Town News

This pie chart shows all the town’s major budget areas so people can see graphically how they compare. The budget is largely driven by personnel costs – salaries, insurance, retirement, etc. – for the people providing us with services.

A lot of people seem to be writing and talking about the police-fire project as if the $9 million bond would be a major factor in the town budget. While it is certainly nothing to sneeze at and it may have been the straw the broke the camel’s back with respect to passing the budget, in the scope of all the town’s expenses the project is just that – a straw. Reducing the town’s budget (and property taxes) is by no means as simple as just skipping the $9M bond.

(Edit: slide tweaked Thursday afternoon to show $9M first bond payment more exactly as $261,473, add FY13 and FY14 budgets, and show scale of impact of $9M bond on future budgets.)

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Monday, May 5, 2014 at 5:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:00pm to discuss a personnel matter.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The traffic light at Main and High Streets has been placed on flash mode until further notice. The traffic light pole was struck on Tuesday by a truck navigating Main Street, causing considerable damage. Parts are on order and until they are received and repairs completed, the light will remain on flash.

-Department of Public Works

211 Fairground Road, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301
Tel: 802-254-4255 • Fax: 802-257-2316 • E-mail: brattdpw@sover.net

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, May 1, 2014, at 6:30pm in the Brattleboro Area Middle School gymnasium.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

In a wonderfully weird and short special meeting on the FY15 town budget, the number of attendees exceeded expectations causing the meeting to be delayed until a later date and bigger location. Possibly Thursday, and possibly at a school.

The large turnout for a budget discussion seemed to take the board by pleasant surprise, though there was minor disagreement over what to do about it.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at 6:30 pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Administration of our town presented the Town Meeting Reps with a very large project.  The Reps accepted the project, in 2012, though for many Reps it never sat well.  There are more than a few reasons for that.  Since that time the economy and financial problems of the town have continued to worsen.  Many Town Reps, talking to friends and neighbors, came to believe that that the town as a whole was not in favor of this project.  56 Town Reps signed a petition to allow the citizens themselves to weigh in.  More might have signed had they all been contacted.  Only four days were left when organizing began.

Dear Library User: As many of you heard or read last week, because of the Town-wide vote rejecting the Representative Town Meeting approved budget, the Selectboard has directed the Interim Town Manager and staff to provide impacts of various budget reduction scenarios affecting each Town department. The Library Board of Trustees will consider the impacts of these historic budget reductions at a meeting on Tuesday, April 29, 5:30 PM, in the Library’s meeting room on the 2nd floor. The meeting is open to the public.The Selectboard will meet at 6:30 PM in the Municipal Center’s Selectboard meeting room to consider the impacts. If you are interested in the outcome for the future of library services to the Brattleboro community, you should plan to attend these meetings.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, April 29, 2014. Executive Session at 6:00pm and Special Meeting at 6:30pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Farmers’ Market opens for the season Saturday, May 3rd!

Come kick off our 40th year and celebrate our expansion and site security with us! Andy Davis hosts the traditional Maypole dance from 11 to 1, a springtime rite for young and old dancers alike. Children are welcome to participate in this fun, guided dance with ribbons around the Maypole.

Here’s a good way to get your farmers’ market fix, in this season between the winter and summer Brattleboro farmers’ markets: the Maple ‘N Mud Festival, 10 AM to 4 PM on Saturday, at the River Garden, 157 Main Street, Brattleboro.

This is a community event, free and open to the public. Vendors and exhibitors include the following:

• The grades of maple syrup are being renamed to provide the general public with a little more clarity on what each grade is best suited. The new names are based on their color so come SEE, and then taste the differences thanks to Hidden Springs Maple!
• Bascom Family Farms will be providing a rich history of maple sugaring in the area with artifacts from the late 1890′s and early 1900′s.  [MORE]
  

The Brattleboro Selectboard held a meeting Tuesday evening with a single issue on the agenda – the rejection of the FY15 budget by voters at the recent special referendum. The board disagreed with one another and with those attending over the precise meaning of the vote and, therefore, what to do about it. Some heard a cry for drastic action while others heard a request to simply reign in the facility renovations.

One thing, however, seemed quite clear to everyone: there will be no new $9 million bond for the Police and Fire facility project in the fiscal 2015 budget.

The Brattleboro Town Clerk’s office will be closed Wednesday, April 23. Staff will be attending training seminars.

Annette L. Cappy
Brattleboro Town Clerk
230 Main Street, Suite 108
Brattleboro. VT 05301

acappy@brattleboro.org
ph 802-251-8129
fax 802-257-2312

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 6:30pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 8:30am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

Brattleboro voters rejected the proposed budget Tuesday.

478 voted in favor, but 771 voted against, sending the Brattleboro Selectboard back to work on another version.

1249 people participated by voting. 554 of those were by absentee ballot. Results are for the entire town; votes were not counted by district.

As a reminder, southern Vermont’s best-loved bluegrass group, the Bondville Boys (“some of them are from Bondville, and some of them are boys”) will rock the River Garden this Friday night, the 18th, from 7 to 10:30, presented by Strolling of the Heifers. Tickets $10 at the door, $30 family cap. 

As a preview, here’s a video of one of their recent appearances:

In another sign of spring, Strolling of the Heifers will host its Maple ‘n Mud Fest on Saturday April 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, downtown Brattleboro.

The festival celebrates the changing of the seasons with an array of participating farmers and maple product producers. This community event is free and open to the public at the new home of the Strolling of the Heifers.

The official grades of maple syrup are being renamed in Vermont to provide the general public with a little more clarity on what each grade is best suited. Visitors can see, and then taste the differences at an exhibit presented by Hidden Springs Maple.

Utilities Division crews will start Spring Flushing of the Town water mains on Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 10:00 p.m. and continue through Saturday, May 10, 2014. 

NOTE!!  Some daytime flushing will continue throughout the weeks of May 12 and 19, 2014

Please note that water main flushing will occur at night and also during the day.

Customers are asked to check the flushing schedule closely as flushing causes water discoloration, low water pressure, and in some areas intervals of no water.

Night flushing will occur from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m..  Day flushing will occur from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m..

Brattleboro will end the year with a deficit according to a memo from the Town Finance Director. Most of it was expected and all of it was approved, but it isn’t especially good financial news. Especially given the fact that the Brattleboro Selectboard learned that the DPW would exceed the road maintenance budget for the year.

Perhaps someone would like to make a donation to cover the cost overruns. Such was the suggestion of Chris Chapman, who told the board of a plan to let people give money to the town because they like us and want to be charitable.

The Selectboard wasn’t interested in forming a new committee to investigate generating electricity and heat locally, but supported the idea of forming a sub-committee of the Energy Committee to take up the task.