Hardwick approves $4.74 million municipal budget after paper-ballot vote amid procedural dispute

Hardwick voters approved a $4,741,600 municipal budget on March 3 after debate about procedures and a paper-ballot vote.

The selectboard and town staff presented the spending plan and answered questions about major line items, including FEMA-funded bridge and flood-recovery projects, a proposed highway garage bond anticipatory payment and a $107,000 capital general fund increase set aside to match expected FEMA grants. Town staff said FEMA will cover roughly 90% of many major projects with the state contributing about 5%, leaving the town responsible for a modest local match. The presentation noted a proposed $150,000 bond anticipation payment and a conceptual $6 million estimate for a new highway garage.

Residents pressed officials about the effect of last year's property reassessment on tax bills and whether the proposed spending would materially change individual tax notices. Town staff clarified the difference between adopting a budget and setting tax rates: the budget determines spending and will be used later to set the rate when the grand list is certified; reassessment increased valuations, which typically lowers the tax rate but can leave many taxpayers with similar dollar amounts due to higher assessments. "The tax rate will be set next summer," said Eric Remick, who led the budget walkthrough.

A procedural dispute arose when several voters requested that the budget vote be conducted by paper ballot. The moderator explained statutory and local practice: state law allows seven voters to request a paper ballot in these cases and the moderator must accommodate valid procedural steps; the meeting followed that path after the motion to use paper ballots received the required seconds. The moderator then directed voters to the back of the room to cast written yes/no ballots; town clerk Tanya supervised check-in and ballot handling.

When the polls for the paper ballot closed, the moderator announced the result: "In the affirmative for article 5 passing the town budget, 167 yes, 72 no, and 1 spoiled ballot," and declared the budget adopted.

What happens next: the selectboard will set the tax rate in the summer on the basis of the adopted budget and the certified grand list. Officials said the town will continue to seek grant funding to lower the local share of major infrastructure projects and will return to voters for any bond votes that require formal authorization.

Vote at a glance - Article 5 (municipal budget): Approved by paper ballot, 167 yes, 72 no, 1 spoiled.

Speakers quoted or cited in this article are taken from the meeting transcript and are attributed to their first references in the record.