For stories pertaining to the town of Brattleboro at large and its government.
The Brattleboro Selectboard continues their month of many meetings with a regular meeting on Tuesday where they will approve of some paving grants, approve a new mural, discuss tax stabilization for a farm, and get financial and fire updates.
The big item should be the budget discussion about solid waste options.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Finance Committee will meet on Monday, April 14, 2025 at 6:00pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room.
The Charter Revision Commission will meet Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 7:00pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room and over Zoom.
The Brattleboro Selectboard held a rare listening session Tuesday evening. It was held at the Library and the topic the FY26 budget.
The board was quiet; some took notes as they heard from many community members responding to three pre-set questions which enabled a wide-ranging discussion and quite a few passionate, eloquent arguments for various desired outcomes.
The Brattleboro Selectboard begins the double-meeting stretch, with meetings on both Tuesdays and Thursday for most of April as they try to compress an enormous amount of work into a short time frame. First up – a listening session on Tuesday. Go tell the board your thoughts on the budget for the coming year. They are redoing it and want to know how you would like it redone. It would be very helpful for RTM members to attend, too.
Thursday the board will review what was heard, and figure out how to turn that into a series of useful meetings that results in a budget that will pass Representative Town Meeting.
Hear public participation
Consider motion: Members of the Committee who disagree with parts or the whole of the
majority-approved report have the right to have that dissent included in the Committee
report.
The newest version of the Brattleboro Selectboard had their first regular meeting, and it was quite something. Chair Liz McLoughlin kept things under control but things weren’t going her way most of the evening. The public was riled, the new members had “ideas,” and her suggestions weren’t always easily agreed upon by others. It was a long meeting.
The primary focus of the night was what to do about the rejected FY26 budget and how to go about doing it. It’s not 100% determined, but generally there will be lots of meetings in April (most Tuesdays and Thursdays), including a listing session to hear why the budget was rejected, a meeting to discuss what was heard at the listening session, and more meetings to discuss whatever then needs to be discussed. There will also be one or two special Representative Town Meetings to vote on whatever gets presented.
And, our new Fire Chief was sworn-in. There was much rejoicing.
The Brattleboro Listers will meet on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 3:00pm at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Rm. 101).
The newest iteration of the Brattleboro Selectboard will ease into their work year at their first regular meeting with an approval of an outdoor consumption permit for Snow Republic, then will take assignments for signing warrants and committee assignments and adopt rules of conduct.
The Town Manager will review the budget re-development process with the board and supply his list of proposed cuts – to services.
The final item will be approval of a plan to re-paint bike lanes on Western Avenue in a new single-side-of-the-road pattern from Green Street to Exit 2 when the road is paved later this year. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation, and the board is free to engage with you on those items but not take any action.
About 24 hours after emergency personnel responded to multiple fires at the School for International Training (SIT) campus, nine of the 26 buildings on campus have been cleared for occupancy, with three more expected to open tomorrow.
The American Red Cross plans to keep the temporary shelter open and provide food to those affected through the weekend as more buildings are cleared for occupancy. About three dozen people will remain in the shelter through Friday evening.
“At this time, SIT is taking things day by day as we focus on the well-being of our refugee students,” said Tim Rivera, Senior Advisor of World Learning & SIT. “We continue to assess the situation in all of our buildings and are looking forward to when we can resume normal operations on our campus. We would like to express our enormous gratitude to the Red Cross for their care and professionalism throughout.”
What have you noticed? Little things matter.
Add any items that have caught your eye recently… such as:
– The Estey Organ Museum is featured in the AAA Explorer magazine. They got a nice photo, a few paragraphs of praise and even a mention of their program to give away organs.
New Brattleboro Selectboard members Oscar Heller, Amanda Ellis-Thurber, Isaac Evans Franz were sworn in by Town Clerk Hilary Francis to begin the organizational meeting.
Peter Case nominated a slate of candidates: Elizabeth McLoughlin as Chair, Oscar Heller as Vice Chair, and Isaac Evans-Frantz as Clerk. The board voted 5-0 to approve the slate.
Returning Chair Liz then took comments from the board and public participation.
Following the Representative Town Meeting’s (RTM) vote not to approve the Town of Brattleboro’s proposed FY26 budget, the newly seated Selectboard will begin work to revise and resubmit a new budget proposal.
“We stated our reasoning and knew it was an uphill climb,” said Selectboard member Peter Case, “but we live in a community that still respects democracy, so now it’s back to the drawing board.”
The original FY26 budget included a combination of strategic investments to address community safety concerns and build long-term capacity. It proposed funding for additional police officers to respond to sustained increases in crime, while also supporting the behind- the-scenes work needed to launch One Brattleboro—a collaborative initiative that brings together public safety, social service providers, and community partners to reduce future reliance on police through prevention, outreach, and coordinated response.
Due to reduced staffing, meetings with the Town Manager’s Office will be by appointment only for the foreseeable future. Please contact Jessica Sticklor at 802-251-8115 or email her at jsticklor@brattleboro.gov to make an appointment. You can also email the Town Manager directly at townmanager@brattleboro.gov.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold an organizational meeting on Monday, March 24, 2025 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Brattleboro Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 212) and 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. There is no backup for this meeting.
The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 5:00pm in the Brooks Memorial Library Community Meeting Room (224 Main Street).
The Charter Revision Commission invites Brattleboro residents to a discussion on the form of Brattleboro’s annual town meeting.
The meeting will take place on Monday, March 31, 2025, 6 to 8 p.m. in the Main Reading Room at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street, and will be broadcast live on BCTV Channel 1079, BCTV’s YouTube Channel, Facebook Page and website, Brattleborotv.org.
The Charter and information about the Charter Revision Commission, including a summary of the forms of annual town meeting and a Frequently Asked Questions sheet, are available at Brattleboro.gov.
Due to the ongoing thaw and potential for continued rainfall, drivers are advised to exercise caution on gravel roads within Brattleboro. Muddy and soft road surfaces can lead to uneven and challenging driving conditions. The Brattleboro Department of Public Works will be monitoring these roads and providing status updates daily through roadside signage, which will be placed at the end of gravel roads throughout town. Drivers are recommended to avoid driving on gravel roads, if possible. If you must drive on a muddy road, go slow and use extreme caution.
CAZ CLARK fills a place in our town we didn’t even know we needed. Working at our Food Co-op, Caz interacts with folks in need and finds ways to help connect them to many local organizations. Caz has a view of Brattleboro that’s gritty, real, timely and hopeful.
A Canal Street Corridor Plan is in the works to improve pedestrian safety and other things along that route. The Brattleboro Selectboard will learn about this project at their next special meeting.
The board will also hear about new permit fees, a change to zoning relating to municipal water & sewer service, recent work of ONE Brattleboro, EMS reimbursements, and a safe neighborhoods project. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Charter Revision Commission will meet on Monday, March 17, 2025 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room (230 Main Street, Rm 212) and over zoom.
The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, March 20, 2025 at 8:00am in the Selectboard Meeting Room (230 Main Street, Rm 212) and over Zoom.
