BRANDON — Residents in Brandon gathered at the Town Hall, Monday, March 2, for an informational meeting, then the next day voted by Australian ballot for all of the items listed in the warning.

Voters approved the town budget, by more than a 2-1 margin, 528-251. The $3,504,165 budget for municipal expenses, was comprised of $562,012 raised in no-tax revenue and $2,942,153 to be raised in property taxes.

That represents a spending increase of $100,200, or 2.9%, and a hike in taxes of $65,508, or 2.3%. That hike in taxes, however, has been offset by forecasts for additional department revenue and in a reduction in capital spending, making the increase in taxes to one-half of one percent, or 0.53%, according to Town Manager Seth Hopkins.

In preliminary public hearings about the budget in late January, Hopkins said voters were more than pleased with one resident exclaiming the budget was “magnificent.”
All articles Nos. 3-14, which will add additional expenses to the budget and property taxes, passed by wide margins, including:

• $25,000 to Brandon American Legion Post No. 55.
• $82,580 to the Brandon Area Rescue Squad.
• $92,000 to the Brandon Community Library.
• $15,500 to the senior center.
• $10,200 for VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region.
• $7,000 to Fourth of July.
• and amounts of $5,000 or less to six more organizations.

Voters also re-elected Brian Coolidge to 3-year term on selectboard and Cecil Reniche-Smith and Jeff Haylon to 1-year terms on the selectboard.
Town Clerk and Treasurer Susan Gage was re-elected to 3-year terms in both positions.

All candidates were unopposed.

Interestingly, in the race for Trustee of Public Funds there were three write-in candidates for the two positions. Devon Fuller edged out Claire Astone for the 2-year term as Trustee of Public Funds by write-in, and Tracy Wyman was elected to the 1-year term. Faith Daya was on the ballot for a three-year trustee position and was elected without opposition.

The positions are required by law to administer a fund left by Shirley Farr in her will that exceeds $900,000. The fund was intended by Farr to be used for sanitation/ wastewater and other public health considerations.

According to Hopkins, per Vermont law, when a town holds funds in trust for any purpose, it must elect three trustees to oversee the funds and make distributions in accordance with the terms of the bequest.

At Monday night’s meeting, Brandon voters overwhelmingly supported a measure to establish an advisory budget committee and voted to have the selectboard appoint those members rather than have them be elected.

Brandon voters joined their peers in Leicester, Whiting, Goshen, Sudbury and Pittsford to defeat the Otter Valley Unified Union budget by a vote of 868 against to 700 in favor. The district school board warned a FY27 spending plan of $28,841,999, which was an increase of $818,286, or 2.92%. The spending was $14,257 per pupil — up about $5.5% from this year.