Local Brief: Annual town meeting raises key issues

Middlebury’s annual town meeting was held in the Town Hall Theater on Monday evening at 7 p.m. In the absence of Governor Jim Douglas, who was away on state business, proceedings commenced on Monday night with the nomination and election of Thomas Beyer, chairman of the school board of Middlebury Union High School and Middle School, as moderator. Beyer instructed attendees to step up to the microphone and identify themselves should they choose to initiate discussion on any of the nine articles up for debate at the meeting.

Article 2, which moved to adopt the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2011 (July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011), demanded attention for the majority of the evening. The Select Board proposed a budget in the amount of $8,133,210, a significant reduction from the budget for fiscal year 2010.

John Tenny, chair of the Select Board, spoke on behalf of the entire board in addressing Middlebury’s economic reality.

“The town in its majority opinion is looking at a situation where Social Security recipients are receiving no increase in income this year; where we are seeing many people being laid off and jobs lost; where we are seeing large employers like the College cutting back on wages and benefits, and people taking reductions there,” Tenny said. “We felt it was fair to reflect that in the workings of the town.”

While voters seemed to concede the situation, several people raised questions. The board announced that the town would no longer provide funding to the Middlebury Area Global Action Committee, but had instead established an Energy Coordination Agency for the Town of Middlebury. With this bulletin, some attendees expressed concerns about the energy budget and a sustainable energy portfolio for the future.

The Addison County Teen Center was also brought up for discussion during the review of the budget. Voters expressed worry that the Teen Center factors an additional $30,000 into annual expenditures, pointing out that a majority of participants do not come from Middlebury but from other towns in Addison County.

The Select Board also presented a summary of the Cross Street Bridge project, which is likely to be completed in October. John Walsh, project manager for Kubricky construction, and Mark Colgan, project manager for VHB/Pioneer engineers, updated attendees on the construction status and ran through the projected timeline. While some had questions about traffic inconveniences, access to parking, and landscaping, the presentation was generally well-received.

Middlebury voters were to vote on Article 10, which proposes a phase out of the tax on Business Personal Property over the next six fiscal years, and Article 11, which concerns the election of town officers, on Tuesday by Australian ballot.