The town’s Appropriations Committee held a late meeting in March and took a straw poll at about 11:10 p.m. on a draft appropriations package, with committee members indicating support by a 9–2 margin.

The straw poll records the committee’s preference for the draft spending plan ahead of a final bill. Committee members and staff said the result is advisory: staff (referred to in the meeting as AFO and other staff members) will continue refining bill language over the weekend and the group will reconvene Monday at 1:00 p.m. to review the formal bill.

Committee discussion reviewed a spreadsheet of line items and the committee’s division of base and one-time funding. The transcript lists specific line items and amounts discussed: conservation districts, $112,000; an item labeled “VSAT,” $2.5 million; transportation, $1 million; an arts-council match (amount not specified in the discussion); and an item described in the transcript as “Vermonters seating Vermonters,” $500,000. The meeting facilitator summarized those items as totaling $4,180,000. The committee’s overall total discussed was stated in the meeting as 9.73 (units not specified in the transcript) and staff said the proposal would “take 10 from the treasurers,” language the committee treated as a funding-source placeholder to be resolved by the Treasurer and, ultimately, the Senate.

A committee member thanked colleagues for their work and said, “Diversity of thought is what makes better policy and better bills,” a remark made during closing remarks and attributed in the transcript to a committee participant. The meeting chair described the upcoming steps: staff will continue to refine bill language, show the formal bill to the committee before Monday’s session, and be available to answer questions over the weekend.

At the roll call for the straw poll, the transcript records Representative Bloomley voting yes, Representative Dickenson voting yes and Representative Harrison voting no. The remaining recorded responses in the transcript were verbal yes votes from Representative Kinsenska, Representative Rolicki, Representative Nigro, Representative Stevens, Representative Yacoboni and an attendee identified as Shy; the committee recorded the final tally as nine yes and two no. The transcript does not clearly identify the second no vote by name.

Because the action taken in the session was a straw poll — not a formal motion or final adoption — the committee did not record a formal motion or ordinance number. Committee staff will incorporate the spreadsheet line items into the formal bill and present the official draft at the next scheduled meeting.

The committee adjourned after thanking staff members (including Molly and Jill) and asking members to rest before reconvening Monday at 1:00 p.m.