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OU NTA I N IMES M T July 28 - Vol. 50, No. 30 The best things in life are FREE! I flatter myself. Aug. 3, 2021 Towns end fiscal year with budget surpluses By Brett Yates City surplus helps to By Alastair Stout Tax rate plunges in Mendon The Mendon Select Board has set the mu- offset municipal tax KILLINGTON AREA IS nicipal tax rate for 2021–2022 at 0.3973%, which Rutland City underspent its annual budget FEELING THE SMOKE means that Mendon homeowners will pay 16.4 in Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) by nearly $1 million. Western fires affect local fewer cents in municipal taxes per $100 of as- Rutland City’s fiscal calendar ends on June 30, air quality. sessed property value than they did last year. according to City Treasurer Mary Markowski. Page 9 That’s mostly because their assessed property The city’s biggest savings came from the values skyrocketed during the spring’s town- Dept. of Public Works, which declined to wide reappraisal, which caused Mendon’s make use of a $500,000 allocation for pav- Grand List to rise by 36.3%, while the voter- ing contracts, and from the police depart- MT approved annual budget ($1,211,999) increased ment, which has struggled to recruit quali- by only 2% in March. In 2017, the state ordered fied officers for several years. Although AUDIO STORY AVAILABLE ONLINE mountaintimes.info the reappraisal — originally due in 2020 but Mayor David Allaire reduced the number extended to 2021 due to Covid — because of budgeted officers from 40 to 39 for FY21, LEARNING SHEEP Mendon’s “coefficient of dispersion” (COD, police staffing fell short of that target. This week's "My Side the measure by which the Department of Taxes Part of the surprising surplus owes to of the Mountain" features monitors inconsistency and potential unfair- higher-than-expected revenues. Due to Covid, Peg and Todd Allen, ness in municipal property assessments) had the city projected a significantly reduced yield who jumped into sheep exceeded 20%. from its Rooms, Meals, and Entertainment farming after successful Ironically, the reappraisal — executed at tax in FY21. But the treasurer’s fourth-quarter city-based carriers. what one local taxpayer, during the Select report reveals that, in the end, it collected Page 3 Board’s last meeting, called “the height” of a $511,866 – only $5,556 less than FY20, and By Krista Johnston Vermont real estate bubble — brought Men- $118,116 more than the city had anticipated. don’s common level of appraisal (CLA) from “This surplus came with a little bit of luck, a Skyscraping steeple 95.3% to 131.69%, the second-highest in the little bit of good accounting, and a mayor that state and well above the statutory maximum said, ‘We need to make some cuts across the Anyone in downtown Rutland who looked up (way up) last of 115%. The CLA — one of two calculations board,’” Alderman Devon Neary observed. Wednesday, July 21, may have noticed a crane working on the that can trigger a state-mandated reappraisal, On July 19, after approving a pair of trans- top of the 199-foot star-bearing steeple of Grace Congrega- along with the COD — compares sales prices fers to the city’s capital funds for bridges and tional United Church of Christ. Story on page 2. over a three-year period to assessed values. sidewalks on the treasurer’s recommenda- According to Town Clerk and Treasurer tion, the Board of Aldermen voted to apply the Nancy Gondella, Mendon finished 2020–2021 remainder of the FY21 surplus – $837,607 – to Mendon > 4 Rutland City > 4 Fall school restrictions still up in the air Reading By Curt Peterson By Brooke Geery Windsor Central Unified School District superintendent votes to Sherry Sousa told the Mountain Times last week that proto- SKATEPARK WORKING cols for reopening are still up in the air, presumably due to TOWARDS PHASE II move to the recent upsurge in Covid cases across the country. Bethel seeks to expand “The Agency of Education [AoE] and Dept. of Health its new, popular Australian will be providing us with guidance regarding our return to skatepark. Duathalon school in mid-August,” Sousa wrote in an email. will raise funds, Saturday. balloting On Monday, July 26, the Dept. of Health website still has Page 18 By Neil P. Allen wording that cancels Covid requirements for schools, effec- On Saturday, July 24, the tive June 14. “With Vermont’s high vaccination rates and low residents of Reading voted in a number of Covid-19 cases, it’s safe for most Vermonters to LOOKING FOR A JOB? special election to determine return to the activities they did before the pandemic. [The] Take a look in our whether or not the voting vast majority of Vermonters are protected from the virus, classifieds section to mechanism on town meeting and keep the virus from spreading to others.” find the right fit. day should