VERGENNES — Little City residents will gather at Vergennes Union High School Auditorium on Monday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m., for their annual meeting; people can also attend virtually via zoom at: zoom.us/j/561577976.

They’ll then head to Saint Peter’s Parish Hall on Tuesday, March 3, between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., to cast ballots on a number of measures, including the introduction of a local option tax, nonprofit spending and elected officials.

A “yes” or “no” on the $28,314,179 FY27 Addison Northwest School District spending proposal is also on tap for March 3 voting. ANWSD will host its annual meeting and public information hearing on the school budget on Monday evening at 6 p.m. at the VUHS library.

Unlike in other Addison County municipalities, voters won’t be tasked with weighing in on city spending. That responsibility falls to the city council, which will set the FY27 budget for Vergennes in June.

There’s still plenty on tap for city residents to consider, including a local option tax (LOT).

If voters approve the measure, a 1% tax on sales, meals, alcohol and rooms would be levied with 70% of the generated funds going to the city and the remaining 30% going to the state.

City officials would use the revenue stream, which they predict could add roughly $200,000 a year to Vergennes coffers, on “municipal, non-education operational and capital expenditures, including municipal infrastructure, as identified by the city council, for the benefit of the taxpayers of Vergennes.”

Residents will also be asked to create a reserve fund for the LOT money.

As in other years, voters are being asked to allocate funding amongst 18 area service agencies, including the Addison County Humane Society ($2,000), the Counseling Service of Addison County ($2,500) and the Atria Collective ($4,000).

Addison County Home Health & Hospice and Age Well are asking for $5,000 each, the most of any single organization listed.

The other 11 organizations would get between $750-$4,000 if approved by voters.

If voters approve all the appropriations, the total sum Vergennes would remit to area nonprofits is $48,164.

Voters had no qualms with signing off on essentially equivalent nonprofit spending in 2025.

The only difference this year is there’s no line item for the defunct Boys & Girls Club, though city officials have said they’ll include $5,000 in the city’s FY27 budget for the town-run Commodore Club. Recreation and Programming Director Martha DeGraaf formed the fledgling organization after the Boys & Girls Club ceased operations last spring.

The sole contest for an elected position is for the two-year alderman race. The four candidates competing for three seats are incumbents Dickie Austin, Jill Murray-Killon and James Dragon, former mayor Michael H. Daniels.

Mel Hawley, the former city manager, is running unopposed for a one-year alderman term.

The $28,314,179 Addison Northwest School District FY27 budget that voters will review came in slightly higher than the spending approved last year by residents of Addison, Ferrisburgh, Panton, Vergennes and Waltham.

The tax rate won’t be set in stone until a state budget is passed and state aid is known. School officials outlined possible tax estimates if the spending plan is passed as warned. For Vergennes residents, that figure is $1.1653 per $100 of assessed property value, up from $1.1046, which represents an increase of about 6 cents, or 5.5%. It would increase property taxes about $60 per $100,000 of assessed value.