Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

THE TOWN CLERK & TREASURER'S OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED ON SATURDAY, SEPT. 4 DUE TO THE LABOR DAY HOLIDAY

The Putney Pool is scheduled to close for the season on Sunday, Aug. 29.  Hope to see you again next summer!

1st installment of 2010 taxes due

Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Voting will take place at the Putney Fire Station, 14 Main Street.  Polls will be open from 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Meeting at 7:00 p.m.

The final paving of Rt. 5, from Basketville to the Putney Co-op, will take place on Thursday night, August 12.  The projected hours of operation are 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.  There will be some noise and traffic congestion but they hope to finish the village in one night.

Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Meeting July 20, 7:00 p.m.

Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

PUTNEY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

CONDITIONAL USE APPROVAL

Pursuant to 24 VSA, Chap. 117, and Putney Zoning Regulations, Section 110.4, notice is hereby given that the Putney Development Review Board will meet in the Putney Town offices at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, 2010 for the purpose of considering an application for construction of a new accessory dwelling, submitted by Peter Bernhard and Lucia Turino, for property located at 36 Allyn Road (Tax Map 06-02-36).

The meeting is open to the public.  Participation in these proceedings is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal. A copy of the application and the proposed plan are available for public review at the Putney Town Office during normal business hours.

PUTNEY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

CONDITIONAL USE APPROVAL

Pursuant to 24 VSA, Chap. 117, and Putney Zoning Regulations, Section 110.4, notice is hereby given that the Putney Development Review Board will meet in the Putney Town offices at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, 2010 for the purpose of considering an application for the construction of additional units in a multi-family dwelling, submitted by Neil Madow, for property located at 8-10 Kimball Hill (Tax Map 30-50-20).

The meeting is open to the public.  Participation in these proceedings is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal. A copy of the application and the proposed plan are available for public review at the Putney Town Office during normal business hours.

The Putney Pool opens for the season at 12:00 noon!

The Town Clerk's Office will be closed Saturday, June 12.

Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Polls will be open 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

PUTNEY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

CONDITIONAL USE APPROVAL

SITE PLAN REVIEW

Pursuant to 24 VSA, Chap. 117, and Putney Zoning Regulations, Section 110.4, notice is hereby given that the Putney Development Review Board will meet in the Putney Town offices at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 18, 2010 for the purpose of considering an application for the change of use of an existing commercial space to an educational use, submitted by Green Valley School (applicant) P&D Commercial (Landowner), for property located at 125 Main Street (Tax Map 30-50-32).

The meeting is open to the public.  Participation in these proceedings is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal. A copy of the application and the proposed plan are available for public review at the Putney Town Office during normal business hours.

PUTNEY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

CONDITIONAL USE APPROVAL

SITE PLAN REVIEW

(Amendment to an existing Planned Educational Development)

Pursuant to 24 VSA, Chap. 117, and Putney Zoning Regulations, Section 110.4, notice is hereby given that the Putney Development Review Board will meet in the Putney Town offices at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, 2010 for the purpose of considering an application for the construction of a dormitory building, submitted by The Greenwood School for property located at 14 Greenwood Lane (Tax Map 07-02-48).

The meeting is open to the public.  Participation in these proceedings is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal. A copy of the application and the proposed plan are available for public review at the Putney Town Office during normal business hours.

Regular meeting at 4:45 p.m.

WARNINGS FOR 2010 PUTNEY TOWN AND PUTNEY SCHOOL DISTRICT

MEETING

The legal voters of the Town of Putney and the Town of Putney School District are hereby notified and warned to meet at the Putney Central School in Putney at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, to act upon the following Articles. Polls will be open from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM at the Putney Central School.

Article 1:  To choose all Town Officers required by law to be elected at the Annual Town Meeting.  (voting by Australian ballot)

Article 2: To choose all Town School District Officers required by law to be elected at the Annual School District Meeting. (voting by Australian ballot)

Article 3:  To see if the Town will accept the report of the last Town Meeting.

Article 4:  To see if the Town will accept the Auditors' report.

Article 5:  To elect Trustees of the Putney Public Library.  

Article 6: To see if the town will vote to designate the Town of Putney as a Clean Energy Assessment District, as authorized by 24 VSA, Chp. 87, sec.3261, allowing the Town to operate a program enabling participating property owners to access funding for eligible energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, with the costs repaid as a special municipal assessment on that property owner's property tax bill.

