Accidents Happen!Due to a glitch, a draft edition of this newsletter was sent a couple of days ago. We have added our new subscribers and a few additional articles for you. What fun is technology without a few glitches, right? Enjoy!
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A Message from the Manager Happy Holidays, Essex!
This time of year is also the height of the Town’s budget season. As Town Manager, I submitted a proposed budget to the Selectboard in mid-October. Since then, the Selectboard held an all-day budget workshop on Nov. 4 and had additional workshops at regular Selectboard meetings on Nov. 7 and Nov. 21. We have had very little public input thus far, and the Selectboard and I very much want to hear from our residents before the Selectboard finalizes its budget proposal for fiscal year 2024.
The FY24 budget is a crucial one for the Town of Essex. It will be the first year that the Town of Essex does not have the Village of Essex Junction tax base, and the budget will form the foundation for municipal services as Essex enters the next phase of its future. The Manager’s proposed budget would maintain efficient, effective services. Three challenges, however, are putting pressure on the budget: the separation of the Village of Essex Junction resulted in the Town losing 41 percent of its tax base; health insurance premiums are increasing approximately 20 percent, and inflation is driving up many costs.
As currently proposed, the municipal tax rate would increase approximately 22.5 percent, or approximately $350 for the average home.
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Did you know that your tax bill consists of two sets of taxes? School and municipal. The municipal taxes typically make up about 25 to 30 percent of the total tax bill.
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There will be several opportunities in the near future to weigh in and learn about the budget. Upcoming Selectboard meetings on Dec. 5 and Dec. 19 will have budget workshop items. Selectboard meetings start at 6:30 p.m., and attendees can come in person to the Town Offices at 81 Main St., or join online (go to www.essexvt.org for more details).
Additionally, Finance Director Dan Roy and I will hold coffee chats to discuss the budget on Wednesday, Dec. 7 (11 a.m. at Uncommon Coffee, 19 Essex Way) and Saturday, Dec. 10 (9 a.m., online via Zoom.
After the Selectboard finalizes its budget proposal, voters will vote on the budget at Town Meeting in March. Because the budget will be voted on by ballot, voters no longer have the opportunity to suggest and vote on amendments from the Town Meeting floor.
You can learn more about the budget at www.essexvt.org/budget. Please do come to an upcoming Selectboard meeting, a coffee chat, or all of the above!
-Greg Duggan, Town Manager |
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Announcements & Events
The Town Plan update is underway!
"What is a Town Plan?"
The short answer is that a Town Plan establishes the vision for the town over the next eight years; that is, what do we want Essex to be and provides the Town with actionable steps to bring this vison to fruition. A working group consisting of members of the Town’s boards and committees will be facilitating neighborhood meetings throughout the Town in early January. This is your opportunity to share your ideas and suggestions about what you like and even don’t like about Essex and help shape our Town’s vision for the future. Stay tuned for more information about the locations, dates, and times for these community gatherings.
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Essex Holiday Lights Contest Sign up until December 7th to participate!
Decorate your home for the viewing pleasure of your neighbors and community members. Register your home by Wednesday, December 7th for two weeks of judging and voting. Winners will be voted upon by fellow community members and prizes will be awarded from local businesses.
All ages | Essex
December 9-23 | 4:30-8:30 pm
REGISTER to participate!
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Letters to the North Pole!New this year! Make your list and drop it off at the special mail box at Sand Hill Park (208 Sand Hill Road). You may even receive a reply from the Big Man himself! (Through December 19th) Be sure to include your return mailing address to receive a response.
Thank you to Bibens Ace Hardware for their generous donation of lights, adding some sparkle and pizazz to the park. Enjoy the lights through early January.
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Register your dog and be entered to WIN!All dogs must be registered by April 1st
REMINDER: Bring your dog's current rabies certificate.
Neutered/spayed dog - $9.00
Un-neutered/spayed dog - $13.00
HOW TO REGISTER:
During the month of January, send a copy of your dog's rabies certificate to the Clerk's Office by emailing at clerk@essex.org; mailing to 81 Main St., Essex Junction; or stop by in person.
One entry per dog owner, winners will be drawn on February 1st.
