Author Archive

Quechee Village Bicycle/Pedestrian Scoping Study

Kick-off Community Meeting When: Wednesday, April 2nd at 6:30 pm   Where: Ottauquechee School Cafeteria, 304 Dody Lane, Quechee (click for directions) The Town of Hartford received a grant from the Vermont Agency of Transportation to conduct a bicycle/pedestrian scoping study for several road segments in Quechee, including Quechee Main Street, Waterman Hill Road, Woodstock Road (Route 4), West Gilson […]

2014 Results

Well, I lost narrowly yesterday and while it hurts, I’m not going to turn away from my interest in understanding our town operations and sharing that information with you. My take on the election is that too many in town have a bad feeling about their local government, and as the only incumbent I got […]

3 Ways to Vote in the Town Meeting Election

I) In Person – Early from Thursday, Feb 13 until Monday, Mar 3,  just show up at the Town Clerk’s office: 8:30 am – 5pm Mon-Fri  |  171 Bridge St White River Jct VT 05001 II) By Mail – Request a ballot from the Town Clerk via phone, email, fax or in person 1) Call […]

Taxes in Hartford: a 10 year history

I assembled a tax history for the town based on the detailed table of town data I assembled last year from town reports and audits and used as the basis for the surplus history report I sent out around this time last year. This one, though, is more focused on the elements that make up […]

Why Fluoridation isn’t coming to Hartford

Here are some facts first, so we are all on the same page: Q) Who has the power to decide whether or not fluoride is added to the White River Jct, Wilder or Quechee water systems? A) The town manager Q) Will the town manager add it? A) The town manager has repeatedly said that he will […]

The way we are paying for WABA is screwed up

I had a chance to dig out my copies of the materials handed out at the public hearings on the Joint Town-School Recreation Facilities bond of 2013. Here is a scan of WABA as conceptualized at the time, showing 6 new locker rooms on the west side. WABA Diagrams presented at 2013 Public Hearings These […]

Joint Rec Bond Project info

I put together a spreadsheet over the holidays to help me get my head wrapped around what happened with the different recreation projects.  All in all the shortfall is in the neighborhood of 3.5 million — information that could not have been developed by the citizen committee which came up with estimates. For example, they […]

Cutting Spending? We are cutting A LOT!

Our budget discussions have just gotten started and we hear about not cutting spending. How is cutting seven staff positions, not funding our reserves, and flat funding everything else not curbing spending? We can’t do anything about the 1% decline in the grand list which will make everyone’s taxes go up at least 1.25 cents. […]

What Do We Get for Our Taxes?

I wrote this in response to a friend who emailed complaining about town spending and taxes: There is no question that because Vermont is a small, northern state with a small population and a lack of industrial development it is a high-cost place to live, not just in the form of taxes, but also in […]

Town Money

The Undesignated Fund Balance The undesignated fund balance is carefully managed so that we arrive at 10% of our annual expenses, or about 1.3 million, each fall after the year end surplus (or deficit) is determined. The purpose of this fund is to pay for extraordinary one time expenses caused by unforseen events for which […]

Curbside Recycling – How many of us use it?

We’ve been hearing ‘roughly half of the households in town presently participate in the program.’ This is based on a preliminary report studying Hartford’s solid waste management program. When I asked the company who compiled the report what their methodology was for determining the level of participation, they reported following the truck for a couple […]

Special Budget Meeting Monday Sept 23 HHS 7pm

The Selectboard of Town of Hartford, Vermont will hold a special information session about the town budget on Monday September 23 at 7 P.M. in the Hartford High School auditorium. “By the time the budget is in front of the voters in early March, dozens of important decisions have been made by town staff and […]