Native American art
Docu-gate When the circus comes to town
Shelburne Museum adds curatorship
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Volume 52 Number 5
shelburnenews.com
Shelburne Selectboard sets $10.6 mil budget
February 2, 2023
Taking a shot
Voters asked to OK local option tax STAFF WRITER LIBERTY DARR
The Shelburne Selectboard Jan. 24 officially approved a $10,624,271 spending plan along with six other articles for Town Meeting Day. The board also adopted increases in several fees, including those for zoning, mooring and facility use. Of that $10.6 million budget, $8,17 million will be paid by taxes. The nearly $730,000 increase in spending will have the town looking at a tax rate of $0.4955,
a 4.65 percent increase over last year’s rate of $0.4735. That means for every $100,000 in property value, property owners can expect to pay $495.50. “As always we have tried to maintain a limited, minimal increase, as we all know that in the last two years we’ve really kept it almost flat,” said town manager Lee Krohn at the final budget meeting. “This year with an inflationary environment, I’m actually astounded that we came in at this point. I would have expected we See BUDGET on page 16
Lawmakers pursue overhaul of state’s child care system AARON CALVIN AND LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITERS
Armed with a report offering definitive paths forward and a Democratic supermajority, legislators are searching for the way forward when it comes to addressing problems with Vermont’s child care system. As lawmakers contemplate options, workers and advocates in the industry are urging them to look beyond temporary solutions and pursue industry-redefining policy changes. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the unsustainable and inadequate child care options available to Vermont families as many parents and caregivers are increasingly required to spend outsized amounts of their income while workers still go underpaid and without benefits. Along with housing and climate
change, child care has been consistently identified as one of the greatest challenges facing Vermonters, with employers from disparate industries consistently citing it as one of the foremost workforce barriers. Act 45, passed in 2021, called for a financial analysis to determine how much it might cost to reform the child care system so that Vermonters pay no more than 10 percent of their income for child care while also adequately compensating child care workers and potentially expanding the subsidies currently available to low-income families to middle-class earners. That study, authored by the RAND Corporation, a policy think tank, was provided to lawmakers last week. Depending on how comprehensive an overhaul legislators decide See CHILD CARE on page 11
PHOTO BY AL FREY
Colby Morehouse takes a shot during a CVU boys’ basketball game against Mt. Mansfield Union Jan. 27. More sports on page 10.