HANCOCK — Residents of the White River Valley town of Hancock will hold their town meeting next week at the usual time and place: Tuesday, 10 a.m., in the town hall. Only registered voters may cast ballots or participate in floor voting.

Eight elected officers will be up for a vote. One selectboard seat is up for election — a three-year term currently held by board chair Scott Gillette.

As in most years, perhaps the highest-profile item on the warning is the proposed town spending of $541,923 — that’s for municipal and road expenses. Compared to the $443,265 approved last year, that represents an increase of $98,658, or 22%. Looking at the budget in the town report, it appears there are a lot of small increases to things like electricity and telephone for the town office (up $1,250), accessor’s contract (up $1,000) the summer mowing (up $300). And there are a few bigger jumps for things like winter road maintenance (up $15,000), principal and interest on the Shamp Culvert loan ($28,000) and Tucker Brook paving ($46,000).

Separate from the municipal budget, residents will decide if they should appropriate a total of $7,319 to eight social service agencies and programs. The two largest are $2,716 for the Quinn Town Senior Center and $1,500 for Hancock Town Pride to stage events and activities that foster community spirit, beauty and involvement.

Citizens will be invited to discuss how much the town should spend on law enforcement — specifically, with an eye toward hiring the Addison County Sheriff’s Department to patrol in town. A contract with the ACSD was discontinued in 2024 because revenue from traffic tickets failed to match the cost of deputies’ patrols. The selectboard met with Sheriff Michael Elmore, who presented three possible tiers of coverage, which will be up for discussion at town meeting.