SHOREHAM — Shoreham residents at their town meeting will consider a fiscal year 2019 highway budget $752,939, reflecting an almost $75,000 increase compared to this year’s spending plan.
Local officials pointed to three major reasons for the increase.
First, the selectboard agreed to increase one of the highway crew positions from part-time to full-time.
Second, the board decided to raise highway department salaries to put them on par with crews in other municipal highway departments. Shoreham Town Clerk Julie Ortuno said the board took a survey of highway departments in several other communities, which revealed Shoreham was paying at the lower end of the scale. Officials believe the bump in pay will better allow the town to retain is workforce.
The budget also reflects part of a $40,000 local match for a $400,000 grant through the Vermont Agency of Transportation to make significant repairs to a culvert bridge on Buttolph Road. The town will need to include another $40,000 match in its fiscal year 2020 highway budget, according to Ortuno.
Residents will field a proposed town budget of $310,652, up from the current $287,117.
Other articles on the warning ask for:
•  $20,000 to boost the town’s Highway Equipment Reserve Fund.
•  $10,000 for the town’s Fire and Rescue Vehicles and Equipment Reserve Fund.
•  $5,000 for the town’s Sand and Salt Shed Reserve Fund.
•  $5,000 for Shoreham’s Building and Grounds Repair Reserve Fund.
•  A combined total of $23,793 for various Addison County social service agencies serving Shoreham.
There are no contested races on Shoreham’s ballot.
Running unopposed are Will Stevens, town moderator, one year; Julie Ortuno, town clerk, one year; Kathleen Brisson, town treasurer, one year; Loren Wood, selectboard, three years; Karen Shackett and Will Stevens, selectboard, both for one year; Jim Ortuno, selectboard two years; and Cora Waag, library trustee, five years.
Shoreham residents are part of the consolidated Addison Central School District that delivers K-12 public education to seven Middlebury-area towns. Those residents will vote on a 2018-2019 ACSD budget of $36,762,479, which reflects a 1.32-percent spending decrease, the elimination of more than 20 full-time-equivalent jobs, and a spending rate of $16,907.29 per equalized pupil.
The town of Shoreham is among the Addison County communities served by the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center. So residents will vote on a proposed 2018-2019 Career Center budget of $3,498,524, which reflects a spending rate of $21,466 per full-time equivalent student. That FTE student spending rate is 6.47 percent higher than this year’s.
Four candidates are running at-large for the ACSD board. All are unopposed. The candidates are incumbent Peter Conlon of Cornwall, Devina Desmarais and Margaret “Peg” Martin of Middlebury, and Jori Jacobeit of Shoreham.
Town meeting will be held in the Shoreham Elementary School auditorium on Monday, March 5, at 6 p.m. Australian balloting will take place the next day, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., at the town office.