MONKTON — Monkton residents will assemble for the annual town meeting this Saturday, March 4, at 10 a.m. at Monkton Central School to vote on nine town and five school articles.
Total proposed municipal spending is $1,398,131, which is up 11.8 percent ($147,938) from last year. Without the $60,000 for the Tax Stabilization Fund (new to this article), the grand total would be up only 7 percent ($87,938).
Residents will be voting on the $1.4 million municipal spending figure. The selectboard broke out spending thus:
•  Salaries and general expenses, $320,265.
•  Highway expenses, $887,716.
•  Monkton Volunteer Fire Department, $36,000.
•  Russell Memorial Library, $23,650.
•  Monkton Museum and Historical Society, $1,000.
•  Recreation Fund, $4,500.
•  Agricultural and Natural Areas Fund, $30,000.
•  Tax Stabilization Fund, $60,000.
Proposed spending for local social service agencies is identical to last year’s, with the exception of increases in the amounts proposed for the Monkton Mentors Program ($500 compared to $300 last year) and to WomenSafe ($1,250 compared to $1,000 last year). These two increases bring the total proposed to $22,989 for Article 5.
Two new big ticket items proposed are $40,000 to create a reserve fund for building a new town hall and $185,000 to purchase a tandem dump truck equipped for winter road maintenance.
Voting by Australian ballot will take place on Town Meeting Day, March 7, at the Monkton Fire Station, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents will vote on the $12,261,839 Mount Abraham Union High School and the $2,653,500 Monkton Central School budgets and select town and school officers.
The Mount Abe spending represents an 8.42 percent decrease from the current academic year. That budget includes $1 million to fix the aging Mount Abe building.
Monkton Central’s spending proposal is down $160,420 from last year’s (a decrease of 5.7 percent). The proposed $2,484,818 to be raised by taxes, however, represents a 2.99 percent increase.
There are no contested elections on the Monkton ballot. Those running unopposed include incumbents Anne Layn and John McNerney for selectboard, Sharon Gomez for town clerk, and William Joos for town treasurer. Incumbents Marikate Kelley and Kristin Blanchette are running unopposed for school director positions.