Article 7: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $ 2500 to the Energy Conservation Initiatives Fund, to fund energy improvements to town buildings and vehicles, under the supervision of the Town Manager, as recommended by the Putney Energy Coordinator.

Article 8: To see if the Town will vote to exempt the Putney Gun Club from municipal and educational taxation, on the improvements, appurtenances and land off Sand Hill Road, Lot 07-03-39, for a period of five years, beginning April 1, 2010, as authorized by 32 VSA, Section 3832 (7).

Article 9:  To see if the Town will vote to approve the 2010-2011 Sewer Fund budget as outlined in the 2009 Town Report.

Article 10: To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Selectboard to borrow an amount not to exceed $155,000, for the purchase of a replacement for a 2000 Sterling Dump truck, to be repaid over a period of five years.

Article 11:  To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate an amount of money necessary to defray its expenses and liabilities for the ensuing fiscal year (July 1, 2010- June 30, 2011), and if so how much.

Article 12:  To see if the Town will authorize the Putney Selectboard to borrow money in anticipation of revenues (taxes and grants) to pay current expenses.

Article 13:  To transact any other town business that may legally come

before the Annual Town Meeting.

Article 14: To determine what salaries the Town School District will pay its officers and directors.

Article 15: To see if the Town School District will authorize its School Board to accept and expend categorical grants and aid received from the State of Vermont, and the United States Government, and private sources.

Article 16: To see if the Putney Town School District will raise and appropriate the sum of

$ 38,000, and to deposit such sum into the "Putney Town School District Capital Improvement Fund."

Article 17: To see if the Putney Town School District will authorize the expenditure of a sum not to exceed $8,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund for the replacement of a walk-in refrigeration unit.

Article 18:  To see if the Town School District will vote to raise and appropriate an amount of money necessary to defray its expenses and liabilities for the ensuing fiscal year (July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2011) and if so, in what amount.

Article 19:  To see if the Town School District will authorize the School Board to borrow money in anticipation of taxes to pay current expenses.

Article 20:  To transact any other school business that may legally come before the Annual School District Meeting.

Dated this 27^{th day} of January, 2010, at Putney, Windham County, Vermont

PUTNEY SELECTBOARD

Bradley M. King, Chair; R. Scott Henry, Joshua D. Laughlin

PUTNEY SCHOOL BOARD DIRECTORS

Benjamin Cragin, Chair; Virginia Scholl, Anne Fines, Matthew Dall, Pauline Baumberger

FY 11 Municipal Budget Summary

The FY 11 budget was guided by a directive from the Selectboard to make every effort to insure that the tax rate for municipal services in the coming year did not increase from its current level of .558

The proposed budget accomplishes that goal, even though there were some unavoidable increases to contend with, specifically in the area of health insurance, where we are already in the lowest priced plan tier offered by our state-wide Health Trust.  Our employees agreed to switch to that high deductible plan last year, and it was our decision to remain with that plan for one more year, since our alternative at this point would be to leave the VLCT Health Trust, and seek health insurance on our own.

As a result of the 15% increase in insurance premiums, it was the Board’s position that no cost-of-living increase would be sought this year, since the cost of raises would be identical to the health insurance increase, and doing both would certainly raise the tax rate, unless we cut into other essential services.

The increase in all categories are minimal; 3% in General Government (including Health Insurance), 1% each in Public Safety and Highway, due to fees and fuel,  and -1% in other assessments, leading to an overall increase in General Fund expenses of 1%, or $17,000.

Most of the capital budget reflects our current long-term debt payments: the only discretionary items are a $ 20,000 down payment on the replacement of a 10 year old dump truck, and $10,000 to be set aside in our capital reserve fund, in anticipation of future improvements.

The resulting overall $25,000 proposed increase in spending for the coming year is offset by additional revenue projected in several categories, including current use reimbursements from state revenues, additional interest on delinquent taxes, and an increase in revenues from inspections and ordinance fines.

The results of the FY 09 independent audit show Putney to be on a sound basis financially, although it does point out that rather than eliminate the $9,000 deficit from the previous year, we actually incurred an additional $2,000 in red ink. This is not the result of overspending: in fact, we actually would have shown a surplus if we had been able to improve our tax collection rate, but that number actually increased from $94,000 to over $137,000. We’re aware that these are difficult times for all, but we will have to be careful that this trend is not allowed to go unaddressed for too long.

