St. Johnsbury's Town Meeting Day

Details

Created on Tuesday, 04 March 2025 19:46

Written by Asher Ballantine

Today, St. Johnsbury residents have the chance to vote on several different budget proposals at the Welcome Center from 8 AM to 7 PM. Along with voting on a variety of town positions, many of which are expected to remain filled by incumbents, residents will also decide on several budgets supported by the town’s taxes.

Many of the proposed budgets for local organizations that are funded locally have maintained the status quo, with many opening statements noting that the budgeted amounts have remained unchanged for years, and in some cases, decades.

The most important budgetary decision on everyone’s mind appears to be the school’s budget increase, which is set to decrease the current tax rate compared to the previous year due to the district having more “weighted pupils” enrolled.

Many residents, including teachers, are advocating for the new school budget proposal, as it overall increases the benefits for educators while lowering the cost of schooling for taxpayers.

Karen Konroy, Superintendent of the St. Johnsbury School District, explained: “[One of] the items that’s used in calculating the tax rate is actually your weighted student. So whereas a lot of schools in the state have seen a decline in weighted pupils… we actually had 4 additional students. So that denominator that we used to divide into our cost per pupil actually decreased our tax rate.”

In addition to the school budget proposal, depending on how today’s vote turns out, St. Johnsbury residents can expect improvements to the city’s water supply through the financing of a more effective pipeline in the Bay Street area. Much of the funding for this project has already been secured, and there is grant money available if the town agrees to it. More importantly, it won’t impact taxes.