Strafford’s Town Mtg.: Getting There Was the Hard Part

By John Freitag

The toughest part of Town Meeting Day in Strafford this year was getting to the Town House. A morning rain put an icy glaze on dirt roads and people were still coming in at 9 a.m. when the meeting was scheduled to start. Once things got going about 20 minutes later it was pretty smooth sailing, as all articles and budget items passed at both the Town and School meetings and there were no contested elections.  

Bob Bauer, who had been moderator for the last three years, set the tone when he stepped aside and declined a nomination for this year after Kerry Claffey was also nominated for moderator.

The town budget did get some scrutiny before being passed. Selectboard chair Steve Willbanks noted that the budget was going up around 5% this year and the tax rate would be up around two cents. He also said that this was the first year the principal on the Town Garage would be paid and the tax rate from that project would add an additional 3.4 cents to the tax rate.

Rod Maclay spoke about the poor condition of the roads and gave figures of around a million dollars as to what would be needed to fix the paved roads in town. A former selectboard member, he admitted that maybe the town had been trying too hard to keep the budget down and, as a consequence, now faced deteriorated paved roads. He suggested that a committee be set up to review the road situation and make recommendations.

It was pointed out that next year will likely see another tax increase, even if no new projects are undertaken. This is due to the fact that in this year’s budget, there was a one-time balance forward of nearly $70,000 accumulated from past years. The town will also need to raise over $60,000 of its share for a sidewalk project in South Strafford. 

An amendment to lower the interest penalty to 1/2% from the current 1% per month was defeated on a voice vote.

Kay Campbell, who declined to run for re-election to a third term on the selectboard, was honored with a standing ovation for her service to the community. Karl Johnston was elected to take her place on the board. Other new faces in town government included Heather Bagley as auditor and Cindy Binzen as a library trustee.

Voters authorized the selectboard to purchase a 2008 Ford 550 truck and allowed the board to pursue executing an Interlocal Contract for a fiber-optic network. An amendment that this be done "with the understanding that the property tax will not be used to fund this project" was defeated in a voice vote. This happened after selectboard chair Willbanks read a provision of the law that specifically prohibited the use of any money but revenue generated by such a project from being used by a town. It was urged by those involved not to pass amendments, but to use the same language that other towns are using to avoid any confusion.

School Meeting

After a lunch organized by the PTA, the school meeting was called to order. Again Bob Bauer declined to serve as moderator and the gavel was turned over to Kerry Claffey.

Outgoing Chair Tom Cecere handled the questions on the budget and money articles. When questioned he admitted it would have been good to include in the budget money that was currently in the reserve funds, and this will be done next year. The budget and other money articles passed.

Nikki Kendall was elected to a three-year term and Michael Curtis to a two-year term as school directors. Outgoing Directors Tom Cecere and Therese Linehan received a standing ovation for their work on behalf of the school, children and community.

All was wrapped up by 2:30 p.m. and the Town House was left to election officials who would keep the stoves going until the polls closed at 7 p.m. and votes in the Presidential Primary had been counted.

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