Boredom, Fatigue, Capitulation... Pick your adjective... The 2006 Killington Town Meeting was downright calm this year. Unlike the fireworks that erupted in prior years, this years meeting was very reserved.

The school meeting kicked off at 9:00 AM. After a brief discussion, and a few handouts from the local school board, it was very apparent that there was little to vote on at the School Meeting. The part of the school budget the town has direct control over, the elementary school budget, will increase by 1.3% from last year. The high school budget, which is voted on separately as part of the Woodstock Union High School, will go up 9.98%. This provoked a very arcane discussion in which 62 physical students were magically turned into 82 "Equalized Students". When asked about the details of the calculation, the School Board head, Steve Finneron, was at a loss to be able to explain it in enough detail to be understandable. This was, by his own admission, due to the complexities of Act 68 and it's modifications by the state legislature. The superintendent of the Woodstock Union took the floor to try to explain the number. When she failed, she said that she would have the number reviewed, and if it was wrong, that the Secretary of State for Vermont would "readjust" the calculations and the financial allocations. For a context, you need to understand that these people were trying to explain this to Killington voters, before the voters were to cast ballots on approving the budget. The Elementary School budget passed on a voice vote. The high school budget is by Australian ballot. We will not know what that vote was until tomorrow, at the earliest, but many residents were resigned to the fact that there is no control of this budget at the local level, and that the discussion only served to prove it.

At the town meeting, which began just after 10:00 AM, there was again little discussion. Town Manager, Dave Lewis, presented a budget that was for all intents and purposes the same as last year. In usual Killington Town Meeting fashion, a small item on dog catchers, which was a $3700 line item on the budget, was discussed about and voted on separately. (Why discuss big budget items when the small ones are so much fun!) It was decided to leave this item in the budget. Overall, the school budget of $1,277,320, and the town budget of $2,601,000 minus $625,000 in non-tax revenues and $70,000 in excess cash on hand were both approved.

Collectively, because of changes in the State Education Tax, the resident tax rate for 2007 will increase from $2.013 to $2.398; a 19.1% increase. If a capital measure for the Woodstock High School passes with the voters, the overall taxes will increase to $2.471; a 22.75% increase. It should be noted that if you look at the State Education Tax component separately, that one tax will increase from $1.726 to $2.104, a 21.9% increase. If the Woodstock High School capital measure passes, the education tax rate would jump to $2.177, a 26.13% increase in education taxes for Killington residents. Ouch!

At the town meeting, both Harry Chen (D), the state representative for Killington, and Wendy Wilton (R), one of the senators representing Killington spoke to the assembled masses. Harry has filed a proposal to have the legislature form a committee to work with New Hampshire on Killington's secession bid. Harry felt that his bill would probably not make it out of committee. Harry also spoke on his pet project, Health Care Reform. A bill called "Catamount Health Care" has been passed by the House and is making it's way to the Senate. Wendy spoke of her concern with the "sustainable funding" of the health care initiative and several other red meat republican issues. For both speakers, I think the Killington audience was underwhelmed, although Harry was at least asked a few questions. Due to the complexities of Vermont politics, neither has succeeded in delivering any substantive government reform which would positively impact the town of Killington, and it's residents and property owners.

In other items, Horace "Red" Glaze stepped down as town moderator, after 29 years of service. He handed the gavel to local attorney M.B. Neisner. Town Manager, Dave Lewis, was honored for 30 years of service to the town of Killington. And Robert "Sal" Salmeri from Moguls was honored by the recreation department as the Ken Krantz "Volunteer of the Year".