A snowy evening, and a short meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard resulted in an approved budget for Representative Town Meeting members, an approved Town Meeting warnings.
Questions for this year’s slate of Brattleboro selectboard candidates have been sent. We’ll publish the answers as we get ’em.
Reminder to those running for other offices – feel free to publish your own candidate statements and opinion pieces anytime. Voters are interested and looking for information.
Vermont Governor Scott gave his budget address today. Here’s the full text of his remarks, following a bit of PR from his office
….:
“Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today delivered his fifth budget address to the General Assembly, presenting a balanced budget that, with the help of federal stimulus, includes $210 million in bold new investments to strengthen the economy, create more and better paying jobs, and address big priorities, like downtown revitalization, infrastructure, broadband and climate change. All without raising taxes or existing fees or cutting essential services.
The $6.83 billion budget lays the foundation for a strong economic recovery in all of Vermont’s 14 counties as we build back from the pandemic. This includes $123 million over two years in state capital construction, $680 million in roads, bridges, and other transportation projects, $1.99 billion in general fund spending and $1.89 billion for preK-12 education.
Vermont’s vaccination enrollment program is open for people 75 and older. It is a statewide, centralized registry system. No need to call your hospital or doctor’s office.
They would prefer you to register online, but there is a phone number: 855-722-7878
Hours for the phone center are: Monday-Friday, 8:15 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
A few things to know:
At their next meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard will wrap up their budget season by approving the final FY22 budget and sending it with warned articles to Representative Town Meeting representatives. They’ll also accept a COVID grant and make committee appointments. It could be their shortest meeting in quite some time. You can extend it by bringing up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Selectboard accepted the report of the Community Safety Review Committee with a unanimous 5-0 vote and sent the document to Town staff. Staff will annotate and organize the recommendations for the board, evaluating the legality and logistics for each recommendation.
The board also heard about plans for a new water treatment plant at a new estimated cost of $12.5 million. They approved of a charter change amendment to be put to voters on March 2. And they recommend to Town meeting representatives that the police training budget remain at $27,000 rather than be increased to $40,000.
The Brattleboro Selectboard is likely to add a Charter Amendment to the Town Meeting Warning that would eliminate the need for future Charter changes to approved by the state legislature.
The board will hear an update on the Water Treatment facility project, continue finalizing their FY22 budget for RTM consideration, and will continue their discussion of the Community Safety Review Committee’s recommendations. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.
As I continue to ponder Representative Town Meeting system used by Brattleboro, I find myself coming to the same conclusion: it either needs to be reformed, or it needs to go.
The biggest problem is representation. While voters can elect “representatives” to participate in Representative Town Meeting, there is almost no representation going on. Unlike selectboard candidates, reps rarely state to voters what they stand for. Reps rarely hold district meetings to discuss issues. Voting records of reps aren’t tallied or made public. And almost all the information reps take to Representative Town Meeting is given to them by town officials, not constituents.
Voters, despite picking names on district ballots, often don’t know who represents them, how to reach them, or how those reps have voted. Writing in names of people better known to a voter has been eliminated, unless that person is deemed “official” through registering as a candidate. Sometimes reps get slots through the caucus process, under the radar of most district voters.
There is almost no accountability in this system.
The Brattleboro Selectboard approved of a few items for their FY22 budget recommendations, raising the amount for paving and agreeing to the increases for BCTV and Human Services. They also continued their discussion of the community safety report, and will continue to continue that discussion next week and in the future.
Outstanding FY22 budget issues will be discussed at the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. How much paving should be done? Should board members get more compensation? Should one local media outlet (BCTV) be favored with funding from taxpayers? How much should Brattleboro spend on Human Services?
The board will also continue discussion of the Community Safety Review report and extend a contract for financial services. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
Marginalized populations of Brattleboro were a common theme for the Brattleboro Selectboard at their first meeting of the new year. They struggled with Human Services funding requests, then listened to an extended overview of the Community Safety report.
Everyone is encouraged to read the full report then return next week for more discussion of this and other topics.
2021, for me, marks 20 years of watching the Brattleboro Selectboard.
I first turned the show on when we moved to Brattleboro in 2001. At first, it was to learn about Brattleboro and what was going on here, but soon the experience evolved more into watching something akin to a soap opera.
The show has the regular cast of characters: Town Manager, department heads, and support staff. They stay on the show season after season with few changes, though major roles get recast from time to time. New roles have been introduced, too: the Assistant Town Manager, the Human Services Director, and the Sustainability Coordinator are examples.
Here’s the Executive Summary from the Community Safety Review report, followed by a pdf of the full report. You can also download this and other related materials on the Town of Brattleboro website. This report will be reviewed and discussed at the next meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
Welcome to January 2021. Here is the continuation of daily COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro. Scroll down the new comments for the latest.
To kick off the new year, the Brattleboro Selectboard will hear a report and recommendations from the Community Safety Review Committee. The board will also consider an increase to Human Services funding, contemplate mailed ballots for Town Meeting Day, and call for volunteers to serve on committees.
It’s time to look around and jot down things you’ve noticed around Brattleboro. Such as:
Temperatures in the 50’s and river flooding after heavy rains, for Christmas.
Potholes getting an early start…
Print Town book has been published…
Here’s what the state of Vermont says about gathering during the holidays:
For the period from December 23 – January 2, one household may gather with one other trusted household. That is a maximum of two households gathering during this period.
Staying home and with people you live with is still the lowest risk. Gathering with people you do not live with is not recommended for people who are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19 or people who care for them.
If you do gather, the Health Department strongly encourages getting tested 7 days afterwards.
If you gather with anyone from out of state, everyone in both households must quarantine for 14 days, or 7 days with a negative test.
The travel policy has not changed. If you travel outside of Vermont, you must follow quarantine requirements.
Shall the voters of Brattleboro be allowed to vote to opt-in to retail sales of cannabis? The Brattleboro Selectboard will decide it the question will be asked on March 2 ballots at their next special meeting.
They’ll also accept a planning grant and continue with their review of the FY22 budget, which is a great time for Representative Town Meeting Reps to pay attention and report back to all of us about what the budget will contain.
I think we all needed this snowfall. There’s something calming about a big blanket of snow that keeps people inside, vehicles off the road, and so on.
It purifies. Think how happy Dorothy and friends were to have Glinda cover them in snowy flakes. It took away the witch’s spell.
The Brattleboro Selectboard voted 3-2 in favor of a rental housing ordinance that limits the amount landlords can collect upfront from new tenants. It takes effect in February.
The board was unanimous in the support of monsters.
