PLYMOUTH, Vt. – The voters of Plymouth, like voters in over 180 Vermont towns, headed to the polls on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Article 1 was presented via Australian Ballot to elect Plymouth Town Officers, and the results of those elections are as follows: Town Moderator, one year: Thomas W. Harris; Selectperson, three years: Jay Kullman; Trustee of Public Funds, three years: Shawn Bemis; Lister, three years: Michael Coleman; and Cemetery Commissioner, three years: Andrew M. Crossman.
On Monday night, Mar. 6, at the Plymouth Municipal Building, a Town Meeting was held to discuss all Articles, and to hold an in-person, by-hand, floor vote on Articles 2-6. Town Moderator Thomas Harris announced, “Only legal voters from the town will be allowed to speak.” The more than 50 residents in attendance listened as Harris read through the remaining Articles, and participated as he brought each Article to a discussion then a vote.
Article 2, to approve $13,316 for human services, with the funds distributed to 20 organizations as listed on the Warning, passed unanimously on the floor.
Article 3, to allocate $1,288,741 in taxes toward payment of an estimated $1,647,441 in expenses, was addressed by Selectboard Chair Jay Kullman, presenting what he called, “A high level look at the finances of Plymouth.” The detailed powerpoint presentation began with the 2023 town reserve fund of $928,813, represented in a pie chart. The largest portion was the highway equipment reserve funds. The building reserve account and ARPA fund account were the second and third largest segments.
Kullman broke down the highway equipment reserve budget, referencing expenditures including purchasing of a loader and replacing a damaged truck, leaving a balance of $60,459 going into next year.
Overall, Kullman reported, “[We are left with] about a half of a million dollars in [the reserve] account, and that will provide adequate cash flow over the course of the year.”
Kullman presented a chart covering FY2018-2024, commenting that the municipal tax rate has “remained steady over the last seven years.” Kullman noted that in 2022, $20,000 from the General Fund was returned to the taxpayers. Taxes have stayed consistent at about $1.2 million per year, while inflation and spending have continued to rise, Kullman pointed out, explaining that the gap between expenses and incoming tax revenues was filled by government grants, highway funds, and other project funding.
The bond for town hall renovation, previously approved by voters, was briefly discussed, and Kullman stated that the annual payment of $74,000 over 20 years will start in FY2025.
After some additional discussion, Harris asked, “Okay. Are you ready for the question?” Reading Article 3 in its entirety, Harris requested, “All those in favor say ‘Aye,’” to which the town voted unanimously to pass the Article.
Articles 4 and 5, pertaining to the Plymouth Fire Department, were detailed by Fire Chief Kirk Turner, who reiterated much of what he had presented to the selectboard in January, regarding the needs of the department. He told the town how the department had been turned down for a FEMA grant, and how with both Ludlow and Bridgewater unable to take on fire services for Plymouth, should the town lose the vote for funding, they were facing no alternative.
After an emotional testimony from a Plymouth resident who said, “This fall I saw a house fire, and, you don’t want to see that. Everyone got out and everyone was safe. Steve came with the firetruck, and I was thankful that we had someone who could come at 9 on a Saturday night. I know we’ll all be talking about the cost of a tragedy in our town, if we don’t do something about it right now.”
Kullman made a motion to amend the Article to officially read that the loan will be amortized over four years, instead of two, and participated in dialogue about other options for funding that were determined not to be viable. Harris was about to put the Article to a floor vote when Plymouth resident Karen Evans raised her hand and requested the vote be conducted via paper ballot.
“This did not get on tomorrow’s ballot due to time restraints. Plus, you have the right to vote in private. Plus, there are people here who don’t like to vote when we vote by hand.” Evans’ motion was seconded and she added, “[Now] we need a certain number of people who also have to raise their hands, and I don’t remember what that number is.”
“7,” Harris stated. He asked the floor for a show of hands from those in favor of a paper ballot, counted eight hands and said, “You got it! Paper ballot.”
Harris began to voice instructions. “‘Yes’ means you pass, ‘No’ means it does not. People will come up one by one, and we’ll need a basket to put the votes in.” Harris asked Elaine Pauley, Assistant Town Clerk, for a town checklist to be sure all voters are legally registered. He directed everyone to form a line, remarking, “The dance of the paper ballot!”
All votes were cast and counted, resulting in an overwhelming majority (54) voting ‘Yes’ on the Article, with four ‘No’ votes. The passage was greeted with a round of applause.
After some confusion, the Selectboard agreed to amend the wording of Article 5, to create a “reserve fund to be used for purchase of future fire apparatus,” rather than “purchase of a fire truck.” With the language amended, Article 5 was put to a floor vote and passed unanimously, establishing an equipment reserve fund for the fire department.
Article 6, which would permit non-Plymouth residents to be appointed town clerk, treasurer, and delinquent tax collector, was briefly discussed, then passed with no opposition.
Reading Article 7’s purpose, “to transact any other necessary or legal business,” Harris announced, “I’ll start. We were in a jam, we had no town clerk. Beth Lombard had just retired, okay, so she wasn’t working, and Beth stepped up.” Stating it was his “great pleasure,” Harris asked Lombard to join him at the front of the room to receive the Vermont Public Service Award. “This certificate is awarded to Beth Graves Lombard in recognition of service as Interim Town Clerk for the Town of Plymouth,” Harris read. The room erupted in applause.
Cpl. Tyler Trombley from the Sheriff’s department spoke to those gathered, breaking down the basic points of Sheriff Palmer’s plan to transition Plymouth and the surrounding towns into a more community-based policing service. The overall policy will create a larger police presence over a wider area to service a larger number of towns, and provide more efficient emergency response time, with less hours spent issuing speeding tickets.
Board member Keith Cappellini raised the topic of education spending, as Plymouth voters are being asked to approve a $25,836,048.00 school budget. Reading from an article written by local freelance political writer Rob Roper entitled, “Vermont’s public schools are a hot mess,” Cappellini started to quote the per student cost of an average Vermont highschooler compared to the national average, when Harris interrupted Cappellini.
“This is not at all germane to the public meeting,” Harris said. “This is not a school board meeting. I am going to adjourn the meeting, and anyone who wishes to may remain to hear you. Feel free to continue speaking, it just can’t be during the open town meeting, that’s just the rules. Sorry.”