Town Warning

The town warning is fairly short, fits all on one page, where with other towns in the area there are several pages of articles. For Ryegate it is business as normal,

Articles 1, 3, 5, & 6 discuss the ELECTIONS of a town clerk, moderator, school board directors, tax collecor, and all necessary town officials.

Article 2 will include REPORTS from town officers with discussion to follow, then they will vote on a BUDGET for 2010.

Article 4 COLLECTS all the TAXES.

Article 7 will allow for the selectmen to BORROW MONEY if the town has to.

Article 8 will decide whether or not to RAISE TAXES if necessary.

Article 9 deals with any NONBINDING business.

Auditor's Narrative & What It Means

So for the last two years auditors have been working diligently to bring more transparency to the towns people of Ryegate Vermont. In this years annual report they have numbers that go back as far as 12 years, a drastic improvement from years past.
But this year they have also spoke out. In the Auditor's Narrative they question some of the moves by the town administration and selectboard. Most notably why the town has chosen to retain the Vermont League of Towns and Cities as it health care provider, while other providers could be chosen at a considerable savings. Another issue is the towns accounting. The way it is currently tracked, transparency is near impossible and the Fund Balances are unable to be reconciled.
So while I have said in a previous blog that it should be a fairly non-eventful Town Meeting Day, if the people of Ryegate want to know where THEIR money is going, it might be best to ask the tough questions.

What's On The Docket This Year?

So far this year Ryegate looks to have a quiet year at Town Meeting. I spoke to Marsha Nelson the town clerk on Monday and about the only thing she expects some debate over is what the town auditors have to said in an "Auditors Narrative." I will further describe was it says in another blog. Also, there will be a school board informational hearing Monday March 1, 2010 at Blue Mountain Union Library at 7 pm. Voting will start the next day. But so far the only other big thing would be a projected $200,000 deficit the town is expecting. Tune in after Town Meeting Day for a full recap of what the residents have to say.

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