LEICESTER — A short 20-minute informational meeting that previewed the Leicester town budget and a few other issues was held Monday evening in the town office this year as the Meeting House was unavailable. About 20 people huddled into the space for the meeting that featured few questions but ample praise for the town’s road crew and Green Up effort. Last year residents voted to make the in-person annual meeting informational only, with all votes to be done via Australian ballot the following day.

In Tuesday voting, Leicester residents approved the town budget 132-35. The $830,200 spending plan represents an increase of just less than $5,000, or 1%, from the current fiscal year.

Specifically, voters approved spending $359,335 for general town expenses, with the amount to be raised by taxes $346,556, while $470,865 was allocated to spending on roads with $350,957 to be raised in taxes.

Together, the amount to be raised in taxes would be $57,113 more than last year.

Two other money items on the warning were also approved in separate votes. Leicester residents OK’d an additional $1,000 for the Charter House Coalition to run its emergency shelter by a vote of 109-48; and voted 89-68 in favor of spending an additional $20,000 to add 25 hours of sheriff’s department patrols for traffic enforcement.

Leicester residents also easily re-elected a handful of elected positions, including two seats on the selectboard for a two-year and a three-year term held by John Rouse and Diane Randall, respectively. Both were unopposed.

Voters also almost unanimously re-elected Julie Delphia to three-year terms as town clerk and town treasurer, who was also unopposed.

Others elected to town posts, all unopposed, were: Richard Reed to a one-year term as moderator; Dianne Harvey to a one-year term as delinquent tax collector; and Lyndsay Davignon to a three-year term as auditor.

Leicester voters joined their peers in Brandon, Whiting, Goshen, Sudbury and Pittsford in casting ballots on the budget and board members representing the Otter Valley Unified Union schools. The district school budget was defeated 868-700. See the results in a wrap-up of all area school district voting on Page 1A.