NORWICH — The Norwich Selectboard will ask town voters in March to consider a nearly $6 million budget for next fiscal year, comprising a $5.5 million operating budget and $450,000 in additional articles.

The total spending would result in a 12.5% increase in the town tax rate, or an additional 7 cents per $100 of assessed property value — the equivalent of an additional $210 on a $300,000 home.

The proposed operating budget, which the Selectboard approved by a unanimous vote on Friday, is an increase of $563,252 from the current fiscal year, or an increase of 11%.

The proposal includes two new town positions — a full-time assistant director in the Parks and Recreation Department and a part-time administrative assistant in the town office — as well as employee wage increases and $30,000 to fund a new town manager search.

According to Selectboard members, much of the operating budget increase was due to consumer inflation, particularly in respect to fuels and utilities.

The town also will see higher costs for some contracted services next year, such as a $25,000 increase for emergency dispatch, which is provided by the Town of Hartford.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of fat in this budget at all,” Selectboard Vice Chair Mary Layton said about the difficulty to find additional budget reductions.

The board cut $71,000 on Friday before approving the final proposal. Those decreases included defunding a $31,000 budget for parking or trail improvements at Gile Mountain, reducing the budget for the town manager search from $50,000 to $30,000 and cutting the town paving account from $75,000 to $55,000.

While acknowledging the problems of adequate parking at Gile Mountain, a popular destination, particularly during foliage season, board members said the town currently lacks the administrative staff to pursue an engineering study of the lot and trail system.

“There’s no point in asking voters to approve this expense because I can’t imagine a world where we will have the staff or the staff time to pursue this project,” board member Roger Arnold said.

The town is still searching for a new planning and zoning director, who would be responsible for overseeing the Gile Mountain study and subsequent work, Arnold noted.

Former Planning and Zoning Coordinator Aaron DeNamur resigned in November.

Layton, though voting in support of the final proposal, opposed the decision to trim the town manager search fund from $50,000 to $30,000.

“I think it’s really important to keep that (money) in to get a person who will settle into our town, who is knowledgeable about management and can help the process of governing the town (so) we can focus on policy,” Layton told colleagues.

Board members said they originally budgeted $50,000 when they had hoped to conduct a nationwide search. The board later learned that such a search would cost significantly more money.

Though uncertain of the exact amount, Arnold said the town’s previous manager search in 2021 cost less than $30,000.

While the Selectboard focused on minimizing the budget impact on taxpayers, one group of residents has criticized the board for not spending enough.

The citizens group Stand Up For Norwich is currently circulating a petition to place an article on the town warning in March to ask voters for $80,785 “to fund an additional full-time police officer.”

In a letter to town residents, the petitioners said they aim to have a department staff of four full-time police officers, which Chief Wade Cochran said is the minimum staffing needed to provide continuous coverage, including when officers are on vacation.

Cochran notified the town last month that until these staffing levels are reached, an officer will be available only on call during the majority of overnight hours.

To get the article on the ballot, the petitioners must collect 160 signatures from registered town voters and submit them with the petition to the town clerk by 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We’d like to collect 175 signatures, per the Clerk’s recommendation, in case of invalid signatures or duplicates,” the letter states.

Even if voters approve the petitioned article, Vermont law only empowers town voters to increase a budget amount. The voters do not have authority to direct how that money is spent.

At a recent Selectboard meeting, board members indicated that they will need to consult the town attorney about whether the proposed police officer article would be legally binding.

Patrick Adrian may be reached at padrian@vnews.com or at 603-727-3216.

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