ADDISON — In Australian balloting on March 6, Addison residents supported town and Addison Northwest School District spending proposals and a land swap with ANWSD. Residents had no contested races to decide, but did return an incumbent to the ANWSD board via write-ins.
Residents backed two spending measures for the town. 
The selectboard proposal of $332,212.99 for all General Fund items won approval, 201-58. It increases spending by a little less than $17,000 (about 5 percent), largely due to increases in pay for town employees. Of that amount, $240,366.56 will be raised through property taxes.
Added to that will be a total of $57,706 of charitable requests on the ballot that were also approved.
Voters also backed $769,911.24 in highway spending, an increase of roughly $27,000 (about 3.5 percent). Wages, health insurance and more money for sand and salt factor into the higher request. Of that amount, residents approved $650,479.54 of property taxes for road spending.
Residents supported trading a town-owned 0.33-acre parcel near Addison Central School with another 0.33-acre parcel near Addison’s former town hall that is now owned by ANWSD. It won backing by 170-60.
The deal will increase the size of the school lot and also make the town hall parcel a legal lot. Increasing the size of the former town hall’s lot will allow it to be subdivided in the future if Addison decides to renovate the structure and use it once again as its town hall and community hub.
Incumbent selectboard members Jeff Kauffman and Roger Waterman both won re-election without opposition, as did lister William Munoff and Tri-Town Water District Commissioner Larry Simino.
Laurie Childers’ term on the ANWSD board expired, but she did not file for re-election. On Tuesday she received 17 write-in votes, enough to return her to the board. Write-in candidates must receive either 30 votes or 1 percent of a town’s checklists. In Addison’s case, per officials, a candidate would need 11 votes to top the 1 percent threshold.
Addison was the only town to vote against a level-funded $21.1 million ANWSD budget that won overall, 952-551. In Addison the vote ran against the budget, 135-128.
School officials estimate ANWSD towns’ homestead taxes could rise by about 8 cents, depending on final legislative decisions. 
The ANWSD tax rate increases would mean around $80 of additional taxes per $100,000 of assessed value for those property owners who pay based solely on the value of their homes. Addison’s homestead school tax rate dropped 13.25 cents in 2017.
Addison residents joined other towns in supporting a $7.63 million ANWSD bond that board members said would address a critical list of energy efficiency, fire safety and security problems at all four district schools. In Addison the vote favored the bond, 148-115. Overall, the tally was 987-515.
Board members said the bond will not raise taxes due to savings through the energy improvements and because payments on the bond that funded the 2000 VUHS renovation and expansion will soon end.