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BELLOWS FALLS â The Rockingham Select Board has decided to hold both a Zoom and in-person Town Meeting in March.
The board also approved the warning for the 2021 Town Meeting Tuesday night, adopting a proposed town budget of $6 million, which town officials said was level-funded over last yearâs budget. Of the $6,021,089 town budget, $5,122,944 has to be raised locally.
As a result, town taxes are projected to see a small decline from the current tax year, according to the townâs finance director, Shannon Burbela. She said there had been a slight increase in the townâs grand list of taxable properties. The proposed tax rate is $1.0903, down 0.0087 of a cent.
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BELLOWS FALLS â The elected trustees of the Rockingham Free Public Library have submitted petitions that would increase the boardâs independence from decisions by the Select Board.
The library board has gathered enough signatures on two petitions which request that any future library budget votes be held via Australian ballot and that the budget, as formulated by the library trustees, be presented to the voters without any changes by the Select Board.
The two petitions were turned in late last week, meeting the deadline for petitioned articles to be included on the town warning, according to Library Director Celina Houlne.
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BELLOWS FALLS â Rockingham Help & Helpers announced that the Vermont Everyone Eats program, which provided free restaurant to-go meals, is returning. Picking up where the program paused in December, community members can collect meals for their household and up to three other households at Parks Place Community Resource Center (44 School St, Bellows Falls) on Wednesday evenings from 5 to 6 p.m., and Fridays from 10 to 11 a.m. Meals are also distributed through Our Place, the Bellows Falls Senior Center, Westminster Cares, and the Grafton Community Church. Meals are available on a first-come, first served basis.
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BELLOWS FALLS â Some members of the Rockingham Select Board had sharp criticism for the Rockingham Free Public Library Tuesday for not saving more money during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
Library Director Celina Houlne outlined the libraryâs budget request for the coming fiscal year; the library is independent of the Select Board, and it gets its funding by a direct Town Meeting appropriation.
Houlne said the proposed budget was level funded at $428,286, with a town appropriation of $379,200. She said the library currently has a $8,600 shortfall, which she hopes to erase with fundraising and the libraryâs annual book sale, once it resumes.