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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/12/1975CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING FEBRUARY 12, 1975 The South Burlington City Council held a special meeting on Wednesday, February 12, 1975, at 4:30 p.m. in the Conference Room, Municipal Offices, 1175 Williston Road. MEMBERS PRESENT Michael Flaherty, Chairman; John Dinklage, Paul Farrar, Duane Merrill, Catherine Neubert MEMBERS ABSENT None OTHERS PRESENT William Szymanski, City Manager; Richard Ward, Zoning Administrator; Richard Spokes, City Attorney Edward L. Schuette of Shelburne; Donald B. Vay of Jericho; E. Wendell Aske and Leo P. Decarreau of Winooski; Francis J. Thornton of Charlotte, Albert Paulger of Colchester; R. M. Jensen of Charlotte; A. J. Beliveau of St. George. Jack Tabaka of the Free Press; Edward Cashman, Clerk, County Court. Chairman Flaherty called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. The purpose of the special meeting was to give local officials an opportunity to ask questions and learn the reasons for the unexpected increase in the proposed budget of the Chittenden County Court which will create such an impact, also unexpected, on the budgets of the municipalities of the county. Edward Cashman, Clerk of the County Court, announced that the Assistant Judges of the County Court would hold a public informational session on Thursday, February 13th, at 1:30 p.m., in the present building. The budget will be finalized at this time. The proposed budget was prepared by the previous administration and must be finalized and approved by the new administration which has held office only since the first of February, which is the beginning of their fiscal year. Chairman Flaherty expressed South Burlington's concern that the tax levy was set without any advice from the towns; that it appeared that the State was saving money by passing coats along to the towns for items formerly paid by the State; that some of the items in the budget seemed unnecessary; that the new levy was so much greater than what was in the City's budget that it created a severe hardship. Everyone present voiced dissatisfaction with the increased levy and asked many questions of Mr. Cashman who explained the line items and the reasons for them, also the method by which the tax rate is set based on the equalized grand list received from the Department of Taxes. The question of the right to appeal to the courts or the Department of Taxes was raised, but it was generally felt there would be no basis for appeal as long as the tax levy was kept within the statutory limit. There was general agreement that "No one else could ever get away with it," however. Mr. Cashman stated the bond issue would have been increased by a million dollars if the decision had been to build a new courthouse. He said the County Court administration has offered to send a representative to meet with any of the legislative bodies in the County for further clarification of the budget. Meeting declared adjourned at 5:35 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.