Moretown Town Meeting: Earlier info session, later time for March 4 meeting
February 15, 2025 | By Lisa Scagliotti Town Meeting in Moretown will get a little head start this year with its informational meeting moved up to Feb. 18 to give voters a chance to get acquainted with the various items of business that they will decide on March 4.
Moretown is making some tweaks to its hybrid town meeting schedule this year with an informational meeting planned for Feb. 18. File photo by Lisa Scagliotti
And on Town Meeting Day itself, the in-person meeting will be held later in the day, starting at 4 p.m. with child care and a potluck dinner as part of the event.
The changes came as recommendations from an advisory group to the Moretown Selectboard as a way to help boost participation this year, said Karen Horn, a member of the volunteer group.
A community announcement puts it this way: “Moretown is switching up Town Meeting this year to make it easier for people to attend and engage in a bastion of participatory democracy. What you say at Town Meeting matters!”
Like many communities around Vermont, Moretown has a hybrid format for its March elections. Townspeople gather for an in-person meeting on Town Meeting Day where some business is decided by those present. The town budget and elections for town offices are conducted by Australian (paper) ballots in a daylong vote.
The pre-town meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, is just for discussion. Horn said town officials will present the various items of business that will decided on Town Meeting Day and people can ask questions. That will be held in the cafeteria at Moretown Elementary School.
On March 4, Town Meeting Day, the in-person business meeting will begin at 4 p.m. in the gym at Moretown Elementary School. There will be tables with information from various town committees and organizations, Horn said. Childcare will be provided and a town potluck will follow the business meeting.
During the day on March 4, Australian ballot voting will be conducted at the town offices from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Town Clerk Cherilyn Brown said the hope is for more people to be able to get informed before they vote and to participate in the in-person portion of the March 4 meeting. “We’re trying something new this year,” she said.
The announcement to local voters appeals points out the changes made to be more convenient. “The slopes will have closed, the work-day is almost over, children will be provided entertainment, and a potluck dinner awaits,” it says.
There are online forms for people to sign up to say what dish they will bring and to put children on the child care list.
As for town business, here is a rundown of what will be decided at the in-person meeting and on the paper ballots.
Decisions in person
At the in-person meeting on March 4 starting at 4 p.m., voters present will decide the following:
To elect a moderator
To set the property tax payment date for Nov. 1 and to set the penalties for delinquent taxes (4% for the first 30 days and 8% afterward)
To allocate $20,724 to some 21 local and regional nonprofit organizations. These appropriations are grouped into several questions, each totaling just under $5,000. By state law, requests of $5,000 or more must be voted on by Australian ballot, Brown explained.
Some of the larger requests include $4,999 for the Mad River Valley Senior Citizens Inc., $3,750 for Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, $1,400 for Central Vermont Council on Aging, $1,200 for Washington County Mental Health, $1,200 for Central Vermont Adult Basic Education, and $1,000 for The Children’s Room in Waterbury.
A request for $6,250 for the Waterbury Area Senior Center is a question on the Town Meeting Day paper ballot.
Also on the Moretown Town Meeting Day ballot are:
Elections for local offices including three selectboard members, a delinquent tax collector, a cemetery commissioner, three library trustees and a second constable. None of the elections have contests. Selectboard members Michael Brown and Tom Martin are running for two one-year terms; Don Wexler is running for re-election for a three-year term. Cemetery commissioner and two library trustee positions have no candidates on the ballot, although write-ins are possible.
The proposed town budget for the 2025 fiscal year totaling $1,859,294 which represents an increase of 12.9% over the 2024 budget.
A question asking whether the town should join the Mad River Valley Recreation District as a 50% member which comes with an assessment of $20,000. More information on this item is on the town website.
Find a sample ballot, the Town Meeting warning, and other town meeting details on the Moretown town website here.