Williston Observer

Levy funds much of municipal budget

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

Rules designed to simplify the state sales tax have complicated Williston’s municipal budget process.

The rules, which went into effect Jan. 1, make Vermont part of a nationwide drive to adopt uniform sales tax collections.

The state will now tax some items – beer and computer software, for example – that were formerly exempt. And clothing, which was formerly taxed only if the purchase was more than $110, is now exempt.

But the biggest change involves so-called “sourcing” rules. Sales tax on items delivered or shipped is now charged based on the purchase’s destination.

So if a consumer buys a refrigerator in Williston but has it delivered to South Burlington, the purchase is exempt from Williston’s 1 percent local option tax. On the other hand, if the same refrigerator is bought in South Burlington but delivered here, the 1 percent tax is tacked on to the price. The changes do not affect in-store sales when the customer takes purchased items home.

No one – particularly Williston town staff trying to formulate the 2007-08 municipal budget – know for sure how much the changes are going to affect sales tax revenue. The answer is particularly important in Williston because the town depends heavily on the local option tax. In the current fiscal year, sales tax revenue will fund an estimated 38 percent of the $6.9 million municipal budget, according to Susan Lamb, the town’s finance director.

“We don’t have any clue about what the financial impact might be,” said Town Manager Rick McGuire.

That uncertainty was echoed by Michael Wasser, policy analyst with the Vermont Tax Department.

“Quite frankly, it’s almost impossible to predict,” he said. “We won’t really know until we get some experience on how it will all balance out.”

Wasser said it will take about a year to accurately gauge how the new system will affect the state as a whole and the four municipalities – Williston, Burlington, Manchester and Stratton – that have local option taxes. Sales tax revenue varies greatly from quarter to quarter.

Williston voters approved the 1 percent local option tax in 2002. The levy has been a boon for Williston homeowners, allowing the town to reduce its municipal property tax rate to a fraction of its former level.

But some Williston businesses warned at the time that the tax would put them at a competitive disadvantage with companies in nearby towns, none of which then levied the local option tax. ( Burlington later enacted its local option tax.)

One of the opponents was Doug Griswold, owner of S.T. Griswold and Co., which sells ready mix and pre-cast concrete as well as landscaping and home improvement products on Industrial Avenue in Williston. But he said on Monday that the tax ended up having little impact on his business.

Griswold feels the new rules will make the sales tax fairer but create accounting headaches because businesses must now track where products are delivered.

Wasser said the state is setting up tools on its Web site to help businesses calculate sales taxes. When a company ships or delivers goods, it can type in a zip code to find out whether a local option tax applies and how much the sales tax will be on a given purchase.

Griswold said his business collected roughly $70,000 in local option sales taxes in each of the past two years. Under the new rules, Williston will lose most of that revenue because about 90 percent of Griswold’s sales are to customers who had their purchases delivered outside of Williston.

“If all the businesses in town had the same numbers, it could have a big impact,” Griswold said.

McGuire said the big question will be how many Williston purchases are shipped or delivered out of town versus the number of out-of-town purchases made by Williston residents.

The town has tentatively decided to use exactly the same sales tax projections in 2007-08 budget that it used for the current fiscal year.

Using those projections represents a hedge because the town will likely collect more tax than estimated in the current fiscal year, McGuire said. The town also keeps a budget reserve in case revenue falls short of projections.

The changes in Vermont are part of a nationwide effort to standardize sales taxes called the Streamlined Sale Tax Project. The goal is to pave the way for federal legislation requiring Internet sales to be taxed, thus capturing revenue that has largely eluded states and municipalities.

Supporters of the proposal also say the change would eliminate a competitive disadvantage faced by brick-and-mortar sellers.

Congressional opposition to the law has focused on impediments to interstate commerce posed by the lack of standardized sales tax rules.

Vermont residents are legally obligated to report and pay sales tax on Internet purchases when filing their state income tax returns. But few residents fully report the tax and it is impractical to audit enough returns to ensure compliance, the Tax Department’s Web site states.

[Read more...]

