Having lived in Brattleboro a long time and outside of Brattleboro a short time, I continue to wonder about Brattleboro’s concern about being a “hub town” to surrounding communities.
It comes up in discussion, and the argument is generally that Brattleboro is providing free services to freeloading neighboring towns – they use our services and we aren’t compensated.
It sounds reasonable, but how exactly is Brattleboro going uncompensated? For what?
The Brattleboro Selectboard helped Groundworks take a step forward with a shelter/campus project. Their approval came after a passionate plea by a next door neighbor to preserve the building.
The meeting seemed a bit like an enjoyable poetry reading at times, with ideas and words flowing back and forth. Everyone caught the groove, and they wrapped up with lots of time to settle in for the State off the Union address.
Will Brattleboro Town Manager Peter Elwell get a five year contract extension? Most likely, at the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
A hearing on modified parking, some VCDP grants, and the scheduling of informational meetings for Representative Town Meeting representatives will occur. There is also one item on the agenda purely for the sake of not having it on the agenda any longer. You can, as always, bring up other matters not on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Selectboard sent an approved FY20 budget to Representative Town Meeting as part of the annual Representative Town Meeting Warning.
Representatives from the arts community, meanwhile, asked that an article requesting 2% of the Rooms & Meals tax be allocated for an Arts Fund for public arts projects, $8,424, be placed on the Representative Town Meeting Warning. The board said no, telling them it was hasty and didn’t have enough detail.
Brattleboro voters get a choice this year for all open Selectboard seats.
For the 3 year term, new candidate Ben Coplan will be running against incumbant Tim Wessel. Voters will be able to pick one.
For the 1 year term, four candidates have declared. Oscar Heller, Elizabeth McLoughlin, Daniel Quipp, and Franz Reichsman are the options. Voters can pick two.
The raiding of the Rooms & Meals tax revenue has begun. Two private organizations in town have asked for 10% of the annual Rooms & Meals local option tax revenue to be given to them. They’d like nearly $40,000 and in return they offer a vague promise to promote Brattleboro. It’s not a terrible idea, but it hasn’t been thought out much beyond asking for money.
The Brattleboro Selectboard faced multiple groups of unhappy citizens at Tuesday evening’s meeting. Unhappy about inspection fees, unhappy about local option sales tax, unhappy about, well… lots of things.
It was around nine o’clock when the board got to their first item of regular business. Yes, one of those meetings.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hear their first request for an exemption from the relatively new Plastic Bag Ordinance. Zephyr Designs is making the request.
Culture Made Vermont will get lots of goodies, mileage will be certified, an EPA grant applied for, liquor permits approved, and nearly final FY20 budget thoughts presented. You can weigh in on spending Rooms & Meals taxes on promotions and the precedent it sets, or bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The first meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard in 2019. Read on for discussions of the FY20 budget, spending 10% of the Rooms & Meals tax for promotion, changes to the parking system, Police and Fire facilities matters (including a new carport) and home rule potential.
Dozer the (Maybe) Dangerous Dog will be one of the first things the Brattleboro Selectboard takes up in the New Year, unless an agreement is reached prior to Tuesday’s meeting. The Police Chief plans to bring additional witnesses and evidence.
The board will also take up other big issues, such as remaining work on the Police-Fire Facilities project, the FY20 budget, changes to parking, and a Municipal Self Governance Proposal from the Vermont league of Cities and Towns. You may continue to bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation in 2019, as in past years.
The Brattleboro Selectboard took up FY18, FY20, financial audits, Whetstone hydrology, and many, many grants as part of their final meeting of 2018. January scheduling was also an issue that was resolved, sort of.
Hydrologic and hydraulic matters will be on the agenda at the next meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. It’s all part of the Tri-Park Housing Cooperative Master Plan.
The board will review FY18 finances, discuss FY20 budget final steps, and approve a number of grants. You can participate, of course, and bring up other itmes not on the agenda during public participation.
I’ve been watching Brattleboro budgets for quite a while, through multiple selectboards, three Town Managers and one Interim Town Manager. I’ve watched many Representative Town Meetings as well and participated in a few. That’s a lot of meetings.
While I’ve come to the conclusion that Representative Town Meeting doesn’t really work, I know that it has become cherished and it is unlikely that abolishing it will be on the ballot anytime soon. Therefore, it should be improved.
Read on for coverage of the Brattleboro Selectboard’s regular December 4th meeting. The mini-trial in the middle of the meeting regarding Dozer the Dangerous Dog took a turn when the owner made claims that it was not Dozer, but Buddy, her other dog. This led to much confusion in the courtroom.
In more substantial and long term news, the Department of Public Works got the go-ahead to do a feasibility study to see what new facilities would entail. Nothing will be built anytime soon.
Time once again for the animated, interactive, Brattleboro-centric, advent-ish calendar, featuring different scenes and local facts, sponsored by no one. The iBrattleboro Christmas Calendar.
While it is continually popular, we were debating whether to bring this back again this year. The Christmas Calendar is built in Flash, an ancient programming tool that is fading away. iPads and many other devices just don’t allow it anymore.
Is Dozer a dangerous dog? Must Dozer be contained, leashed and muzzled? The Chief of Police says yes, the owner says no, and the Brattleboro Selectboard will get to decide at their next regular meeting on Tuesday.
The DPW will begin looking at options for improvements to their facilities on Fairground Road, the shiny discs on the parking garage will become a permanent installation, SeVEDS will review their year and ask for money, the Assessor’s Office will talk FY20 budget, and the board will approve some grants. You can bring up other items, of course, during public participation.
At Tuesday’s special meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard discussed adding a 1% Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) to items purchased in the ‘boro. Adding this additional revenue stream to the Town coffers has been attempted before. Most recently it barely passed as an advisory vote, but was ultimately rejected.
The main argument in favor of the tax usually involves the expected revenue. In 2015, the estimate was $600,000. This, in theory, could offset property taxes by that amount.
But, taxpayers have seen these property tax reducing “deals” many times before, and property taxes do not go down. Spending rises to meet the new income.
A full meeting for the Brattleboro Selectboard just prior to Thanksgiving. Discussions of the FY20 Budget, the Downtown Alliance, affordable housing, downstairs tenants driving someone nuts, and more took place, plus there was the introduction of a new 25 year plan for replacing town equipment, as well as a new suggestion to put some money aside, like a layaway plan, to buy future fire trucks.
It’s the return of the 1% Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) at the next Brattleboro Selectboard meeting. The board will try once again to convince residents and businesses to add a 1% sales tax to purchases in the ‘boro, despite competition from online shopping and nearby states.
The Downtown Brattleboro Alliance will give their semi-annual report and present a budget for the coming year, a private drive will be named, finances reviewed, and the board will discuss housing, and economic & community development.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda, or a side dish, by attending the meeting at the Municipal Center on Tuesday.
The Brattleboro Selectboard officially kicked off FY20 budget season at a meeting Tuesday night, in which they learned about the Police and Fire departments and where the Town expects to find revenue to pay for the budget.
It’s nice that the Selectboard reviews these matters, but this is really about you — the Brattleboro resident or visitor.
