CALAIS – The Town of Calais, like many other municipalities, is gearing up for 2025 Town Meeting Day. While some towns structure their meetings differently, some host pre-town meeting informational sessions whereas others will dive on in, Town Meeting Day, March 4.
In lieu of an informational meeting, the town of Calais is utilizing a special page on the town website, titled 2025 Town Meeting (Warning and Budget) Primer.
This page provides a detailed breakdown of each article in the town meeting warning, as well as a concise summary of the budget to be presented on March 4.
At the top of the page, viewers are first presented with a message authored by Town Clerk Teegan Dykeman-Brown explaining the purpose of the primer itself.
Dykeman-Brown writes, “As we approach the 2025 Town Meeting, it’s been brought to my attention that some folks are a little bit overwhelmed by the annual budget and by the articles in the Town Meeting warning. It’s a lot of information and a lot of big numbers, and it can be hard to wrap your head around it if you haven’t been attending Town Meetings for decades or diligently attending the Selectboard meetings since October, when budget planning began in earnest. In addition, the warning is crafted around statutory and other legal requirements, not readability by the average citizen.”
Below Dykeman-Brown’s message are the town meeting articles listed in order. In contrast to the town meeting warning however, the matters are put into layman’s terms for readability.
For example, Article 11 asks “Shall the voters raise and appropriate the sum of $2,500 to fund the Town Garage Reserve Fund?” The matter is then explicated for residents in a concise paragraph below, “Calais created a reserve fund for the town hall and town office in 2014. In 2019, the fund was split into separate funds for each building. However, the town has never voted to create a reserve fund for the town garage, and, perhaps consequently, the garage is the building most in need of maintenance and upgrades. This fund would be used to pay for smaller projects at the Town Garage and to save for larger renovations in the future.”
As Dykeman-Brown said, for residents unfamiliar with town meetings or those who don’t attend select board meetings, the website provides an easy-access explanation and further resources on these issues.
Pre-Town Meeting Informational Meetings Scheduled
by Gazette Staff
AREA TOWNS – Hardwick has scheduled an informational 2025 pre-town meeting, Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m., in the third floor of the Memorial Building, 20 Church St., as a Zoom meeting, or on HCTV.us the following day. Detailed information is available under the February 20 Public Hearing Agenda link at hardwickvt.gov/government/selectboard/
Greensboro has a pre-town meeting, Wednesday, Feb.19, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at Lakeview Union Elementary School, or join via the Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8245586005?omn=82867706012 Meeting ID: 824 558 6005
Woodbury’s pre-town meeting forum will be held Thursday, Feb. 27, 6 p.m., in the Woodbury Elementary School Gymnasium. Residents who are running for elective office are encouraged to attend.
Cabot will meet on Thursday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m., via Zoom or in person at the Willey Building Auditorium for a Public Informational Hearing per 17 V.S.A. §2680 (h) regarding Articles that will be voted on by Australian Ballot on Tuesday, March 4, 2025
There are no scheduled informational meetings prior to town meetings this year in Craftsbury, Marshfield, Plainfield, Stannard, Walden and Wolcott.
Raymonda Parchment is a Hardwick Gazette reporter. She recently graduated from Vermont State University - Castleton with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She is a strong supporter of freedom of speech, and the right to publish information, opinions, and ideas without censorship or restraint. She is a lifelong lover of the written word, and is excited to join the team as a staff member.