We consider this budget proposal to be in line with current fiscal reality:  We are hoping to avoid cutting what we consider to be basic services, while recognizing the pressures many are dealing with in other areas, and we’ll be listening carefully at Town Meeting.

Chris Ryan, Town Manager

Putney is continuing its successful tradition of candidate forums, dubbed by all  “Democracy Parties”, the Putney Selectboard, School Board, and Town Clerk are hosting a fifth annual informational event on elected town offices. This forum for potential town officer candidates will be held on Thursday, January 21^st at 6:30 PM in the Putney Public Library on Main Street. The event is free and light refreshments will be served.

We are looking for people to campaign as candidates for the following positions:

Auditor – 2 & 3 year

Cemetery Commission – 2 & 3 year

Grand Jurors (2) – 1 year

Lister – 1, 2 & 3 year

Moderator – 1year

School Director (2) – 1 year

School Director – 3 year

Selectpeople – 3 year

Town Agent – 1 year

Interested people can come to the Democracy Party to learn about these positions and ask questions of current board members. Those that have attended the past forums in Putney felt it was educational for everybody and successfully reached out to potential candidates.

For more information contact:

Anita Coomes, Town Clerk 387-5862 x14, or Chris Ryan, Town Manager 387-5862 x11

Wednesday, September 16, 7:00 p.m.

The purpose of this public meeting is to present alternatives for a proposed sidewalk project in the Village of Putney.  We will also discuss issues and concerns with these alternatives.  Information from this meeting will assist in selection of a preferred alternative. 

Session 3:  August 3 - August 14.  Lessons are held Monday - Friday.  Cost:  $50.00 Room still available in all levels.  Sign up now at the pool or town hall!

7:00 p.m.

Warning for special town meeting: to see if the town will vote to amend the amount appropriated to the Windham Solid Waste District assessment in the 2009 general fund budget.

The Town of Putney is seeking to fill a vacancy on the Board of Listers.

This position is compensated at a rate of $13.24 per hour, and the current budget will support a minimum of 4 hours per week, with the possibility of additional hours in the coming fiscal year.  A background in real estate, construction, or computer data base applications would be helpful.  Anyone interested in learning more about the position should contact:

Chris Ryan

Putney Town Manager

387-5862, ex. 11

April 24, 2009

The Putney Pool will open for the season at noon.  Memberships are available now at the Town Hall and will be available at the pool upon opening.

The uncertainties surrounding fiscal decision-making in the current economy have made the 2010 budget a challenging task, but we’ve attempted to put together a budget that keeps the basic level of municipal services intact, and honors our basic commitment to fair treatment of town employees.

The audit for the year just closed, 2008, showed an operating surplus of $27,000. This was $9,000 short of the goal of retiring the deficit that we had been dealing with from the prior several years. We would have reached this goal, and generated a small surplus in addition, but the balance of uncollected taxes increased by almost $31,000 during this past year, which may be a sign of the times.

Going forward, we’re proposing a budget which actually calls for a 3% reduction in total spending from 2008.  This includes debt service on our capital purchases from previous years, with a 1% increase in the general fund operating budget. This year will see no purchases of new equipment, and we are not proposing any additional capital reserve appropriations. Obviously, this is a year for spending restraint.  There is also a possibility that some funds from the proposed federal stimulus may be available for capital spending on local infrastructure such as road and sidewalk rebuilding.

All department heads have asked for minimal or no increases in any category other than wages.  We’ve recommended a 3% cost of living increase, consistent with the year’s rate of inflation and consumer price index. This seems justified to us, as the employees agreed to another change in health plans, to a high deductible plan with a health savings account, reducing what would have been a 22% increase in health costs to a more manageable 12%.  000.  In the last several years, we‘ve made an effort to bring our wages in line with the average for other Vermont towns of Putney’s size, and would prefer to keep them from slipping backward. The cost of the 3% increase for all employees is approximately $13,000, or $13 on the average household.

