ROCKINGHAM, Vt. – At the Tuesday, Nov. 21 Rockingham Selectboard meeting, board members Rick Cowan and Bonnie North handed out copies of the survey they created to poll Rockingham voters on town meeting attendance.
North mentioned that there had been a delay in mailing out postcards due to them having incomplete addresses for some registered voters. North and Cowan said they were working with the town office to locate the missing information. Once the postcards are printed and mailed, North said, there would be paper copies distributed at the library, senior center, and town hall. The survey will also be posted on the town website and social media sites.
Everyone agreed the low voter turnout had been getting worse over the past few years, and perhaps was a fallout of the pandemic. North called it a “dangerous situation” and remarked, “my hope is that, regardless of what the survey responses tell us, it will raise awareness among our voters that we need to do something. If you really want [things] to change, you’ve got to come to the next town meeting and vote.”
Scott Pickup, town manager, announced the town was no longer collecting leaves, and asked that residents take any remaining yard materials to the recycling center. Pickup also reminded everyone that the annual Bellows Falls Festival of Lights was coming up on Dec. 9.
Library director Ian Graham presented the board with the latest draft of the library’s operating budget, and outlined some of the issues they were currently facing.
Despite dealing with rising operating costs and moderate profits from book sales, Graham said the library was still moving forward with new programs and making more resources available to the community. He mentioned that they were proceeding with a grant application that had been delayed due to the floods, and felt confident they would be awarded the funds.
Graham told the board they’d signed a three-year agreement with the union for all employees that work at least 19 hours per week.
With town budget season well underway, the board also heard from Deb Wright, Rockingham Social Service Review Committee chair, who reviewed their fiscal year 2024 budget, and presented the committee’s recommendations for the board to consider.
Pickup reported on the town’s major capital projects and debt schedule, detailing some concerns such as upcoming loan payments, skyrocketing costs to purchase vehicles, equipment, and materials, and high interest rates for current loans.
He asked for the board’s help in finding ways to offset expenses for the bridge repair projects and the completion of the myriad ongoing construction projects underway. He told the board they “will need to take some serious looks” at how to accommodate requests and continue to maintain public safety services.
“It is important to be able to present the public with the bigger picture,” Pickup urged, “so hard decisions can be made [with regards to future disbursements coming in 2025].” On a positive note, Pickup shared that the town could expect to see “significant relief” in 2026.
“There is some good news in these numbers,” Pickup stated. “It’s not all doom and gloom.”
Pickup pointed out that because Vermont is such a small state, the state representatives are fairly accessible, and will work with the town to help find solutions to budget shortfalls.
The selectboard will meet next on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
Agendas and minutes for the selectboard meetings are available to view at www.rockinghamvt.org.