PANTON — With no contested races on Panton’s Town Meeting Day ballot, Panton residents’ main March 3 focus will be on town and Addison Northwest School District spending.
All decisions will be made by Australian ballot, with March 3 voting hours at Panton Town Hall running from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Residents can gather to discuss town business at town hall on Monday, March 2, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The Panton selectboard is proposing a 2020-2021 budget that if approved would increase town spending by about 5.7% to $763,647.
The Independent erroneously reported a lower budget figure in January, using the total to be raised by taxes instead of the full budget amount. The reporter apologizes for the mistake; other elements of the story were correct. 
The higher spending could translate to roughly 3.3 cents more on the municipal portion of the town’s tax rate to a new figure of 61.07 cents. That represents a 5.7% increase.
The change translates to about $33 per $100,000 of assessed value. According to the budget printout, however, the rate could move in April when Panton’s grand list of property value is made final.
The spending increase of about $42,500 is being driven by one major factor: The selectboard is proposing to build a new $257,000 salt and sand shed at the town’s Panton Road highway depot later this year, and the first year’s payment would be $20,075. Officials have said the current shed is inadequate and beyond repair.
Another driver is a $7,846 increase in the cost of Panton’s fire protection contract with Vergennes. Panton’s highway department spending is also proposed to rise by about $13,500.
Two incumbents are running unopposed on the March 3 ballot, Zachary Weaver to return to the Panton selectboard and Bradley Dewey to keep his seat on the ANWSD board.
On March 3 Panton and the other four ANWSD communities will also weigh in on a proposed 2020-2021 budget of $21,842,595 that would reduce spending by about $300,000, or 1%, over the current year.
ANWSD officials said the plan would avoid programming cuts and close Addison Central School (ACS) for use as an elementary school, instead repurposing it for alternative education. Addison’s elementary students will attend Vergennes Union Elementary School regardless of the vote outcome, officials said.
According to late-January estimates, the district-wide tax rate would rise by almost 4 cents if the budget is approved. Without the ACS closure, that increase would have been closer to 10 cents, according to ANWSD officials.