New Brattleboro Selectboard members Oscar Heller, Amanda Ellis-Thurber, Isaac Evans Franz were sworn in by Town Clerk Hilary Francis to begin the organizational meeting.
Peter Case nominated a slate of candidates: Elizabeth McLoughlin as Chair, Oscar Heller as Vice Chair, and Isaac Evans-Frantz as Clerk. The board voted 5-0 to approve the slate.
Returning Chair Liz then took comments from the board and public participation.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold an organizational meeting on Monday, March 24, 2025 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Brattleboro Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 212) and over Zoom. The attached agenda contains information on how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members. There is no backup for this meeting.
A Canal Street Corridor Plan is in the works to improve pedestrian safety and other things along that route. The Brattleboro Selectboard will learn about this project at their next special meeting.
The board will also hear about new permit fees, a change to zoning relating to municipal water & sewer service, recent work of ONE Brattleboro, EMS reimbursements, and a safe neighborhoods project. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Selectboard’s proposed budget raises property taxes by more than 12% and defers expenses—setting residents up for even higher taxes down the road. And over the past several months the Selectboard has chosen to deplete Town funds to hire new positions and cover new expenses. Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Finance Committee recently issued a clear warning: The Selectboard must take a more responsible approach to budgeting. I agree. We need longer term financial planning and political courage for responsible budgeting, and the Selectboard and Representative Town Meeting can help us get there.
The Selectboard placed an opinion poll on the March 4th ballot regarding the 2% of the Town budget allocated for human services. But there’s another 98% we need to consider. That’s where the biggest opportunities are for savings.The Selectboard should have taken the Finance Committee’s recommendations seriously. The committee exists to advise Representative Town Meeting members—the ultimate deciders on the budget. To increase the chances of the budget passing, the Selectboard should carefully consider the Finance Committee’s guidance.The Finance Committee expressed concern about the lack of a long-term financial plan and called on the Selectboard to direct the town manager to present a list of potential staff cuts for the coming budget and to identify cuts and deferrals that will likely reappear a year from now when we are considering the following year’s budget. The outgoing Selectboard chose not to implement any of these recommendations.
I am proud of Brattleboro voters who showed up on Election Day in unusually high numbers. At a moment when our country faces unprecedented challenges, the people of Brattleboro made clear they want a town we all can afford, a town where our young people can play safely, where we all have a warm place to sleep at night, and where we treat one another well. I congratulate my fellow candidates for putting themselves out there in this moment of political turmoil, and to Franz Reichsman and Richard Davis for their current service on the selectboard.
Tim Wessel is running (again) for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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You again? (just kidding)
I’m baaaack lol.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a one year seat?
The people of Brattleboro have elected me to the Brattleboro Selectboard 4 times. I served on the board for a total of six years, from 2017 until March of 2023. During those years I worked hard to be a voice of moderation, of fiscally conservative values, and I became a well-known supporter of both our Fire and Police departments. I’ve lived and worked at my own video production business in Brattleboro since 2007. I live downtown with my wife and young son, and my older son has returned to Brattleboro as well. I am deeply invested in my community. I love Brattleboro.
Cristina ShayOnye is running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a one year seat?
I live right outside of Downtown Brattleboro with my two young children and Partner. We both work and struggle to make ends meet but are dedicated to providing affordable essential services to our community. My partner is an auto mechanic and I provide childcare, work as an assistant slate roof repairman, and mason’s helper. I also co-run The Vermont Village School which is a multi-generational village of families and individuals that come together to meet one another’s needs and learn together. On March 17th we will be starting a Civics Class at Brooks Memorial Library every Monday morning from 10-11am for the Spring season. All ages are welcome to come and learn how to “citizen”.
Most importantly, I am a Town Government nerd. I see how important the decisions made by our Selectboard are to all those who live, work, or visit Brattleboro. I was raised in a big city and am inspired by how accessible our local government is here in this small town. I chose to run for a 1 year seat because I support Oscar Heller and did not run against him.. AND because I do not feel represented by the two incumbents running to extend their term on the board.
Oscar Heller is running for a three year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a three year seat?
Hi there! My name is Oscar Heller. I live on Elliot Street in an apartment I used to rent and now own. I’ve started two small businesses, 10F Design and Winterland Marketing, and we work out of the Hooker Dunham building downtown.
I’ve been involved with Brattleboro’s town politics for eight years. I think local government is now more important than ever, and I’ve always felt a pull to be involved and contribute what I can. I started on the Energy Committee, am currently a Town Meeting representative for District 9, and have served on the Finance Committee for the last six years, including this year as chair.
At a special meeting on Monday, the Brattleboro Selectboard will meet with NH counterparts to discuss the island and now un-used bridges over the Connecticut River.
