GOSHEN — Goshen residents passed by voice the proposed municipal budget of $232,817 and highway budget of $209,200 on Monday night, after the customary town meeting potluck.
Goshen’s now-finalized highway budget has risen 11.7 percent since last year. Residents discussed improving town roads at Monday’s meeting, and suggested that the selectboard draw out a long-term plan to assign an appropriate amount of spending that will be put aside each year into a sinking fund. The plan, which will address the expected cost of road maintenance over the next decade, will be proposed at next year’s town meeting.
Residents voted to appropriate $4,000 earned during the Goshen Town Forest timber sale toward renovations of town buildings.
Candidates for town offices ran unopposed. Among those re-elected via Australian Ballot were Jeff Cathcart, who will serve a three-year term on the selectboard, and Kevin O’Classen for a one-year term as moderator. Marty Fjeld won election to serve one year of a two-year term left by Dave Bishop on the OVUUS school board. Vickee Whiting won election to take Barbara Brown’s place as Goshen’s delinquent tax collector. Sixty-four out of 164 registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s election.
Residents chose candidates for town offices and weighed in on the Otter Valley Unified Union School District budget via Australian ballot on Tuesday. Voters approved a $19,772,608 spending plan for the OVUUSD, which includes the towns of Goshen, Brandon, Pittsford, Sudbury, Leicester and Whiting. The spending plan passed by a tally of 635-438 districtwide and represents $14,708 per equalized student, a 1.4 percent increase from the 2016 fiscal year.
Goshen voters also cast ballots for three at-large school board members. In the only contested race, Barbara Ebbing of Brandon won a seat over Eileen Guyette of Pittsford, 567-413. Ebbing will finish the remaining two years on a three-year seat; plus Emily Nelson and Matt Philo won election to fill two three-year seats.