PANTON — Panton residents on Tuesday backed town spending measures and chose town officers in Australian balloting, marking the first time the town did not elect officers and adopt its annual budget and other spending proposals from the floor of its annual meeting.
The town’s annual meeting was held at on Monday evening, but it was largely for discussion purposes only.
Voters on Tuesday approved, 88-32, town spending of $722,154 that is expected to trigger an increase of less than a penny in the municipal portion of Panton’s tax rate.
In separately warned articles on Tuesday, voters supported placing money into four reserve funds, one for town hall and three for the highway department, and backed nonprofit donations.
Panton Selectboard Chairman Howard Hall won another three years on the board with 82 votes, overcoming a write-in challenge from Joy Jackson, who received 15 votes.
Before Monday night’s town meeting moderator Doug Dows resigned, and the selectboard appointed Jason Fearon to run the meeting. On Tuesday, Fearon and Eric Carter led several write-in candidates for the post with five votes each. It was not immediately clear what the town would do before next March to break the tie and fill the position.
Residents in Panton and the other four Addison Northwest School District communities on Town Meeting day also voted, 672-665, in commingled balloting in favor of a 2019-2020 budget of $22,139,341 to fund the four ANWSD schools and the district’s share of Hannaford Career Center spending.  
After a year of level district spending, that proposed budget will increase spending by about $1.03 million, or 4.89 percent.
They also voted in favor of putting funds from an earlier surplus in a capital reserve fund and other articles simplifying ANWSD operating procedures.