Opponents cite aircraft safety concerns

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

A rule that forbids new landfills near airports does not apply to the proposed landfill in Williston, a federal agency has concluded.

The Federal Aviation Administration decided the regulation was not applicable, wrote Brian Searles, director of Burlington International Airport, in a letter to the town of Williston last month.

The Chittenden Solid Waste District has proposed a landfill on Redmond Road that would accept trash from within and perhaps outside of the county. The proposal has generated widespread opposition among nearby residents, who have formed a group called the Williston Neighborhood Coalition.

Though Burlington International is only about three miles from the proposed landfill, the airport does not meet all the criteria needed to be subject to the rule, the FAA said. The regulation generally applies to landfills within six miles of an airport and is designed to prevent the seagulls that flock to landfills from colliding with airplanes.

For the regulation to apply, an airport must be “primarily” served by aircraft with fewer than 60 seats. The FAA, in a 2000 letter to the waste district, said that 63 percent of the commercial flights at Burlington International use aircraft with more than 60 seats.

But the Williston Neighborhood Coalition disagrees with those numbers and the conclusion that the six-mile rule is not applicable, said Craig Abrahams, a member of the group.

“We totally dispute that,” he said. “And we will be conducting an investigation of each and every airline that flies out of the airport.”

Abrahams said things have changed dramatically in the past six years, with airlines moving to smaller planes. He said a recent check on five different days of Web sites for airlines serving the local airport showed that 76 percent of flights had 60 or fewer seats.

He said the FAA, the airport and the city of Burlington have stonewalled requests for updated information on flight seating capacity.

Searles said that allegation is “just untrue.”

“The issue isn’t as simple as it is being portrayed,” he said. “The types of aircraft are continually changing.”

The airport tracks passengers but not aircraft capacity, Searles said. To get an accurate accounting of airline seating, he said the FAA needs to calculate data compiled over an extended period of time.

The FAA is in the process of doing that, Searles said, promising to publicly release the new information when it is available.

FAA representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

Tom Moreau, CSWD general manager, said the waste district has long been aware of concerns regarding the landfill’s proximity to the airport.

“You don’t go into a project like this without crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘i,’” he said.

In addition to its original inquiry in 2000, CSWD recently sought an updated opinion on the applicability of the six-mile rule.

With any landfill, “seagulls are going to be an issue,” Moreau said. But he is confident the waste district can limit or even eliminate birds by employing measures used by other landfills. Tactics include flares, noisemakers and even falcons.

Abrahams is skeptical that the landfill can really control seagulls. He said the birds soon adapt and return to feast on garbage.

Concerns about bird-aircraft collisions are especially acute in Williston because both passenger planes and fighter jets from the Vermont National Guard base often fly low over homes on their approach to the airport, Abrahams said.

Searles said he expects updated data on aircraft seating to be released in the near future. No matter what the new numbers show, he said the airport will continue to monitor the landfill proposal to ensure all necessary safety measures are in place.

“We’re very concerned about safety,” he said. “But we don’t have jurisdiction over the safety rules.”

[Read more...]

By Kim Howard
Observer staff

The Champlain Valley Union High School Board of Directors is expected to approve on Jan. 18 a $19.7 million proposed budget for 2007-2008.

Members of the board postponed their meeting Monday night due to poor weather; the meeting was rescheduled for Jan. 18.

The $19.7 million proposed budget, which will go before voters on Town Meeting Day March 6, is a nearly 5 percent increase over the current budget. School salaries and benefits comprise nearly $13 million; the next biggest chunk of the budget ($1.2 million) accounts for a share of salaries and expenses to run the Chittenden South Supervisory Union.

Taxpayers in each town served by CVU collectively pay a percentage of the high school’s budget based on enrollment. Williston is projected to have nearly 35 percent of next year’s CVU enrollment, representing about $5.7 million of the proposed budget. Other towns served by CVU include Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, and St. George.

CVU Board Chairwoman Jeanne Jensen said she expects most of the 11-member board will support the proposed budget. The bulk of the increase is from projected salary and benefit increases for existing staff. Jensen said she expects one or two people will object to the final proposed budget because of three staff additions.

