>insert something peppy here<
I think everyone in Woodstock is suffering the same virus. Kids have runny noses, adults have coughs, and daylight saving time is kicking everyone’s butt. Oh, and it’s budget season. AND there’s a full moon. Lovely. Perfect.
Ok, let’s get into it.
This past week, the joint boards met to have our Town Manager’s annual review and kick off the budget process.
Municipal Manager Annual Review
For those that don’t know, we have a municipal manager named Eric Duffy. He is effectively the administrative executive of our government. He reports to both governing boards and manages the department heads as well as his own staff. Eric oversees the budgets and handles the daily operations of Town Hall. Because our Clerk, Treasurer, and Listers are elected officials, they have a unique quasi-management/quasi-partnership relationship with him. This is not an easy job, nor is it a particularly fun one. We are lucky to have someone who both enjoys this job and is very good at it.
Eric’s review consisted of the board chairs compiling specific feedback from our department heads and Eric’s administrative staff. Eric also prepared a memo that serves as a self-evaluation of the past year, which included the following highlights: finishing the arduous FEMA reimbursement process for the summer 2023 floods, passing a new personnel policy that increased benefits for staff, facilitating the objectives and goals discussion between both boards, implementing an annual employee survey, starting monthly staff events, and the successful acquisition of the Woodstock Aqueduct Company.
This comes with a huge but (“poopy poopy butt butt” I say reflexively, because I am a mother to toddlers) - the demands on Eric’s and his staff’s time are unsustainable. He has asked the boards to help manage the expectations of the community so that work on the things we have prioritized can move forward.
FY26 Budget
Eric and our Finance Director, Robert, kicked off budget prep at our joint meeting with a budget narrative. This is meant to set the stage for our work over the next month a half. Through the budget process, the department heads will come to both boards with a narrative and specific requests, Eric will do the same, and compile a “recommended” budget for the boards to consider. Then we get to work. We will use the objectives and goals we set to prioritize what we fund.
The thing I want to highlight (and pull the thread through from Eric’s review) is there is an ever-present conflict between the services that are expected in Woodstock and the limitations of our budget and current staff. We are attempting to address some of the need through process and technology, but we are still hamstrung from historical underinvestment.
You should watch the video if you have time (which I recommend always at 1.5x) of the joint meeting. There’s lots of good news/bad news, including (good) that our new local options tax generated ~$82,000 in the first quarter (7/1-9/30) and (bad) health insurance costs have gone up.
Upcoming Dec.10th Vote
We have an vote on two separate articles:
to bond the purchase of the property known as the Vondell for $1.6M
to bond the the replacement of the water main from the storage tank to address hydrant deficiencies (known as Option 1B), the suspension of the water main under the Elm Street Bridge, and a new well and pump replacement on Route 12.
This vote will be by Australian ballot as statutorily required by Vermont since it deals with the issuance of bonds.
The Selectboard is meeting on Tuesday evening (11/19) with a full agenda to include finalize bond allocation given input we have received from the community.
Other reminders
Overnight street parking ban in the Village went into effect yesterday (11/15)
Short-term rentals within the Village need to register with the office of Planning and Zoning for the upcoming calendar year. STRs that advertise without a permit will be liable for fines beginning Jan 1, 2025.
Reading // Greensboro Rabbit Hole
How a Vermont Cheesemaker Helps Local Farms Thrive, Civic Eats (thank you Liz for sharing)
Some Residents of Greensboro Are Fighting an Affordable Housing Proposal, Seven Days
