Waterbury decides select board race, approves budget and new fire truck
March 6, 2024 | By Lisa Scagliotti and Sandy Yusen 
Board of Civil Authority members Bob Butler (left) and Robert Dostis (right) oversee voters casting multiple ballots in Tuesday's local election and U.S. Presidential primary. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Waterbury voters approved a $6.3 million town budget, a $380,000 new fire truck and filled three seats on the town select board on Town Meeting Day.
They also followed the state trend in the U.S. Presidential Primary, choosing President Joe Biden on the Democratic ballot with 698 votes or 84% of the vote. On the Republican ballot, Nikki Haley – who won statewide – was the top choice in Waterbury with 414 votes or 64.6% to former President Donald Trump’s 177 votes or 27.6%.
The only local contest on Tuesday’s ballot was the three-way race for two single-year terms on the Waterbury Select Board.
The winners were Kane Sweeney and Ian Shea, according to Waterbury Town Clerk Karen Petrovic who shared unofficial returns. One-term incumbent Sweeney and newcomer Shea were the top two vote-getters with 852 and 748 votes respectively. Cheryl Schoolcraft Gloor, also a first-time candidate, came in third place with 692 votes.
Scroll over to see vote totals. Source: Waterbury Town Clerk. Chart by Julia Bailey-Wells
Turnout in Tuesday’s election was 35% with 1,544 of the town’s 4,402 registered voters casting ballots, according to the early report.
Select Board member and candidate Kane Sweeney was elected to a second one-year term on the board. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Reached by phone shortly after 8 p.m., Sweeney said he was elated about the results. “I feel like Waterbury has shown that it wants what Ian and I are selling,” he said. “Affordable housing has been the policy I’ve been beating like a dead horse for well over a year now, and to have someone else run for similar policies and win, it shows that voters in the town have heard us, have experienced the same thing, and are seeing what we’re seeing. I’m ready to take the steps needed to reverse our affordable housing crisis.”
Just a year ago, 31-year-old Sweeney, a local chef, launched his first campaign for the select board. “A lot more people that I thought came out in support of my campaign and were vocal in their support, not just their vote,” he said. “The issues that I’ve been talking about people are not only seeing but experiencing. Folks are ready for a younger generation of local government.”
Shea, 39, who teaches middle school in Stowe, shared his reaction as a first-time candidate. “I knew it was going to be a tight race, and had prepared myself for any outcome,” Shea said. “It was great to stand in front of the polls yesterday, greeting voters as they came in, and getting to know my opponents better. I knew Waterbury would have been in good hands no matter which way it fell. That said, I am incredibly grateful for the trust this community has put in me and for the team of people who worked with me and guided me through the campaign. Now the real work begins!”
Candidates Ian Shea and Cheryl Schoolcraft Gloor spend time outside before town meeting begins on Tuesday. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Gloor on Wednesday reflected on the experience of running for office for the first time. Although she came up short in the three-way contest, Gloor said she was impressed with and appreciative of the support she received. She commended the other candidates saying they all shared many of the same values for the community.
“It was wonderful to see old friends and make new ones. It was also great to converse with the other candidates and I believe they will listen to your concerns as they share many of my own,” she wrote in a letter to the community posted on Waterbury Roundabout. “I encourage you to continue to engage with your local and state representatives to ensure the conversation and decisions made include all the voices of our Waterbury community.”
Also re-elected on Tuesday was incumbent Roger Clapp who will be returning to the Select Board. Clapp has served two one-year terms. He was unopposed for a three-year seat and won 1,328 votes. Clapp has served as board chair for the past two years.
“I thought it was a great turnout and I enjoyed the discussion during town meeting,” Clapp said Tuesday night. “For the most part, it seems as though the town is pretty aligned on most of these issues, so I’m looking forward to next year.”
Election results
Scroll over to see data. Source: Waterbury Town Clerk. Chart by Julia Bailey-Wells
Voting was held in the gym at Brookside Primary School where approximately 175 people gathered for the annual in-person town meeting Tuesday morning. The meeting marked a transition as longtime Town Moderator Jeff Kilgore passed the gavel to former selectboard chair and state representative Rebecca Ellis. Kilgore served as moderator for the past 20 years. Ellis was nominated and elected on a voice vote at the start of the meeting.
Assistant Town Clerk Beth Jones and Town Clerk Karen Petrovic watch over Waterbury's election all day. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
The main business conducted at the morning meeting involved voting by those present on budget-related articles. After questions and a presentation from Municipal Manager Tom Leitz, voters on a voice vote approved a $6.3 million budget for fiscal year 2024. Of that, $4.4 million will come from property taxes. It represents an increase of 3.3% over the 2023 budget.
Voters approved a request to borrow $380,000 to purchase a new tanker truck for the fire department. Also included in the budget were special articles to contribute tax dollars to 25 local and regional nonprofit organizations totaling $43,483.
Town officials anticipate that the tax rate to support the budget will be $.557 per $100 assessed property value, an increase of 2.4% over last year’s rate of just under 55 cents. The tax rate is set in early July based on an updated grand list of taxable property that’s finalized each April.
Aside from the select board race, none of the other local offices on the ballot were contested.
Petrovic, who serves as Town Clerk and Treasurer, was unopposed for election. She was re-elected to both positions which now are each three-year offices; she received 1,448 votes as clerk and 1,427 votes as treasurer.
Voters check in to pick up ballots in the gym at Brookside Primary School. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Bob Butler was a write-in candidate for re-election to the Board of Listers. He won with 131 votes; a write-in candidate needs 30 votes to win office.
Three seats were filled on the Library Commission: Michelle Baker to a five-year term received 1,392 votes; Anna Black received 1,347 votes to fill the remaining two years of an unexpired term; Deanna King was elected with 1,347 votes to one year of an unexpired term.
No one ran for an open five-year seat on the Cemetery Commission. The Select Board can appoint someone to the spot to serve until Town Meeting Day in 2025.
Notably absent on the Waterbury ballot were candidates for two open seats on the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board. Two of Waterbury’s four seats on the board were up for election with no declared candidates. The school board can make appointments to fill those spots on the 14-member board with individuals to serve until Town Meeting Day 2025.