change. Ted Fisher, director of communications and legislative af- Page 26 According to Reading resi- fairs for the AoE, wrote, “We do not have a guidance or other dent Shiri Macri, who brought information published yet. We expect to communicate forward the petition to change more in the near future. I can’t say whether it will be guid- the voting mechanism, the ance (binding) or recommendations, and whether it will be meeting lasted about an hour issued by the AoE, by the Health department, or jointly.” Living and was attended by about 68 Healthvermont.gov provides current Covid statistics. As By Paul Holmes people. of Monday, in the past 14 days there was one positive case ADE “All the articles passed. The and 18 “recent” cases in Windsor County, and three new WHAT'S HAPPENING "High-intensity fun" at Elite Camp first and third articles passed positive cases, 28 “recent” cases in Rutland County. THIS WEEK? Craig Mosher's sand pit in Killington provided a unique ath- with just a couple of ‘nays.’ The School district decision-makers such as Sousa seem to be Over 200 local events! letic conditioning site for Killington Mountain School /Eliteam second article, about budget caught in the middle, as schools pose a particular conundrum Page 12 cross-training campers last week. Story on page 4. Reading > 2 WCSU > 8 2 • LOCAL NEWS The Mountain Times • July 28 - Aug. 3, 2021 Woodstock Select Board approves conceptual designs for town hall renovation project By Katy Savage The Woodstock Select “There have been a lot Board unanimously ap- of changes and upgrades in proved moving forward with serving those who need ADA a multi-million dollar Town assistance,” Select Board Hall renovation project on Chair Mary Riley said after Tuesday, July 20. the meeting. “That is a big The board specifically -ap focus of this change — to ac- proved four design elements commodate ADA.” — bringing the Town Hall The board also discussed Theatre into compliance with prioritizing energy efficiency the Americans with Disabili- and making the building a ties Act (ADA), improving true community asset. offices and meeting spaces, The town hall was last adding stage wings to the updated in the 1980s, though stage house and constructing the $800,000 renovation at By Krista Johnston a new ADA tower. Town Hall > 9 By Krista Johnston A cap was placed on the steeple as a tempo- Southgate and Classen removing By Krista Johnston rary solution while the church raises funds steeple's finial debris from the The removed 6-foot wooden finial for a replacement finial. Only the lightning Reading: To decide on Australian balloting crane's man basket. showed much rot and deterioration. rod remains in view. from page 1 voting, had more discussion and was too close to call with the voice vote and ended up going to a written ballot vote, ironi- Iconic Grace Church steeple up for repairs cally,” said Macri. By Ethan Weinstein Select Board Chair Gordon Eastman noted that the vote was RUTLAND—The Grace Congregational United Church lightning within 30 miles posed a serious risk — the special- 43-25 in favor of the article. of Christ steeple rises high above Main Street Park in Rut- ists ascended toward the steeple’s tip. The discussion about the budget voting was around the land. But as of last Wednesday, July 21, it's 6 feet shorter. Grace Church property committee member Esther Swett issue of how the budget is made, according to Macri. “When Jay Southgate from Southgate Steeplejacks in Barre and said the church plans to raise money to replace the finial voting from the floor at town meeting, residents can propose Ben Classen from Classen’s Crane Service removed the by next spring. Between the crane rental and labor costs, budget amendments at the meeting. With Australian ballot vot- 6-foot finial from the spire of the 199-foot tall church. the operation will require several thousand dollars. But the ing, proposed amendments will need to happen before articles Church members first discovered the steeple rot benefit of restoring the historic building — which recently are warned which is at budget planning meetings in the fall. In in 2015. As it began shedding wood more and more celebrated its 160th birthday — is well worth it. Reading, we’ve actually only ever amended the town budget a frequently, they knew they needed to act imminently “I think people enjoy seeing the steeple and the finial small handful of times.” before someone got hurt. on top,” said Swett. “It’s the first thing you see when you’re Eastman said, “If there is a no vote on the budget, the Select After monitoring wind speeds and checking the radar — coming down the new Route 4 from West Rutland.” Board will have to create another budget and hold another vote.” Prior to the special election, Macri said the question she was asked the most was whether or not Town Meeting was going away.