GOSHEN — When Goshen residents meet at their town hall on Monday night they will consider proposed municipal and highway spending plans that are going up. The next day in Australian ballot voting they will weigh in on the school budget and a slate of uncontested elections for town offices.
After a 5:30 p.m. potluck, residents will start their annual town meeting at 7 p.m. A high profile item on the warning is a General Fund budget request of $248,543, which represents an increase of $ 25,573, or 11.5%, over what voters OK’d at last year’s town meeting. Assistant Town Clerk Marci Hayes said that among the things contributing to the increase are the added expenses of the primary and general election this year, a new state mandate called the “vault fund” that requires towns to put aside money for maintenance of town records and binding of town reports.
A bigger driver in General Fund spending is the increased cost incurred by the Brandon, Leicester, Salisbury, Goshen and Pittsford Mosquito Control District last year, which Goshen pays of share of, Hayes noted. Discussion about the bug district will likely be part of the conversation at Monday’s meeting.
Voters will also be asked to approve a Highway Fund spending plan of $216,200, which represents a more modest increase of $3,430, or 1.6%. Hayes said the town is still putting money into its paving fund and also putting away money for eventually buying a new town truck.
In Australian ballot voting at the Goshen Town Hall from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Selectman Jeff Cathcart will be up for re-election with no challengers. None of the other town officials will face challenges on Tuesday’s ballot.
Goshen voters on Tuesday will also weigh in on two spots on the Otter Valley Unified Union School Board. Brandon resident Mike Lufkin is running for one at-large position, but another open OVUUS board position has no candidates — write-ins will be accepted for the second at-large seat.
Also on March 3, residents of Goshen and the five other Otter Valley Unified Union School District towns will vote on the proposed $20,377,427 budget for 2020-2021. It reflects a 2.22% increase in spending over the current year. Education spending per the state’s equalized pupil formula has per pupil spending increasing from $14,826 to $15,399, a 3.86% increase.
If approved, the education tax rate in Goshen would rise 7 cents (or 4.3%) to $1.592 per $100 of assessed property value.