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Conservation commission urges keeping $30,000 Town Forest reserve as fund draws down
Summary
Fayston Conservation Commission reviewed 2026 budget requests and urged maintaining a $30,000 balance in the Town Forest Reserve Fund to preserve grant matching ability as the town plans to draw down the reserve; the commission also requested specific operating and treatment funds for 2026.
The Fayston Conservation Commission on Sept. 24 reviewed 2026 budget requests and discussed keeping the Town Forest Reserve Fund at a working balance of $30,000 while the Selectboard recommended drawing the fund down over time. The commission reported the current Town Forest Reserve Fund balance at $45,630 and noted that no additional deposit is requested for 2026.
Commission members presented three specific funding requests for the next fiscal year: $400 in account #5470 for two perimeter treatments of the McCullough Barn to address powder-post beetle ($200 each); $6,750 for the commission’s operating budget (acct #5706) to support invasives management, riparian buffer restoration, membership and outreach; and $4,000 for the Conservation Reserve Fund (acct #3030). Andrea Henderson, a Fayston Conservation Commission member, said the commission advocates maintaining the $30,000 reserve because grants often require matching funds and a reserve balance “increases Fayston’s likelihood of being awarded grants,” according to the minutes.
The commission discussed moving to more granular line items in budgets to make expenditures clearer for the public and the Selectboard. The group identified planned 2026 spending across town-forest projects totaling roughly $16,550, and recommended that future budget proposals show anticipated uses of reserve funds so the community can track how reserves are spent.
