Killington revokes local option tax

Rutland Herald | March 08, 2017

By GORDON DRITSCHILO

STAFF WRITER

KILLINGTON — The local option tax was rescinded by nine votes Tuesday.

The ballot measure rescinding the 1 percent sales tax was approved 203-194.

Voters also approved the $ 4 million general fund budget ( 270- 116) and all other monetary items on the ballot, as well as a proposed school district merger with the other towns that send students to Woodstock Union High School. The merger vote was 233-88.

The only item on the ballot to fail was to end Australian ballot voting and return to floor meetings. Voters rejected that 305-96.

Adopted in 2008, the local option tax brought in $463,969 last year — money traditionally used for economic development and to pay off the debt on the golf course.

Select Board Chairwoman Patty McGrath said the proposal grew out of a request from Killington Ski Resort for the town to kick in $ 100,000 for the Audi FIS Ski World Cup. She said Selectman Jim Haff suggested just dropping the sales tax and letting the resort use the money it would save. Selectman Chris Bianchi suggested putting the $100,000 in the budget and putting an item on the ballot that would repeal the tax in a year’s time.

“ That would give the town an opportunity to be able to work the budget out in an appropriate manner,” she said in an interview last week.

McGrath said the resort and Killington-Pico Area Association would take on responsibility for marketing and special events, which the town spends about $265,000 on each year, but there would still be a revenue shortfall of $100,000 to $150,000 that would have to be made up in property taxes.

“ A lot of people are complaining that the town should not be in events and marketing,” she said.

The town converted to Australian ballot in 2011. McGrath said average voter turnout has roughly doubled since then.

gordon.dritschilo @rutlandherald.com

Town Meeting Results - March 7, 2017

ARTICLE 1 -  OFFICERS

a.  Moderator - M.B. Neisner, Jr.
b.  Selectboard - Ken Lee 229 - Jim Haff 156
c.  Town Clerk - Lucrecia Wonsor
c.  Lister - Patricia A. Linnemayr
d.  Grand Juror - Autumn Storm Hickory
e.  Town Agent - M.B. Neisner, Jr.
f.   Trustee of Public Funds - David A. Rosenblum
g.  Cemetery Commissioner - Truman A. Bates
h.  Library Trustee (5yrs) - Nan Salamon

ARTICLE 2   -  287 - Yes; 102 - No;  12 - Blank; 0 - Defective - PASSED
ARTICLE 3   -  270 - Yes; 116 - No;  15 - Blank; 0 - Defective - PASSED
ARTICLE 4   -  203 - Yes; 194 - No;    4 - Blank; 0 - Defective - PASSED
ARTICLE 5   -  304 - Yes;   87 - No;  10 - Blank; 0 - Defective - PASSED
ARTICLE 6   -  320 - Yes;   74 - No;    7 - Blank; 0 - Defective - PASSED
ARTICLE 7   -    96 - Yes; 305 - No;    0 - Blank; 0 - Defective - FAILED

KILLINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETING BALLOT:
          ARTICLE   9 -- 233 - Yes; 88 - No; 80 - Blank; 0 - Defective (Article 9--PASSED)
          ARTICLE 10 - Jim Haff
          ARTICLE 11 - Jennifer Iannantuoni
WUHS BALLOT:
          ARTICLE 4 -- 237-Yes; 111-No; 53 -Blank; 0-Defective (Article 4--PASSED)
ELECTED KES School Director - Walter J Findeisen


Article 4 passed and the sales tax portion of the 1% tax is to be rescinded!

Killington OKs school spending

Rutland Herald | March 07, 2017


By GORDON DRITSCHILO
STAFF WRITER

KILLINGTON — Voters approved the $1.7 million school budget without discussion on Monday.
The school budget and the re-election of officers sailed through on unanimous voice votes and the roughly 90-minute school district meeting Monday night was dominated by questions about Act 46 and the school district merger vote taking place today.

