Weathersfield Select Board Meeting – February 24, 2026
Weathersfield Select Board Meeting – February 24, 2026
The meeting opened with public comment regarding budget and tax rate concerns, followed by approval of previous minutes, formal recognition of the 250th anniversary committee and a commemorative play, and a detailed discussion on terminating the Windsor County Sheriff's Department contract while exploring a regional police model. The board also approved warrants.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes of the February 17 meeting were accepted with a correction (page 3, first paragraph).
- Warrants were approved: General fund payroll $16,652; Highway fund payroll $11,986.70; Operating expenses $20,299.45; Solid waste management payroll $2,246.25 and operating expense $17,433; Library payroll $2,648.76 (operating $0); Grant VR 372 reappraisal operating expense $20,167; Total payroll $33,533.
Public Comments & Testimony
- A resident (unidentified) stated the town report was received only four days before the annual town meeting, not the legally required 10 days, and questioned a discrepancy between his calculated 9.6% tax increase (general and highway funds combined) and the report’s 7% figure. He requested that the board provide an estimated tax rate if all articles pass, to inform absentee voters. The town manager (likely) agreed to produce that figure the next day.
- During the police discussion, a resident suggested using the West Weathersfield fire station for a new police department instead of the Scotney firehouse, stating it would be more regional for partner towns.
Discussion Items
- 250th Anniversary Commemoration: The board discussed a resolution from the Vermont 250th Anniversary Commission. They appointed John Wade, Ellen Plattenberg, Patty Ericsson, and Mark Richardson as the official Weathersfield 250th Committee, serving as the town’s liaison to the state commission. The board then adopted the resolution (motion and second). Subsequently, the committee requested formal recognition of the play "We Most Ardently Desire" by Patty Ericsson as the town’s official contribution to the 250th anniversary. The board voted to recognize the play. A follow-up request for a $1,000 donation was noted as needing to be added to a future agenda.
- Police Department Contract Termination: The town manager read a procedural statement and then delivered an extensive explanation of the board’s unanimous decision to terminate the contract with the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department. He cited financial mismanagement (no accountant, no formal annual budget since 2024, cash flow issues), the sheriff’s arrest and ongoing criminal investigation, unsustainable overtime, and a requested funding increase of nearly half a million dollars. He assured that public safety would not lapse and that temporary coverage agreements were being arranged. He presented a regional police department option with Reading and Cavendish as one possible long-term solution, emphasizing that no decisions have been made and discussions are ongoing. He opened the floor for questions.
Key Outcomes
- The Weathersfield 250th Committee was formally appointed and the state resolution adopted.
- The play "We Most Ardently Desire" was recognized as the town’s official 250th anniversary contribution.
- The board agreed to place a $1,000 donation request for the 250th play on the next meeting’s agenda.
- The warrants were approved as presented.
- The board adjourned the meeting.
Note: The transcript indicates that the decision to terminate the sheriff’s contract was made in a prior executive session and was not voted on during this meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Already? Yeah, hour record. I want to ask a few questions about the budget, and I don't see it on the agenda. So the reason why I think it's important is because people are getting absentee ballots and they want to vote, and I'm not exactly sure they have all the information they need. First, I want to thank you for the town report. I got mine on Saturday. That's not acceptable. Guys, the law says 10 days prior to the annual town meeting, which is Saturday. Um I've asked for him to check into that. I don't know what the penalty is. Um she said I've never had anybody ask that before. Um I'm looking at um page 107 of the new town report. I'm sorry, page we're gonna talk about the town, not the school. Page 140, and it gives an estimated municipal tax rate. Um but I'm confused, and I'm and I hope I can have an answer because I took my last town report and I combined for for simplicity. I combined the general fund and the highway fund because I wanted to know without the solid waste fund what year over year more money was, and it is when you combine those two, and the budgets are asking for so much money, but really what matters to residents is the property taxes. So if you do do that math, it increases year over year by 241,000. If you take the articles that were voted on last year compared to the articles that we'll vote on Tuesday, it's 241,000 difference. If you do that on a percentage basis, that alone is 9.6% up in taxes year over year for those two funds. But yet I'm reading in the town report here on page 140. Um, it says it doesn't say that. Um it says like seven percent. So can you clarify that? Yeah, I can absolutely do that for town meeting. Not tonight, set all the numbers in front of me. Um, but I will look into that how it really numbers were double and triple checked um by our team, but I will I will ensure take a look at it. Well, the reason why I'm bringing this up is because there's a little chatter outside about you know why is the school up so much and the town not. I the narrative of that is in fact it's turning out to be the opposite, well, not complete opposite, but it's reversing because while the budget might be up 3.78 or 3.87, the tax rate needs to climb dramatically. And then and that's due to the use of prior years fund balance to offset property taxes, and this year we had less fund balance to work with. But I also noticed we've got a hiccup in delinquent taxes. That report was published as of that day. Uh those publicly taxes typically settle within the next couple of months. So my next question is can you say now because if you take the special articles, and I know in the past we've done this before the town meeting, I mean, we're being broadcast now, and I really feel that people need to know because of absentee balance. Can you say what the taxes will be if all articles passed? Because that's what the school does. The school has estimated what the homestead and the non-homestead will be a complete unit, one size there. You have what it is. And I have been asked to produce that from a board member. Um, and I did tell that board member I would have that prepared, and it will be prepared uh this week for a town meeting. Um that will be a tax rate if all articles pass, that's what you're looking for, right? It's the most straightforward way. I did it, it's a little scary. It's 20.58 cents. That's a lot of money, folks. That's a really lot of money. And I'm not saying to vote, no. I'm saying that you have in your life in my life right now at my farm, I have one house, a bunch of barns, a bunch of woods, and a bunch of fields. I pay 10,240 in property taxes to the town. That's 28.05 every day of my life. That's a lot of money to me.
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