SALISBURY — Salisbury residents at their town meeting will, among other things, decide whether to join the Addison County Solid Waste Management District (ACSWMD) and whether to appropriate $5,500 to help the Brandon Leicester Salisbury Goshen Pittsford (BLSG) Insect Control District with its legal expenses.
Salisbury is closing its landfill and is seeking to join the ACSWMD to take care of its future trash and recycling needs. Article 9 on Salisbury’s town meeting warning asks residents to endorse a Dec. 10, 2018, agreement that lays out conditions for the town joining the district.
The community already has $20,000 in its budget to fund BLSG mosquito abatement operations for the coming year. But voters will be asked to contribute an additional $5,500 to the district’s legal fund. The BLSG is being sued by the Toxics Action Center, which is challenging BLSG’s use of pesticides.
Residents will be asked to support a fiscal year 2020 general fund budget of $294,018 and a highway spending plan of $488,478. Salisbury voters last March endorsed a general fund budget of $204,440 by a 122-16 tally, and a highway budget of $490,134 by a 115-23 margin.
Other articles on Salisbury’s meeting warning seek:
•  A property tax exemption for the Salisbury Fire Department’s 6.42 acres of property at 2399 Route 7 south, through March 31, 2024.
•  A combined total of $82,325 for various non-profit causes benefitting Salisbury residents. Included within that sum is $43,240 for the local fire department and $19,000 for the Lake Dunmore/Fern Lake Association’s milfoil prevention program.
There are no contested local elections on the Salisbury ballot this year. Those running unopposed include Wayne Smith, one year, as town moderator; Susan Scott, one year, town clerk; Paul Vaczy and Sheila Conroy, three years and two years, respectively, on the selectboard; and Jonathan Blake, the one-year balance of a vacated selectboard post.
Several positions have no candidates, including collector of delinquent taxes, three auditor’s posts, and the job of constable.
Salisbury will, however, get to weigh in on a five-person race for three Middlebury seats on the Addison Central School District board. The race for the those three-year seats involves incumbents James Malcolm, Lorraine Gonzalez Morse, Steve Orzech, and challengers Betty Kafumbe and Ryan Torres.
Local voters will also cast ballots for ACSD board candidates Amy McGlashan and Mary Cullinane, running unopposed for three-year terms representing Ripton and Weybridge, respectively.
Proposed 2019-2020 spending for Salisbury Community School will be reflected in a global ACSD budget voters will field on March 5. That proposal is for $37,794,916 to fund Middlebury Union middle and high schools, the ACSD central office and the seven member elementary schools in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. The proposed ACSD budget reflects a 1.9-percent increase in local education spending and a 3.35-percent boost in spending per equalized pupil, compared to the current year.
If approved, the budget is expected to results in an education property tax rate of $1.6278 for Salisbury, roughly on par with the current $1.62, according to the ACSD’s fiscal year 2020 budget book.
Salisbury’s annual gathering will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, at the Salisbury School. Australian ballot voting will take place on Tuesday, March 5, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the town offices.