Their other meeting, moved to Thursday to avoid Town Meeting Day conflicts, will feature issues such as Living Memorial Park’s need for an additional $80,000, the vacant building ordinance, a decision to approve the plans for the eventual bridge repair on Western Ave, a new mural for Harmony Lot, and a discussion of Health Care and Rehabilitation. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
Oscar Heller will be a thoughtful member of the Brattleboro Selectboard, progressive in his values but mindful of the financial facts of life. I have served with Oscar for several years on the Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee (both of us have chaired in different years) and I know his abilities well. Heller is diligent and well-informed. He respects different opinions, listens well, and has an admirable ability to contribute to the development of reasoned decisions while maintaining group cohesion.
It is clear from this year’s Finance Committee work that Heller strongly believes in the necessity of multi-year financial planning and rigorous consideration of budgetary alternatives. He knows that nothing good can come from undisciplined spending.
Isaac Evans-Frantz is running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a one year seat?
I was born and raised in Brattleboro, and I love this community. The gap between rich and poor, the opioid crisis, and the housing shortage are hurting us. We all want a community where we can earn a living wage, put food on the table, and let our kids play outside without fear of drugs or violence. We need a selectboard member who listens and helps us achieve a stronger Brattleboro. I will bring energy, hope and determination to the Brattleboro Selectboard.
Jill Stahl Tyler is running for a three year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a three-year seat?
Hi, my name is Jill Stahl Tyler. I decided to run for Selectboard because this is my home.
When we built our house thirty years ago, we planted trees. From sapling to towering shade cover, we wanted to see them grow. Over the same decades, we’ve watched things change in downtown Brattleboro. As the crime situation has worsened, I wondered if we had to leave, and if someone else would enjoy the crisp yellows of the forsythia, the majestic first blooms on the magnolia, and the striking flowering crab apple that now spreads widely near the front patio.
Richard Davis is an incumbent running for a one-year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and why are you running for a one year seat?
I am Richard Davis, a semi-retired nurse, writer and political activist running for a second one year seat on the Brattleboro selectboard. A Boston area native, I have lived in Windham County for the past 46 years, 41 of those years in Guilford and for the past 3 ½ years in Brattleboro with my wife Roberta Levy.
On my first year on the board I was voted clerk by my fellow board members. During this past year the people of Brattleboro have been actively engaged in a variety of issues that include public safety, taxes, and a new trash system.
I am proud to be a member of a community that is so committed to improving the quality of life for everyone. This past summer attendance at board meetings was the highest in recent memory and people were able to express their opinions freely.
The first regular meeting of February for the Brattleboro Selectboard was mostly a series of quarterly reports, punctuated by questions about EMS billing and budgets. The board learned that the bad-sounding audit will not really be as bad-sounding as it sounds. Just wait. You’ll see.
Notable – parking revenues are down, the downtown safety plan is beginning to take shape, Golden Cross is having problems collecting revenue for us, and a few candidates came to use public participation to show that they are involved.
I was born and raised in Brattleboro, and I love this community. The gap between rich and poor, the opioid crisis, and the housing shortage are hurting us. We all want a community where we can earn a living wage, put food on the table, and let our kids play outside without fear of drugs or violence. We need a selectboard member who listens and helps us achieve a stronger Brattleboro. When you elect me, I’ll work to:
Spend Wisely: Create a budget that taxpayers can afford.
Keep Us Safe: Give our community tools to stand up to drug traffickers.
Save Lives: Support local solutions to shelter our neighbors.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will begin the process of changing utility rates by having consultants come to explain the Utility Rate Study they are about to undertake.
The board will also hear quarterly updates from the police department, fire department, and finance office. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
Chair Daniel Quipp was under the weather, so the remaining four members of the Brattleboro Selectboard boldy went forth approving the warnings for the Annual Town Meeting and the Representative Town Meeting.
The biggest news is that there will be an advisory poll on the ballot when voters go to elect representatives and weigh in on articles, asking what percentage of future town budgets should be spent on human services. There will be five options, ranging from zero to over 2%.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Brattleboro Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 212) and over Zoom. The attached agenda contains information on how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members. The backup materials for this meeting will be available on the town Website Brattleboro.gov/Selectboard by the end of today.
The Brattleboro Selectboard decided that a 12.1% increase is the best that they can do, ignoring members of the public and the Finance Committee who said it wasn’t enough but agreeing with the Town Manager who said the increase was necessary to avoid chaos.
One theme throughout the evening was that of continual eroding trust in the selectboard and their decision-making. “People are mad at us for a lot of different reasons,” noticed Chair Daniel Quipp. “We should think about it. Do we always have to make them a little more mad?”
A sub-theme was extreme agitation about representation at all levels of town government.
Weird meeting. If I were a Magic 8 ball I’d suggest “outlook not good.”
My name is Oscar Heller, and I’m running for the Selectboard.
I will bring six years of Finance Committee experience to the Selectboard. Creating the town’s budget is the Selectboard’s single most important job every year, and I think we’ve gotten off-track. I have a plan to get our budget back on solid footing, and my goal is to guide us through the challenges that I foresee this year.
