Duxbury Town Meeting preview
By Abbie Kopelowitz | Community News Service
Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
March 1 is Town Meeting Day and Duxbury town officials will host an informational meeting Tuesday, Feb. 22, over Zoom for local residents to learn more about the proposed town budget and other ballot items.
Voting has already begun. Ballots are available to vote in person at the town offices or by request by mail from the town clerk, although time is running short for mail requests.
The Town Clerk section of the Duxbury website has election day details, the town annual report, as well as sample ballots with the Town Meeting Day articles as well as links to ballot items from the Harwood Unified Union School District and the Central Vermont Career Center.
On March 1, voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in a drive-through format at the town offices and highway garage site along Rt. 100. Voters may drop off ballots they received in the mail or get their ballots to vote in their vehicles on site.
This year, there are eight articles on the Duxbury ballot to vote on.
Article 1 asks voters to approve spending $1,145,499 for the combined highway and general fund budget. This is an 8.9% increase from what voters approved last year. According to the proposed town budget posted on the town website, the tax rate to support the budget would be 77 cents per $100 of assessed property value, up from 71 cents last year.
Article 2 would appropriate $30,000 to the pavement escrow account which is designated to pay for fixing the few areas of paved road in Duxbury.
Article 3 asks voters to allocate $111,000 to the capital reserve account for future long-term equipment purchases.
Article 4 would set October 14, 2022 as the date property taxes are due. It also specifies a penalty of 8% on taxes not paid by that date and a 1% per month interest charge on late payments.
Article 5 asks voters to authorize spending up to $145,000 to purchase a tandem truck using money from the capital reserve fund.
Article 6 is a standing request for voters to authorize tax payments to be made to the town treasurer and late payments to the collector of delinquent taxes.
Article 7 aims to gauge public support for the selectboard to look into contracting with a renewable energy company to install solar panels on a site described as “the old gravel pit.” Selectboard Chair Mari Pratt said the 3.5-acre site is on the hill across Route 100 from the town garage and offices.
The concept would be for the town to lease the land for a solar project. If the article passes, the Selectboard will issue a Request for Proposals to determine what companies are interested in such a project.
Article 8 is an update to town zoning regulations that require voter approval. The update coincides with a recent revision to the town plan, Pratt explained.
Town officials will discuss details of the ballot items at Tuesday’s informational meeting held over Zoom. The public may join online or by telephone. Details on how to participate are online on the town website.
Here’s another post looking at the candidates for four of the five seats on the Duxbury Select Board.
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