Steve Jeffries, town meeting moderator presided at the Northfield town meeting in the high school auditorium last Tuesday. He is reimiscent of a Saturday Post cover by Norman Rockwell as he listened to a debate about the town budget which passed after minor amendments. Photo by Bill Croey, The Northfield News With approximately 120 citizens in attendance at this year's annual town meeting, Northfield's general fund budget was amended upward by about $22,030 and voters rejected transferring delinquent tax collection responsibilities to the town manager.

In Australian balloting, with about 860 voters, the borrowing of $300,000 for road work was passed and the school budget of about $9.9 million was passed by an almost two to one margin.

By a floor vote, the proposal to transfer the duties of delinquent tax collection to the town manager was rejected.

Delinquent Tax Collector Laurie Baroffio said that the funding of the elected position comes from the eight percent penalty fee, charged on taxes delinquent after the last payment in May, and a $750 stipend from the Town.

She said that the revenue is usually budgeted for about $20,000 and actual revenue was about "$18,000 the year before."

She said that she has not actually tracked how many hours she works on the collections, but would guess it would be between 700 and 1,000.

Mike Kerin asked "if the town manager does" the collection, would there be compensation above her salary?

Municipal Manager Nanci Allard said that there would not be. She said that the duties would be delegated to a member of the staff.

Doug Taft challenged whether or not there is enough staff available to absorb the extra work. He said that, if 500 hours a year was added, that would be about "10 hours a week" more added to someone's work week.

The general fund was amended a second time by $21,530 to provide funding lost to other programs by restoring the $20,000, in anticipated revenue from the penalty fee, to fund the elected delinquent tax collector position.

The general fund's first amendment was a $500 authorized expenditure for the Central Vermont Community Land Trust.

Selectman Charles Morse said that the organization's "petition was submitted timely," but that it was inadvertantly left off of the warning.

Moderator Steven Jeffrey said that amending the general fund was the most appropriate place to include the request, but that if the voters disagreed, the moderator's decision could be overturned "by a majority vote."

The matter was challenged but upheld by a majority, thus avoiding the approximate $600 cost for a $500 request for funds. The amendment passed.

The amended increase in expenditures was offset by an equal increase in the taxes to be collected.

This was the first year that issues being voted on by Australian ballot could be discussed from the floor. Questions were raised regarding article four, which requests authorization to borrow $300,000, by either bond or note, for the "purpose of the Road Surface Management System (RSMS) Program." Ms. Allard said that the road restoration and maintenance program would cost about $6 million over a ten year period and that the length of the $300,000 loand would be for 10 years, not 20, as was reported the previous week. She referred to page 87 as the guide to funding the project. The total cost of the program, given on page 86 of the town report, is a little over $4.8 million over 10 years and the number of years for borrowing $300,000 is five, as opposed to the four years given at the hearing on Australian budget items two weeks ago.

Given the schedule for repayment on page 87 of the town report, payments would continue until fiscal year 2024/2025. Voters opted to again have four tax installments. Ms. Baroffio said that, when the Town went to four tax installment being in May, but that, with payments made in August, 33 percent of taxes paid "help avoid a tax anticipation note." She said that "by November 30" in 2005 51 percent of taxes were paid and that, by the same date in 2009, 55.2 percent were paid. She said that in 2005, the last year for two tax installments, 4.66 percent of taxes were delinquent and in 2009 3.81 percent were.

Mr. Morse told voters that the Town was looking into what costs would be to leave the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District and either be a stand alone district or join another existing district. He said that a positive conversation was conducted with the Mad River district and that it appeared the Town could save between $5,000 and $6,000 a year.