Nevertheless, we recognize that these are difficult times for taxpayers as well, and we hope this proposed budget is in line with voter expectations.  The impact on the municipal tax rate of this budget, even with our reductions in overall spending, is currently estimated to be an additional 1.5 cents above the current year’s rate of .53 cents.  Other revenues used to fund the budget are uncertain right now.  Interest income, which was $48,000 in FY 07, and $31,000 in FY 08, has all but disappeared. The tax rate is still an estimate, and the hope is that we will have some better news before it’s actually set in July, and we will be able to revise some revenue estimates upward, reducing the actual rate. One piece of good news is that the school rate is forecast to remain virtually unchanged from the current year.

There are a number of articles relating to the Collector of Delinquent Taxes position, which are best understood after reading the Report of the Committee on the Collection of Delinquent Taxes, which we are making widely available.  This Committee researched the issue and conducted interviews with various interested parties at the request of the Selectboard, and their work lead to the articles being presented.    We’re sure that a full discussion will lead to decisions that are in the best interests of the town, and we want to make clear that none of these articles are a negative reflection on how the current Collector is performing her duties.

The question of reinstating the business personal property tax has been raised by the Board of Listers.  Although we recognize that this may be a sensitive issue for some, in these times of diminishing revenues we feel that it’s a timely discussion for Putney.  We’ll all be listening carefully as the facts are presented.  As with any complex issue, we’re keeping an open mind, and we’re genuinely curious about the town’s willingness to consider this step.

                                                                                                Chris Ryan

                                                                                                Putney Town Manager

Meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Efficiency Vermont and the Putney Energy Committee have organized a free weatherization workshop.  The workshop will be held at the Putney Community Center, Saturday, Nov. 8, 10am-2pm.  Visit the Putney Energy Committee website for further details. pec.putney.net

Voting will take place at the Putney Central School.  Polls will be open from 10:00 am - 7:00 pm.

Are you registered to vote?  Voter registration deadline is October 29, 2008, at 5:00 p.m.

Public Notice

After several months of discussion with the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Selectboard is prepared to adopt a resolution at its October 22^nd meeting, combining the review functions for various local permits, such as site plan review, variances, and conditional use permits, currently shared between the Zoning and Planning boards, into a single Development Review Board, as allowed under VT law.   This step is being taken by a growing number of VT municipalities, to insure the prompt, efficient, and consistent administration of local land use and development regulations.  Anyone with questions or comments on this initiative is encouraged to attend the Board meeting on the 22^nd, or call the Town Manager’s office at 387-5862 for more information.

This Development Review Board would be composed of nine members of the current Zoning and Planning boards.  Long-range planning, such as the Town Plan, would still be addressed by the Planning Commission.  The Resolution is as follows:

Resolution

Pertaining to the creation of a Putney Development Review Board

WHEREAS, the Town of Putney has enacted zoning bylaws pursuant to the provisions of 24 V.S.A. Chapter 117; and

WHEREAS, this Board has established a Planning Commission and a Zoning Board of Adjustment as authorized by provisions of 24 V.S.A. Chapter 117 to, among other responsibilities, assist in the administration of the above said bylaws; and

WHEREAS, this Board is authorized to establish a Development Review Board to perform all development review functions under 24 V.S.A. Chapter 117 pursuant to Section 4461(a).

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by this Board that it shall establish for the Town of Putney effective October 22nd, 2008, a Development Review Board which shall consist of nine members and shall have the authority to exercise all of the functions of the Zoning Board of Adjustment as set forth in 24 V.S.A. Chapter 117, and shall further exercise all development review functions performed by the Planning Commission pursuant to 24 V.S.A. Chapter 117.

BE IF FURTHER RESOLVED that nine members of the Development Review Board shall serve for terms of three years, except that initial terms shall be as set forth below;

and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following individuals are appointed to the Development Review Board for the terms set forth herein:

            NAME                                     TERM

            Mary Heller Osgood                 3 years

            Robert Olson                            3 years

            Randi Ziter                               3 years

            Jim Sweitzer                             2 years

            Sidney Wolf                             2 years

            Phillip Bannister                        2 years

            Mark Bowen                            1 year

            Hildamarie Hendricks               1 year

            Carl Noe                                  1 year

and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board may appoint up to three alternate members of the Development Review Board whose terms will be one year:

            NAME                         TERM

            Peter Loomis                1 year

and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all matters presently pending before the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be completed by the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and, upon completion of all pending matters, the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall then cease to exist.

Dated at Putney, Vermont this 22^nd of October, 2008.

                                                Signatures of Putney Selectboard