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Boards & CommitteesBe a part of important work in your community!Would you like an opportunity to participate in local projects, share your expertise, or tap into your creativity? You may find that volunteering for a municipal committee or board may be just the right fit for you to give back to your community and to get to know your neighbors. The Town of Essex offers a $50 per meeting stipend to cover indirect costs such as transportation or child care. Most meetings offer attendees the chance to participate online. Volunteering in your community has never been easier!Highlight: Essex Housing Commission
Helps ensure that any resident (or aspiring resident) of Essex has access to a home that meets their needs. The Commission advises the Essex Selectboard, Essex Junction City Council, planning commissions, and other municipal boards and committees on the housing needs of the community, including review and consultation of policy and zoning changes related to housing. The Commission maintains and analyzes the community's demographic and housing stock information and provides periodic updates on housing issues to elected officials. The Commission also works to educate the public on housing topics and develops partnerships with developers, non-profits, state agencies, and social service organizations to advance the community's housing goals.
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Taste & Town of Essex A Luncheon and Bus Tour hosted by the Economic Development Commission The Essex EDC hosted a "Town of Essex Taste Table" with following bus tour of the town manufacturing businesses for several state representatives and local officials. Autumn Harp President Hillary Burrows opened up their state-of-the-art facility to welcome those in attendance to enjoy some delicious food prepared by Ray's Seafood Market, West Meadow Farm Bakery, Sukho Thai Restaurant, Salt & Bubbles Wine Bar and Market, The Mad Taco, Sweet Clover Market, and Bramble. |
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 Pictured L to R: Community Development Director Katherine Sonnick, State Sen. Elect Irene Wrenner, State Rep. Elect Leonora Dodge, State Rep. Rey Garofano, Autumn Harp President Hillary Burrows
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The Town of Essex continues to support local nonprofit organizations FY23 Human Services Funding Applications now accepted
In March 2022 the FY23 Town of Essex budget with $166,753 designated for Human Services Funding was approved by voters. As in previous years, the Town provides 1% of its annual budget to community agencies that align with prioritized focus areas of need for Essex residents.
The town’s distribution program was designed to provide a framework to support a human services contribution policy passed in 1987 that states, “The Town of Essex shall allocate one percent of its total General Fund Budget to fund human service organizations.” Many municipalities allocate funds each year to local nonprofit organizations. Essex has fine-tuned this annual allocation to prioritize benefit to Essex residents in specific areas of need. The program functions as a process to determine the best way to allocate annual contributions and is not a grant program.
Organizations must apply each year and a review team scores applications based on the overall benefit to Essex residents and how each program meets human needs and improves quality of life through knowledge, prevention, remediation, direct service, and improved accessibility.
The FY23 funding cycle will keep the existing focus areas with one new priority, “Increasing Workforce Development”. Organizations providing program services that support a sustainable workforce by increasing access to childcare, transportation, and training are encouraged to apply.
Visit www.essexvt.org/humanservices for more information and to apply. The application period will end February 15, 2023.
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Make this year's holiday list Vermont Woman Owned Take the Challenge, November 30 - December 7
The Vermont Women’s Fund and This Way UP have announced the first-ever statewide Vermont Woman Owned Challenge to encourage shopping at women-owned businesses beginning Wednesday, November 30 and going through December 7, 2022. Vermonters who take the challenge to shop Vermont Woman Owned for a week can post about their experience on social media and tag the Vermont Women’s Fund to be entered to win a basket of gift certificates for local goods.
Read the article at Vermont Women's Fund.
Contact the Economic Development Coordinator to register your business and receive notifications on potential grants and loans and other business opportunities. |
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Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Understanding the Budget TOWN V. CITY DATA: Throughout the Town budget, various items have been reduced or added based on Town and City of Essex Junction variables. These include ratios based on parcel count, grand list value, and population. The highlighted table details the data used to determine these ratios.
INFLATION: Inflation has affected all aspects of our lives and the municipal environment is no exception.
GRAND LIST AND THE IMPACT ON THE TAX RATE: It is important to understand not only the overall budget dollars but also how the tax rate is calculated to determine the impact of budget decisions on individual properties. The following three terms are critical to this understanding.
- Grand List: The sum of all assessed values in the Town divided by 100.
- Tax Levy: The dollar amount of property tax revenue in the budget. This is calculated by taking total expenditures and subtracting non-tax revenues.
