Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Killington board incumbent prevails; budgets pass

By Bryanna Allen | March 03,2015
 

Albert J. Marro / Staff Photo Killington town clerk Lucrecia Wonsor, left, chats with voters checking out after casting ballots in Tuesday's election.
STAFF WRITER

KILLINGTON — Killington Select Board chairman Chris Bianchi overcame challenger Jim Haff by a slim 23 vote margin.

Bianchi raked in 176 votes while Haff ran close behind with 153 votes.

Haff said despite his loss, he is glad he ran, and the effort was worthwhile. He said he feels he brought to light some crucial information regarding the budget and town spending.

“I would like to thank everyone for coming out and voting,” he said after the defeat.

The proposed town budget passed by a margin of 215 to 109 votes.

The budget was in a transition this year, from a 12-month calendar year to an 18-month fiscal year budget.

Therefore, the increase of the proposed budget seemed a drastic increase but passed nonetheless.

The proposed budget — $6,282,554 — is roughly $2 million more than the current budget of $4,051,573, which includes highway expenses but not the school expenses, and covers 18 months, not 12.

The proposed school budget is a total of $1,625,108, a 2.9 percent increase over this year’s current budget of $1,579,954 and passed by floor vote on Monday night during the town meeting.

Town Clerk Lucretia Wonsor said the turnout of voters was better this year than last, but still wasn’t quite what she was hoping for.

“You always hope for more people to come out and vote, but I think most towns struggle with a lack of voters,” she said after the results Tuesday night.

Wonsor said 335 Killington town residents showed up to give their opinion and cast their votes.

bryanna.allen @rutlandherald.com

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