Standing around
What the hill?
How trees get ready for winter’s cold
Ski museum exhibit chronicles lost ski areas
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December 21, 2023
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PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Snow caps the iconic peak of Camels Hump.
Hinesburg budget now includes 4 percent tax hike COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
Hinesburg’s draft budget reins in earlier tax increase estimates thanks to higher-than-expected revenue projections in Hinesburg and Richmond’s police agreement, but also by limiting appropriations to local committees. The fiscal year 2025 budget, if adopted and approved in March, would result in a 5.1 percent increase in the amount raised by taxes, totaling $199,908, according to a town memo. The town’s tax rate would increase by 3.95 percent for a jump in taxes of $23.80 per $100,000 of assessed property value — assuming a 1 percent increase in the value of the town’s grand list. The fiscal year 2024 budget saw a 3.6 percent tax increase. A significant factor in the lower-than-ex-
pected amount to be raised by taxes is due to assumed revenue of $240,000 for the next fiscal year from the town’s police contract with Richmond, which was previously estimated at $200,000. The Hinesburg Police Department this year began providing patrol coverage and police chief services to Richmond. Hinesburg has since brought on a sixth police officer to help fulfill that work. “Without that revenue, the amount raised in taxes would need to increase by 11.8 percent to cover the draft budget expenses,” a budget memo reads, adding that “as in previous years,” the budget assumes a deficit. “In other words, the budget as it is, wouldn’t raise enough revenue to cover the town’s expense needs,” the memo reads. In October, town manager Todd Odit projected that town could see a nearly 7 percent increase in the amount raised in
taxes. At the time, he said the town was in a similar situation as the prior year, with declining non-tax revenues amid an effort to keep costs down. But that budget included “everything that everyone asked for,” Odit said. The updated draft does not include many of the requests included in the first budget. The conservation commission, for example, asked for a $30,000 increase but was level funded; the affordable housing committee asked for a $10,000 increase; a $5,000 increase requested by the trails committee was reduced to $500; and a $3,000 increase requested by the town’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging committee was reduced to $500. Planned capital purchases, including a fire engine replacement and two highway trucks, require spending $147,000 more than the current year. The draft budget also
assumes a 15 percent health insurance premium increase for all employees. Odit, during a selectboard meeting, later suggested the possibility of asking voters “to do a dedicated tax rate for affordable housing and land conservation.” Currently, roughly a quarter of a resident’s tax bill is from the town. Of that amount, 75 percent is made up of the town’s operations, while the rest is money the town raises to give to outside agencies like the Green Mountain Transit Agency. The library is the largest outside agency appropriation and is requesting $256,200 for fiscal year 2025. The town will revisit the budget during its meeting Wednesday, held after press deadline, and is then expected to present a final draft at a public hearing on Jan. 3. Changes are still possible, but the town is expected to adopt and warn the budget for Town Meeting Day by the end of January.