The Brattleboro RTM Finance Committee will meet on Monday, May 1, 2023 at 6:00pm in the Quiet Reading Room at the Brooks Memorial Library (224 Main Street).
The Brattleboro Tree Advisory Board will meet on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 4:15pm in the Hanna Cosman Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street).
New Brattleboro Selectboard members Peter Case and Franz Reichsman attended their first regular meeting since swearing-in. They were treated to discussions of rules and goals, the Windham Regional Commission, Representative Town Meeting, hazard mitigation, and more.
Town Manager John Potter suggested the board have a retreat to discuss short-term and longer-term goals and budgets, to which the board readily agreed.
Chair Ian Goodnow had an unusally rough night. He was 40 minutes past his usual 8 pm break time as he explained to the board his new goals for keeping the meeting on schedule. This included his new desire to limit public comments to just two minutes per person, per agenda item.
The first regular meeting of the new Brattleboro Selectboard will feature discussions of possible opioid lawsuit settlements, tax increment financing, loose ends from Representative Town meeting, and more. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.
The Brattleboro Selectboard held a very long first meeting of Spring.
Despite pleas from the public, they pressed on with many issues they felt could not wait for new board members. From Community Safety to ARPA, the board ignored suggestions to improve their public perception and to increase public input.
Due to the winter storm, which has caused power outages affecting tonight’s Representative Town Meeting District Caucuses and Information Session, this March 15, 2023 meeting has been cancelled. It is expected to be rescheduled to Wednesday, March 22, 2023 and be combined with the other Information Session previously planned for that evening. District Caucuses would begin at 5:30 PM on March 22, 2023, and the expanded Information Session to cover both the FY24 budget and the bond articles would begin at 6:00 PM at the Academy School Gym. Childcare will be available. Town Meeting Members and members of the public are invited to attend and ask questions. Everyone’s patience and understanding are requested as Town staff work to finalize these alternate plans.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will set aside over $2 million of the $2.7 million in ARPA funding for EMS related projects and potential start-up costs, leaving a much smaller amount for the public to discuss how to spend. This comes after promises of community outreach and public input to best determine the ways to spend the funds. Related, the monthly EMS update has been relegated to the Consent Agenda.
The board will also discuss how to spend the $300k in community safety funds. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The 2023 Brattleboro RTM Finance Committee Report on the Town FY24 Budget is currently available online on the Town website, Brattleboro.org. Paper copies are also available at the Town Manager’s Office at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Suite 208).
A special hearing by the Brattleboro Selectboard to consider health violations cited at 16 Washington Street had much discussion by all concerned – except one key individual: the property owner. Kurt Daims didn’t attend his hearing, and the board did not look kindly on such an action. He did issue a statement via BCS delivered to the board, but it wasn’t enough.
The new train station project was again described in detail, ARPA funds were discussed, the tree ordinance was adopted, and more.
Agenda:
*Final edits of budget report
*Vote to approve final budget report
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Brattleboro Municipal Center at 230 Main Street. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Selectboard is expected to enter immediately into executive session to discuss contracts and labor relations agreements with employees. The public may also participate in the meeting over Zoom. The attached agenda contains information on how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.
The Brattleboro Charter Revision Commission has been formed and work is getting underway to look at, poke at, discuss, debate and suggest revisions to the Brattleboro Charter.
Here are five revisions I think are worth considering:
Public restrooms were a major topic of discussion for the board at the regular Tuesday meeting. Nothing, of course, was decided. The board also allowed the Assessors ask Representative Town Meeting Representatives to agree to a town-wide re-appraisal of taxable properties.
There were financial and EMS updates, and a discussion of further revising meeting agenda formats to reflect anticipated times of agenda items. (Good luck with that… says this reporter.)
The Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office will be emailing out a poll to Representative Town Meeting Members regarding their interest in Town provided childcare for RTM. This email will come from executive assistant Jessica Sticklor (email address: jsticklor@brattleboro.org). Please be on the lookout for this email and please return the poll as soon as possible, especially if you are interested in Town provided childcare for RTM.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will take an almost-final look at the proposed FY24 budget at their next regular meeting. Items of interest – the FY23 budget may be overspent, the Town Attorney gets a raise to $120,563, construction of some sort of public bathrooms might get approved, and more.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Charter Review Commission will meet on Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 6:00pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street).
The Brattleboro RTM Finance Committee will meet on Monday, January 16, 2023 at 6:00pm in the Central Fire Station Meeting Room (103 Elliot Street).
The Brattleboro Selectboard held their first regular meeting of the new year, and new Town Manager John Potter was on hand to answer questions and advise the board.
They discussed changes to the liquor license application requirements, backing off a previous BAPC suggestion that hasn’t had the desired results. They also had an extended discussion about the type of Representative Town meeting to hold this year, and heard from the public about homeless people and cold weather.
The format for the next Representative Town Meeting – in-person, online, or hybrid – will be up for discussion at the Brattleoro Selectboard’s first regular meeting of 2023. They will also revise the liquor license process and review flagged items on their FY24 General Fund budget list.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation throughout the New Year!
The Brattleboro Human Services Committee will meet on Monday, December 5, 2022 at 4:00pm over Zoom.
Jessica Sticklor (she/her/hers)
Executive Assistant
Town of Brattleboro
Petitions for Brattleboro Town Officers, Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) Board Members, and Town Meeting Members are now available at the Town Clerk’s office. Town elections will be Tuesday, March 7 at the American Legion, located at 32 Linden St., Brattleboro, VT 05301.
Annual Representative Town Meeting will begin on Saturday, March 25, 2023. The location and format will be announced at a later date.
Petitions for Town Officers and WSESD Board Members must contain at least 30 valid signatures of registered Brattleboro voters and be filed in the clerk’s office no later than Monday, January 30 at 5 P.M. to have their name placed on the ballot.
The Brattleboro Selectboard held one of their longer meetings in some time. The public was active! Complaints about downtown crime, lack of action on climate change, and open meetings kept the board busy until after 10:30pm.
Of note, the Town acknowledged their violation of open meeting protocols and adopted a new two-part process to make sure it won’t happen again. This wasn’t enough for most people, who wanted a more detailed accounting of the EMS decision making process.
The board changed RTM districts to conform with state updates, adopted Utility and Parking budgets, and poured luke-warm water on a suggestion to bring back the electric trolley.
