Documentating rural Vermont
Standing at the Crossroads
Fine art photographer releases first film
Farm focuses on bringing people together
Page 2
Page 11
June 8, 2023
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Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
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Houses go up in value but what about the tax rate?
Mowing the lawn
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
manager. He is formerly a senior planner at the Chittenden Regional Planning Commission, and previously spent 24 years in Manchester in a variety of roles, including interim town manager, planning
Charlotte residents received their reappraised property values two weeks ago, leaving some to question what this could mean for their impending tax bills. Town appraiser John Kerr emphasized that the increase in property value residents are seeing — in some cases, double — does not immediately translate to the same increase in taxes. He claims the increase in value is actually a good thing. “It works kind of in the inverse, so if your property value goes up, the tax rate actually comes down,” he explained. “And because, as the value goes up, we need less money from every resident to cover the expenses.” Kerr was referring to the town budget, which requires a certain amount every year to be paid from property taxes. He said the town had done a reappraisal in 2016 and at that time had contracted for an appraisal to be done seven years later in 2023. “You can be proactive with it
See TOWN MANAGER on page 9
See REAPPRAISAL on page 13
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Even with a dearth of rain in recent weeks, some farmers were able to make hay while the sun shined.
Former town manager considered for TA search LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
The conversation about whether to switch to a town manager form of government heated up Tuesday night as selectboard members and residents attempted to answer some of the questions
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surrounding the issue that has been looming for months. The selectboard has now determined it will consider hiring Charlotte resident and former Shelburne town manager Lee Krohn as a consultant for the process. “We’ve already had the conversation with Lee Krohn. He can
do what we need to have done,” selectboard chair Jim Faulkner said. “We have not hired him. It was just a friendly conversation. He’s very interested in doing it as a consultant only.” Krohn was hired in December 2018 as Shelburne’s town manager after a 7-month stint as interim
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