Brief, spirited meeting in Wolcott

Most of those 90 voters exited after the town government’s $1,333,094 budget passed unanimously.

The budget, up a modest $23,868 from the current budget, was approved with virtually no discussion, apart from a few compliments to the select board on its frugality.

A bare-bones school budget of $4,551,468 was approved 117-60 by Australian ballot. The total of 177 votes is just over 16 percent of the 1,089 registered voters in Wolcott.

Wolcott voters rejected the school budget last year, so the board made a concerted effort to keep tax rates as low as possible in the 2018-19 budget while still providing a high-quality education, board chair Peter Burgess said.

Voters eventually approved a school budget last year, and the 2018-19 version is actually $60,482 less than that, delivering a cost of $16,051 per equalized pupil. Even so, because of state spending formulas, Wolcott residents can expect an increase of 6 cents per $100 of property value in the school tax rate — $60.44 on a $100,000 house.

Belinda Clegg was replaced on the select board by Jennifer Clapp-Holton after she decided not to run for re-election. Clegg said that, after six years on the school board and six years on the select board, it was time to allow newer, younger faces in town to have their shot.

She’s also been working in the town clerk’s office since 1990.

Kim Gravel was unopposed for re-election to the select board, and Rebecca Ventrice and Nell-Marie Rowland were elected to the Wolcott School Board.

Joe Hester-Ingram was elected moderator for both the annual town meeting and school district meeting.

Also elected without opposition: Tom Martin and Deb Kline as listers, Dan Noyes as town agent to deed real estate, Cornelius Reed as town agent to prosecute and defend suits, Amy Coolbeth as library trustee, Dave Modica and Walter Reeve as cemetery commissioners, John Randall Pratt as grand juror, Linda Martin as school district clerk, Belinda Clegg as school district treasurer, and Linda Martin as alternate school district treasurer.

Safety issues

While voters unanimously passed Wolcott’s share of both the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department patrols in town and its emergency dispatch operations, several raised concerns about a continual speeding problem on North Wolcott Road.

Cpl. Nathan Wolfe, speaking for the sheriff’s department, said officers are aware of the problem, but sometimes there may be just one officer on duty to patrol three towns, and it’s hard to be everywhere.

Select Board Co-Chair Eric Furs said the town is installing solar-powered speed-limit signs on North Wolcott Road and in the village, which he says deter habitual speeders.

The Florida school shooting that killed 14 students and three staff members on Feb. 14 was clearly on voters’ minds.

Wolfe was asked if it’s possible to have an armed officer at every school; he replied that would require massive funding, but the department has been working on plans to respond better and more efficiently to active shooter situations.

Wolcott Elementary School Principal Matt Foster said the school has a lockdown alarm system and has been working to take care of any problems with faulty doors or locks in the building — something it started before the Florida shooting.

What about junk?

Wolcott needs to enforce its ordinances on junk removal, said William Cotten, but it’s been spinning its wheels, and the presence of junk severely decreases property values.

Town Clerk Linda Martin said a committee used to handle that type of enforcement, and suggested the select board appoint such a committee. She said it’s more effective if a group handles the issue; sometimes, having one person approaching violators leads to a sense of victimization.

Others suggested the group could work with the local transfer station on discounts, and help mediate disputes involving junk.

Cotten went on the offensive during the school budget discussion — though spending and enrollment are down, his taxes are still going up.

Rick Pembroke, chief financial officer of the Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union, said that, in addition to mandates from the Legislature, taxes are an issue in part because the budget numbers are only estimates, for both enrollment and tax rates.

Select board member Kim Gravel suggested voting down the budget, giving voters a chance to look at the numbers down the road. Burgess countered that doing so would jeopardize teachers’ job security and could prompt them to look for work elsewhere.

Amy Davidson said the school board should exercise its right to get budget information from the CFO’s office before meetings, citing situations in the past in which incorrect figures were presented.

At the meeting were Wolcott’s two state representatives, Daniel Noyes and Matthew Hill, and state Sen. John Rodgers talked briefly to voters about what the Legislature’s tackling this year.

Also present were two sheriff’s deputies, Wolcott Fire Department representatives, and the Rev. Pat Thompson from Wolcott United Methodist Church, who spoke about efforts to renovate the historic church building.