The Brattleboro Selectboard held their special meeting to continue discussion of the FY15 budget on Thursday with a large crowd in attendance that included many town meeting representatives and town staff, along with others including some that rarely attend public meetings of any sort.

No decisions were made, but the Selectboard seemed to be sticking to their previously announced views, a 3-2 majority favoring significant cuts beyond the elimination of the second bond.

The public seemed divided as well, with some insisting they could afford increases and would like the same budget as before, while others expressed real issues with tax increases and asked for relief.

Yet another conflict on Elliot. The second in recent days. This evening a woman at 175 Elliot St. was transported with a head & neck injury. When the head injury occured this afternoon she refused transport. But tonight she was in severe pain. Brutal assault. Are the people on Elliot getting more violent? I wonder. How do we have a dialogue about this?

The traffic light at Main and High Streets has been temporarily repaired with spare parts and is back in service after one of the components was damaged on Tuesday. The strobe light which indicates when the train is crossing Bridge Street is still out of service at this intersection and will NOT activate until the repair is complete.

Department of Public Works
211 Fairground Road, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301
Tel: 802-254-4255 • Fax: 802-257-2316 • E-mail: brattdpw@sover.net

For clarification on the location of the Selectboard meeting tonight:

The Special Selectboard meeting tonight (May 1) is scheduled in the BAMS (Brattleboro Area Middle School) multi-purpose room at 6:30pm. The “BAMS Front Entrance” door on the south side of the building will be unlocked. Parking is available by the BAMS front entrance, in the “parking lot bus loop” lot on the southwest side of BAMS building, and at the Community Bible Chapel on Atwood Street. For additional information, please contact the Town Manager’s office (251-8151).

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

There have been a few locations mentioned for the Special Budget Meeting scheduled for tonight at 6:30 PM.  I called the Town Manager’s Office this morning, and Executive Secretary Jan Anderson tells me that the meeting will take place in the BAMS (Middle School) Multi Purpose Room.  

People who go to the BAMS Gymnasium (as listed in the official meeting warning) or the BUHS Multi Purpose Room (as listed in the Brooks Library notice yesterday) will be directed to the proper location at BAMS Multi Purpose Room.

Just wanted to clear that up as I was feeling confused myself.  And as Jan says, there will be signs so it should be easy to find once you get to there.

This pie chart shows all the town’s major budget areas so people can see graphically how they compare. The budget is largely driven by personnel costs – salaries, insurance, retirement, etc. – for the people providing us with services.

A lot of people seem to be writing and talking about the police-fire project as if the $9 million bond would be a major factor in the town budget. While it is certainly nothing to sneeze at and it may have been the straw the broke the camel’s back with respect to passing the budget, in the scope of all the town’s expenses the project is just that – a straw. Reducing the town’s budget (and property taxes) is by no means as simple as just skipping the $9M bond.

(Edit: slide tweaked Thursday afternoon to show $9M first bond payment more exactly as $261,473, add FY13 and FY14 budgets, and show scale of impact of $9M bond on future budgets.)

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Monday, May 5, 2014 at 5:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:00pm to discuss a personnel matter.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The traffic light at Main and High Streets has been placed on flash mode until further notice. The traffic light pole was struck on Tuesday by a truck navigating Main Street, causing considerable damage. Parts are on order and until they are received and repairs completed, the light will remain on flash.

-Department of Public Works

211 Fairground Road, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301
Tel: 802-254-4255 • Fax: 802-257-2316 • E-mail: brattdpw@sover.net

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, May 1, 2014, at 6:30pm in the Brattleboro Area Middle School gymnasium.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

In a wonderfully weird and short special meeting on the FY15 town budget, the number of attendees exceeded expectations causing the meeting to be delayed until a later date and bigger location. Possibly Thursday, and possibly at a school.

The large turnout for a budget discussion seemed to take the board by pleasant surprise, though there was minor disagreement over what to do about it.