commissions, committees or officers shall be vested in the representative town meeting.
https://brattleborovt.govoffice.com/vertical/Sites/%7BFABA8FB3-EBD9-4E2C-91F9-C74DE6CECDFD%7D/uploads/2013_Charter.pdf
http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/sections.cfm?Title=24APPENDIX&Chapter=107
That said, and in view of the existence of the RTM, how does one interpret the following general guidelines from the VT Secretary of State?
“May the amounts of a line item in the selectboard’s budget be amended to a higher or lower figure?
“The subject of line item vetoes … [has] been a feature of Vermont town meetings throughout our history. School districts escape some of the onus of a cut because of the school board’s statutory authority to ‘determine how the voted funds shall be expended,’ after the voters has set the budget total. 16 VSA sec. 562(8). But selectboards have only as much latitude in fiscal affairs as the voters allow them.”
[cf. further discussion at pp. 43-46 –
http://www.sec.state.vt.us/municipal/pubs/moderator%20guide.pdf#xml=http://Rotunda:8080/isysquery/bd991b45-1234-4bee-8e13-535f63a2d23c/1/hilite/
The vote for the 1% sales tax
The vote for the 1% sales tax was only 30 votes apart which indicates to me that this town is very divided over the issue. Perhaps a vote on the extremely expensive police/fire station project would be more illuminating.
line items
I think the operative question for Saturday is “how will the Town Attorney interpret the Charter?” In the past, a line item budget change was deemed impossible.
Town Meeting Reps should be prepared to vote the entire budget down if the Town insists it is the only way to do things. The budget can be reworked and re-presented.
I think we sometimes have things in the budget specifically so reps can’t do much about it. No one wants to do anything dramatic, so little things slip by. Vote the entire budget down and the incentive for a line item veto grows.
Brief Breakfast Comments
Brief notes on comments made at Breakfast the Day before Representative Town Meeting. *
1% Local Option Sales Tax
we can’t afford to have more shoppers cross the river
it would have a profound effect … based on perception
sales taxes in general are regressive
while merchants and business owners may suffer some, the sales tax is already at 6%
6% to 7% does not change the equation greatly
while we are a Town of 12,000, the population swells to 30,000 on weekends – with a local sales tax, visitors can help pay for municipal services
the 1% tax will just make us feel better; plans are going ahead; it’s a done deal
Police Fire Project
the right thing to do at this time?
a scaled down version is needed
we are not the Town we used to be
how to deal with the issue of the project since it was already voted in?
repairs get put off for years and never get cheaper
is there a way to reduce cost?
wish the Police Fire Project was smaller in scale and costs less money
Police and Fire were joined in one project to take advantage of lower interest rates
Article 14 – Agriculture Land Protection Fund
note was made of Brattleboro Reformer article “Brattleboro’s Ag. Committee wants to keep money for land,” http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_25388431/ag-committee-wants-keep-money-land
energy audits are needed, but there should be a way for that money to come from general fund
Other Business
there will be a gun safety resolution in support of the initiative passed in Burlington – GunSenseVT will be looking toward legislation requiring a serious background check
concerned that there will be a quorum when the GunSense resolution is considered
please stay for the consideration of the resolution
* These are brief notes to provide some comments as soon as possible in advance of the RTM; any errors or omissions are entirely my own ~ RA Oeser
30k?
“while we are a Town of 12,000, the population swells to 30,000 on weekends – with a local sales tax, visitors can help pay for municipal services”
30,000 on weekends? When?
There is no reason for visitors to help pay for Police and Fire services. (Do we expect to pay for other towns’s Police or Fire when we visit them?) Roads and parks, maybe.
Yes, 30,000 but on weekdays
This is the number that we increase to during weekdays when everyone comes to work here from the other neighbor towns.