- Tax Rate: The tax rate is calculated by taking the Tax Levy and dividing it by the Grand List. This figure is rounded to four digits after the decimal. The tax rate is a formula that takes the total amount to be raised by taxes, divides that by the grand list. As a formula the calculation is: (Tax Levy) / (Grand List) = (Tax Rate).
In FY2024 this calculation will look different as the Town grand list has been reduced by 41% with the loss of the Village of Essex Junction. While the Tax Levy has decreased, the Grand List available to fund the Tax Levy has decreased more significantly causing the Tax Rate to increase. Think back to learning the foundations of division and fractions. If the numerator remains the same and the denominator decreases, the resultant percentage will increase. If the numerator decreases and the denominator stays the same, the resultant percentage will decrease. In this case, we have a denominator decreasing at a faster rate than the numerator causing an increase in the percentage.
View the full FY2024 Proposed Town General Fund Budget document
Attend a meeting or discussion!December 5 - Budget work session
December 7 at 11 am - Town Coffee Talks at Uncommon Coffee with Town Manager Greg Duggan and Finance Director Dan Roy
December 10 at 9 am - Online Town Coffee Talks with Greg and Dan - pour a cup and attend online before you start your Saturday.
December 19 - Budget work session
Stay on top of the updates on Facebook |
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Essex hires a new PlannerWelcome, Kent! The Town of Essex is proud to announce the hiring of Kent Johnson as the new Planner. Kent has spent the majority of the past 17 years working in a variety of planning roles for the City of Ithaca, New York. Kent brings more than 21 years of planning and architecture experience with most of those years spent working in the municipal realm. He also recently completed a four-month Fulbright grant in Finland where he shared designs and methods to support the accessibility needs of people with disabilities wishing to visit national parks in Finland.
Kent holds a Masters in Regional Planning from the State University of New York in Albany. He also holds a Bachelors in Science in Industrial Technology - Computer-aided Drafting and Design specialization from Millersville University in Pennsylvania.
"I feel honored to have been selected as the new Planner for the Town of Essex and look forward to serving the community. I am especially eager to connect with residents on important issues such as equity, affordable housing, traffic safety, and neighborhood walkability to build on the Town's strengths and address existing challenges.", said Kent Johnson.
Kent was hired out of many qualified candidates following a competitive search and interview process.
“Kent brings a lot of great experience to the Planner position,” said Essex Town Manager Greg Duggan. “In addition to this impressive education and work experience, Kent showed us that he is committed to public engagement and working on behalf of all members of a community. He’s a great addition to the Community Development team and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Kent will start in his new role on November 30, 2022.
“We are incredibly excited to have Kent join the Essex team. His extensive planning knowledge will be very beneficial as the Town of Essex moves forward post separation from the City of Essex Junction”, said Travis Sabataso, HR Director.
Please join us in welcoming Kent to our team! |
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- Police Officer
- Town Sexton
- Administrative Assistant
Highlight: Police OfficerThe Essex Police Department is looking for motivated, honest and enthusiastic individuals looking to make a difference in the Essex Community. The Essex Police Department strives to hire individuals willing to step up to the challenge of a career in Law Enforcement.The base salary ranges, not including extra duty and Overtime pay, range from $55,890 - $99,715.
Explore a new career |
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Dec. 5 - Selectboard Meeting - Budget Work Session planned
Dec. 7 - Town Coffee Talks - Uncommon Coffee
Dec. 7 - Housing Commission Meeting
Dec. 7 - Deadline to register for Essex Holiday Lights Contest
Dec. 8 - Planning Commission Meeting
Dec. 10 - Town Coffee Talks - online Dec. 13 - Conservation & Trails Committee Meeting Dec. 19 - Selectboard Meeting - Budget Work Session planned
Dec. 21 - Canceled - Housing Commission Meeting Dec. 22 - Canceled - Planning Commission Meeting Dec. 23 - Offices closed - Christmas Holiday
Jan. 2 - Offices closed - New Year's Day Jan. 3 - Selectboard Meeting - Budget Work Session tentative
Jan. 4 - Housing Commission Meeting
Jan. 5 - Economic Development Commission Meeting View Calendar Event Details
REMINDER: When offices are closed, a drop box is available for payments outside of the entrance door at the Town Offices at 81 Main Street, Essex Junction and many services are available online at www.essexvt.org. |
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