By KATY SAVAGE
[email protected]
BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — Three people are running for two vacant village trustee seats as two trustees step down in anticipation of this year’s Annual Village Meeting.
Village Trustees Myles Mickle and Steve Adams aren’t seeking re-election, while incumbent Stefan Golec is running for a two-year trustee seat with newcomers Gary Lique and Jonathan Wright.
Golec has been a trustee for the past 20 years. Golec, who has served numerous positions in town government, is also currently a Rockingham Select Board member.
“I’m no stranger to politics,” he said. “They know who I am. I was encouraged to stay on the board.”
Golec will face Lique, 50, who currently works for the town’s highway department. Lique said he grew up in Rockingham and wants to serve on the trustees to find ways to cut taxes.
Wright, who owns Cafe 7 on the Square in Bellows Falls, ran unsuccessfully for a select board seat in March. Attempts to reach him weren’t successful.
Voters will elect two new trustees by Australian ballot on May 15, after voting on budget items from the floor on May 14, starting at 7 p.m.
Adams, who had been a trustee for the past two years, said he’s stepping down to take a new position within his company, which would make it hard to juggle work and trustee duties.
Attempts to reach Mickle, the current president of the trustees, weren’t successful.
Trustee Deb Wright is hoping to take Mickle’s place. She’s running unopposed for trustee president.
Deb Wright has another year left of a two-year trustee term. If elected, she would resign from her current position on the trustees, which would create a vacancy.
Wright said the trustees would advertise the open seat and appoint someone at a later date.
The change in officials comes at a time when the village is facing a number of budget challenges imposed by last year’s $8 million upgrade to the waste water treatment plant. A $435,000 bond payment, the first of annual bond payments, split over a 20-year period, is due partway through this year.
As a result, waste water rates jumped 25 percent in April to make up for an $8,000,000 deficit, caused by payments for the upgrade. Officials expect to increase the rates again in the fall.
“It’s tough,” said Adams. “We’re in a difficult spot.”
Most homes in the village are impacted by the rate increase. Walpole, New Hampshire and North Westminster, Vermont residents, who use the Bellows Falls treatment plant, are also seeing a jump in rates.
The village is served by four trustees and one trustee president. The trustees have tried to find other ways to save money this year. The trustees made substantial cuts to the fire department, reducing it from four paid full-time firefighters with a chief to just a full-time chief two months ago. The reduction saved almost $200,000 in salaries and benefits costs.
The proposed $1.6 million budget to be raised by taxes is down about $70,000, but voters will be asked to create a $75,000 reserve fund to help mitigate costs against future emergency expenses. If the fund is approved, it would increase the tax rate an estimated 2.8 cents. If not approved, the tax rate will decrease about 2.6 cents.
Someone who owns $150,000 of assessed property value would pay about $42.50 more in village taxes next year if the fund is approved.
The trustee seats are the only contested seats on the ballot. Kerry Bennett is running unopposed for village clerk. Donna Harty is running unopposed for treasurer.
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