The part-time teaching positions – one each in science, business, and family and consumer sciences – are the additions over which there has been board disagreement, Jensen said. The first two are 50-percent-time positions; the latter a 40-percent time position; they total $98,000 for next year’s budget.

“We like the idea but we’re uncomfortable adding staff with a flat student population,” Jensen said the board told school administrators. The board told administrators they could support adding the positions if other costs were reduced.

Last month CVU Principal Sean McMannon said adding the positions would help reduce class sizes in tenth grade science and meet student demand in more areas. The addition of the part-time business teacher would allow ninth graders to take business electives and it would create another upper level business course.

“Students who are really interested in business courses, they run through our business curriculum pretty quickly,” McMannon said.

The part-time family and consumer science position would give ninth graders another elective course option and could help meet what McMannon called “high demand” in grades 10-12 food courses.

McMannon said new book orders, supplies, and technology equipment costs were reduced to accommodate the new positions, as was the fuel budget. Those reductions equal about $40,000, he said.

Other, less contentious, additions to the budget included three special education positions, part of the costs to be born by the State of Vermont. A proposed technology integration teacher/trainer position was not added. A new reading development program specialist was added; that person will work with students struggling with reading who are not eligible for special education services.

“It comes back to the question of (the federal) ‘no child left behind’ (program) and the expectation that every child is going to meet standards,” Jensen said, explaining why the board supported the addition. “We don’t feel it’s acceptable to have kids graduate who can’t read at grade level.”

Jensen acknowledged the board had expressed concern about the fact that CVU enrollment is projected to peak next year. In 2010-2011 school year, the high school is likely to have 1,254 students, about 100 fewer than current enrollment.

“We can support (staff increases) this year, but clearly we need to think long-term,” Jensen said.

McMannon said 14 CVU staff members have 25 or more years of experience and nine staff members have more than 30 years experience. Staff increases now likely will be offset by staff retirements or reduced schedules when enrollment begins to decline, he said.

Also on the March 6 ballot, voters likely will be asked to approve CVU to spend about $145,000 to replace a roof and a heating system in an area known as the “annex.” That money would come from an anticipated fund balance. In a separate ballot article, voters also will be asked to approve the purchase of two new buses; the first payment installment is included in the total CVU budget

[Read more...]

Police persistence breaks up‘suicide pact’

By Marianne Apfelbaum
Observer staff

Williston Police Sgt. Brian Claffy saved the lives of a Chittenden County couple on Monday night after both were found unconscious in an attempted suicide in Williston, according to police.

Police received a call about a “swordfight in progress” at a local storage facility on Williston Road at about 11 p.m. Williston Police Sgt. Bart Chamberlain (acting as a spokesperson since Claffy was not on duty prior to press time), said Claffy, along with officers from state and other local police departments, headed to the address given by a cell phone caller, but on arrival could find no indication of a swordfight or any other activity.

Chamberlain said that “on an inkling,” Claffy and other officers decided to check other Williston storage facilities “just to be sure.” Claffy headed for Extra Space Storage at the corner of Industrial Ave. and Williston Road, where he saw some tire tracks that did not appear to be fresh, but “decided to enter the facility and look around.”

Chamberlain noted that storage companies give access codes to police departments so they can get onto the grounds in case of emergencies. But, he said, the access code didn’t work in this case. Instead of giving up, Claffy managed to push his way through the entry gates anyway, Chamberlain said.

Claffy followed the tracks, and heard music coming from one of the units. He called for assistance, and banged on the overhead door repeatedly, but no one answered. Claffy and other Williston officers finally rolled up the door, and found a car with the engine running and the car windows open. Inside were a man and woman, unconscious from carbon monoxide poisoning.

They quickly shut off the car, and dragged the man and woman outside. An ambulance took the couple to Fletcher Allen Health Care, where police say they were treated for carbon monoxide exposure. Chamberlain was unsure when they would be released from the hospital, noting that the woman might undergo psychiatric evaluation. Had it not been for Claffy’s persistence, “they would’ve died,” Chamberlain said.

