Kenny Goslant lost his temper and started shouting at Chris Bradley during the Selectboard meeting last week.

Mr. Bradley said he was there to ask more questions about why the board attempted to act to eliminate the postion of superintendent of public works without any public input.

At the previous joint board meeting with both the Selectboard and Trustees present on January 25, Mr. Bradley asked a series of eleven questions to the town manager and specific selectboard members about why Mr. Lyon’s position had been eliminated without reporting it in the notes of any of the December budget meetings. Following his questioning and a general publc outcry, the boards jointly voted to reinstate Mr. Lyon’s position in the 2010 budget.

At last week’s meeting, Mr. Goslant said that if Mr. Bradley was so concerned about the actions of the board, then he ought to go to all of the meetings.

Mr. Bradley countered that the notes reporting the meetings should properly reflect what happened because many members of the public are not able to attend but deserve to know what went on whether they were there or not.

He repeated his complaint that the budget meeting minutes from December 21 had been far from complete, covered up what actually happened and failed even to reflect that Mr. Lyon’s position was being eliminated when the board voted at the budget meeting to approve the budget.

Mr. Bradley is Northfield’s Grand Juror and under state law has an obligation to seek out misdeeds by public officials and if found, report them to proper authority.

Prior to the meeting, Mr. Bradley requested that an executive session be placed on the agenda to ask his questons but the request never made it to the agenda. When Mr. Bradley asked why it was not there, the town manager explained that his request was not a proper reason for an executive session.

The basic question which Mr. Bradley repeatedly asked was “did the average citizen across this budget process have the right to know what the board was considering.” The question was never answered and the board went on to other business.

Even though there is a reduction of just under $372,000 in next year's school budget, education property tax rates are expected to increase by a little over seven cents, the Board of Selectmen and Board of Trustees were told last week.

Board of School Directors Chairman Debra Wick presented the figures to each of the boards and told them that the base homestead tax rate, set by the legislature, is expected to increase by about two cents and that Northfield's common level of appraisal (CLA) will result in an increase of about three and a half cents. She said that even the local spending share of the taxes will increase by about one and a half cents because of level funding per pupil from the State.

Ms. Wick also told the boards that there is a surplus of $225,178 from last year. She said that $50,540 will be used to "eliminate the deficit" in the food service program, as sanctioned by the voters last year, and that $49,512 "will be used as revenue" in support of next year's budget. She said that would save a penny on the tax rate.

Ms. Wick said that the voters last year voted down the purchase of a new truck last year. She told the Trustees that the "10-year old" half ton pick up needs to be replaced and that, after reviewing the school's needs, a three quarter ton pick up would be sufficient.

Last year voters were asked to fund a dump truck.

Ms. Wick said that voters will be asked this year to allow the use of $38,000 of surplus funds for a replacement truck and that they will be asked to put $87,126 into a "long-term maintenance fund," which is now empty.

Ms. Wick told both board that Northfield schools were recently recognized as being in the top 15 school districts in the State, according to the Burlington Free Press. She said that "75 percent" of fifth graders "achieved at or above their grade level" in math and that "85 percent of third graders were found to be able to read and analyze charts, graphs and tables" with 80 percent accuracy.

She said that 66 percent of students enter "college of the military" and that 2009 graduates were accepted in 108 colleges, "including Harvard, Columbia, and MIT."

The Selectboard rescinded last month's emergency ordinance allowing snowmobiles to travel in the right of way of Bear Farm Road. Selectman Mel Adams said that the snowmobile club had worked out an arrangement with the landowner who had initially denied access through his property and that there was no longer a need for the use of the public right of way.