CHESTER, Vt. – The Chester Selectboard voted on Oct. 21 to add a question asking voters to approve voting on the municipal budget by Australian ballot to the warning for the upcoming Town Meeting in March 2027. The question will be voted on the floor, as all such proposals are required to be in Chester. The selectboard had been informed in mid-September by Town Manager Julie Hance that a petition to add the Australian ballot question to the warning would likely be forthcoming should the board not do so itself.
A short discussion preceded the motion’s approval, mostly revolving around the possibility of moving Town Meeting to a different day of the week in the hopes of encouraging greater participation once in-person attendance at the yearly budget presentation was no longer a requirement for voting on the budget. Hance told the board that Town Meeting can be moved to any day between the first Tuesday in March and the preceding Saturday, but no concrete decision was reached. Ultimately, the question of whether to move Town Meeting day must also be voted on at a future Town Meeting.
The board also approved a fund balance policy for the Town of Chester, as recommended by the town’s auditor, Ron Smith. The policy indicates that Chester will maintain 60 days worth of operating expenses – roughly $730,000 – as a balance to be used in emergencies and to cover temporary expenses in lieu of borrowing money.
The board responded to several questions regarding how it proposes to create such a balance, including from resident and former selectboard member Bill Lindsay, who said that, while he feels that the policy is good and helpful, he is concerned about public reaction to a budget line item exclusively intended to create a reserve. “I think the idea is good, but when you reach into somebody’s pocket,” Lindsay said to the board, “they think ‘why do I have to contribute more money?’”
Vice Chair Arne Jonynas explained that the policy itself does not specify how the town will go about building the fund balance, and that that will need to be an ongoing discussion among the board members as the budget is constructed. There was also some talk among board members of placing a portion of the Cyprus Mineral Funds into the fund balance, though board member Peter Hudkins cautioned that, once the Cyprus Funds become a potential source for the fund balance, it could lead to their depletion.
The board also took up its ongoing discussion of a possible transition to a July 1 – June 30 fiscal year with quarterly tax collection on Sept. 1, Dec. 1, March 1, and June 1. Currently, taxes are collected for a calendar year, Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, and due in full on Sept. 15.
Because of the six-month gap between the end of the calendar year and the beginning of the following fiscal year, the first municipal budget paid on the quarterly schedule will need to reflect 18 months’ worth of operating expenses. Therefore, should the town decide to adopt the fiscal year, tax payments will be collected as follows: Tax bills would be due in full on Sept. 15 of 2027 for the period covering Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2027. The next tax bill would be the first quarterly bill due on Sept. 1, 2028. However, the first four quarterly payments would cover Jan. 1, 2028 – June 30, 2029, a period of 18 months, to cover the transition to the fiscal year calendar. The funds covering the six-month gap from Jan. 1 – June 30, 2028, will be spread across the first four quarterly payments.
Of note, this 18-month budget applies only to the municipal portion of taxes, as the school is already on a fiscal year, Hance explained. She also noted that taxpayers may still pay their taxes in full on Sept. 1 if they wish to do so.
Additionally, Hance told the board that, while interest will accrue on late quarterly payments at 1% per month, penalties cannot be assessed on late payments until a full year has elapsed.
The board also revisited its discussion on lighting for the Depot Street sidewalk project, which it had approved at its last meeting. Hance told the board that it was brought to her attention that VTrans changes its standard lighting routinely, and thus, if the board approves only the standard lighting, it may not be able to match the same lighting in the future, a relevant concern since the intention expressed at the previous meeting was to eventually extend the pedestrian lighting from the intersection of Depot Street and Bargfrede Road to the Chester Green.
The ornamental lighting, Hance said, is estimated at $495,000, a $45,000 increase over the standard lighting, of which Chester will pay 20%, or about $9,000.
After some discussion about the necessity and aesthetics of the lighting, a split board hesitantly gave Hance approval to pursue the ornamental lighting. The general feeling of those in favor, which included Chair Lee Gustafson and board members Tim Roper and, eventually, Lauren Fierman, was that the lighting could enhance Chester’s economic vitality by guiding visitors toward the Green and increasing the town’s aesthetic value.