The couple, a 40-year-old man from Milton and 34-year-old woman from Winooski, had entered into a “suicide pact,” according to Chamberlain. He said the caller turned out to be the woman, who had “a change of heart” and secretly placed the call to police after leaving the storage unit to go outside. She then returned to the car after making the call. She gave the wrong address, however, causing the subsequent confusion.

“There were so many opportunities for (Claffy) to say it was a bogus call,” Chamberlain said. “Were it not for him, two people would have died.”

Police aren’t sure why the woman reentered the unit after placing the call, or why she said it was a swordfight. Williston Police Chief Jim Dimmick speculated that, “she was scrambling for what to say and wanted officers to respond. She felt she had to get back in the car, which is odd.”

Dimmick praised the efforts of officers handling the call, most notably Claffy.

“Sgt. Claffy’s great police instincts and never-quit attitude saved two lives on this night, and again showed why he is a credit to the Town of Williston and our department.”

According to the Williston Police Department’s Web site, Sgt. Claffy is one of two uniform supervisors in the Uniform Patrol Services division of the Williston Police Department. He joined the department in 1998, and previously served eight years with the U.S. Coast Guard, stationed in California; Long Island, N.Y.; and Burlington.

[Read more...]

Two families recover from fire losses

By Kim Howard
Observer staff

Five weeks have passed since two Williston families lost nearly everything they owned to fire.

“I think that now that the holidays are over and we’re trying to get back into a normal life it’s kind of sinking in with all of us,” Lynne Moon said last week. “We’re trying to catch up at work and at school and trying to keep things moving forward on the rebuilding. I think we’re all feeling just a little overwhelmed right now.”

Moon, her husband Stephen, and their daughters Hayley, an eighth grader, and Aubrey, a high school senior, lost their home on Dec. 13 in a fire officials say was caused by a kitchen electrical problem. Judy Benoit, 65, her son Shawn, 30, and his girlfriend Molly McHugh also lost their home – an apartment above the garage of the Moons’ farmhouse.

“There’s still so much to figure out,” Judy Benoit said last week. “Every day we talk about something and I realize ‘oh my gosh, that’s gone too.’”

Both families say the Christmas holiday was better than might otherwise have been expected.

Staff at the Hampton Inn where her family is staying, Benoit said, “made it so, so much easier for me, and they cared.” The Hampton Inn donated a Christmas dinner for twelve to the Benoits, and staff members gave them numerous gift certificates. “I’ll spend the rest of my life thanking these people.”

The Moons found four stockings filled with gifts for each of them at the home of the family for whom they were pet sitting. A Champlain Valley Union High School senior showed up Christmas morning with “large amounts” of wrapped packages that he’d gotten donated from local stores.

“We were all floored by the kindness and generosity of people at Christmastime,” Moon said. “There were a lot of gifts that appeared anonymously. What we thought was going to be a horrible Christmas turned out to be a wonderful Christmas.”

One precious gift was Autumn, the third Moon family cat to reappear after the fire. The family lost the fourth cat and a dog. The Benoits also lost their dog to the fire.

Both families are still dealing with many logistics. Judy Benoit is looking for a permanent place to live, as is her son and his girlfriend who resumed classes at Champlain College last week. The Moons, who are renting a house in Colchester, are dealing with banks and builders and insurance agents, Lynne Moon said. They’re also finalizing a carpool schedule to get Hayley to and from Williston Central School daily.

And then there are emotions to address.

“There’s good and bad days,” Hayley said. “Having more time to think about it just makes it worse. If I keep busy it’s good.”

Responses from friends vary, Hayley said.

“Some of them still aren’t really sure how to act or go about it,” she said. “Others just act like nothing happened most of the time; (they) keep it normal.”

Lynne Moon said sometimes the family drives through their Chapman Lane neighborhood because “it feels good.”

“We miss our neighborhood,” she said, tears beginning to well in her eyes. “We can’t wait to be home.”

Moon said they hope to pour the foundation of a new house on their now-empty lot as soon as the weather allows. She said they may organize construction parties in the spring.

[Read more...]