Moretown’s Town Meeting was incorrectly warned for 7 a.m. on Tuesday, March 7, though it was actually held at 9 a.m. In advance of Town Meeting, the town held an informational meeting on Monday, March 6. It was an opportunity for residents to ask questions about the budget and other articles before they voted on Tuesday. The $1,455,103 budget shows a 6.5% increase over last year’s budget, which the select board explained was largely due to an across-the-board 7% salary increase for town employees. The town budget was approved by a margin of 262 votes to 23.
At the informational meeting on Monday, there was a question about the breakdown of the town’s ARPA spending. Select board members said $1,271 was spent in 2021 on an Owl recording device for municipal meetings to allow remote participation and $50,000 was allocated in 2022 to CV Fiber for fiber internet. The total of ARPA funds spent in 2022 was around $72,000. The balance was spent on improvements to the Town Hall. There was also a question about what the $10,000 for the maintenance reserve fund, which the board said would primarily cover the cost of equipment and vehicles.
The board said that proposed changes to the zoning regulations will allow for denser residential building in the town, but locations are dependent on wastewater availability. The zoning amendments are available to view at moretownvt.org.
Tom Martin and Don Wexler were reelected to one-year terms on the select board. Robin Campbell was elected to a three-year term on the board. Cherilyn Brown was elected to three-year terms as the town clerk and treasurer, as well as a one-year term as trustee of public money.
Ben Clark was elected to a three-year term on the Harwood Unified Union School District Board, to serve alongside Moretown’s other representative, board chair Kirsten Rodgers. The town allocated $25,000 to the Neck of the Woods Childcare Center by a margin of 181 to 102.
Out of Moretown’s 1,495 registered voters, 291 cast ballots on Tuesday (19.5%).