In addition to Killington, voters in Barnard, Bridgewater, Pomfret, Plymouth, Reading and Woodstock are deciding whether to form a union school district under Act 46, the state’s school consolidation law. If at least four of the towns that make up the Woodstock Union High School District — the above-listed districts except Plymouth — vote yes, a district will be formed from the approving towns.

The existing school boards would be dissolved, replaced by a single board made up of six representatives from Woodstock — assuming Woodstock votes yes — and two each from the other towns.

While a number of questions Monday night indicated that people asking were wary of the merger, nobody spoke against it.

“I think we should do it,” said School Board Chairwoman Jennifer Iannantuoni. “I went into this process extremely hesitant. … I didn’t really see any benefit for us. … I have been to 54 meetings so far over the last 18 months. Most of the meetings have lasted more than three hours.”

After all those meetings, Iannantuoni said she still doesn’t think Killington will save a significant amount of money from consolidation. She said she had been hoping to see “legislative pushback” against Act 46 or possibly a repeal, but that does not seem to be happening. If Killington does not join a new district on its own, she said she expects the state will put the town in one a year down the road.

“If this is what I think is going to happen anyway —


I don’t want it to happen, but I think it’s going to — I would rather be at the start of the process, at the forming of this board, so Killington has a strong voice,” she said.



Iannantuoni acknowledged there would be a loss of local control, but said she did not think it would harm the school. She said her time on the Woodstock Union High School and Middle School Board showed her that members of union boards tend to work together for the greater good.

“I have not found board members who think only of their own town,” she said. “People who dedicate the time involved in this really want what’s best for children.”

That comment was echoed by others at the meeting who had served on the high school board.

If not enough towns vote for the district, Iannantuoni said she expects revotes to be held.

Iannantuoni said choice within the district would likely bring more students to KES, and that Killington’s school was likely to survive when other elementary schools in the district might not.

“We have a capacity of 135 in this building,” she said when asked about Killington’s ability to take on more students from surrounding towns. “We’ll be fine.”

The town portion of Killington’s annual meeting was held later Monday night. The $4.51 million municipal budget, representing an increase of about $353,000, along with elective offices, will be voted by Australian ballot from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at the town offices on River Road.

Most of the increase in the town budget would go toward municipal projects and equipment.

Voters will also decide on spending $100,000 to help Killington Ski Resort bring back World Cup ski racing back next winter.

A separate but related article on the ballot, replacing support for the ski area in future years, would retire a 1percent local sales tax.

gordon.dritschilo @rutlandherald.com

TOWN MEETING PREVIEW: KILLINGTON MAY BOOST WORLD CUP RACING

VT DIGGER

MAR. 5, 2017, 8:26 PM BY ALAN J. KEAYS 0 COMMENTS

Thousands attend the women’s World Cup ski event last fall in Killington. File photo by Andrew Kutches/VTDigger

Killington residents will vote Tuesday on a town budget that would, if approved, boost an effort to bring World Cup ski racing back another year.

The municipal spending plan includes a $100,000 line item to help offset the costs to Killington Resort if it hosts the FIS Women’s World Cup race again this year.

A separate ballot item would eliminate the local 1 percent sales tax starting next year — a move that is seen as another big financial boost for the resort. The tax relief would replace funding support for the event in the town budget in subsequent years.

The resort hosted the World Cup in late November over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, drawing about 30,000 spectators over two days of racing.

It marked the return of World Cup ski racing to New England after a 25-year absence and the first such competition in Vermont in 38 years.

“It was an awesome event. Everyone loved it, and everybody keeps asking are we bringing it back,” Mike Solimano, the resort’s CEO and president, said last week.

“We’re still working on that,” he said. “One of the challenges, of course, is that it is a really expensive event to put on, even netting out all the other revenue sources.”

A World Cup venue, he said, is required to provide the food and lodging for the skiers and their coaches. The host site also must cover other expenses, such as the infrastructure and security and the cost to keep the snow surface up to standards.

In addition, the venue puts up the prize money, which last year totaled $260,000.

Altogether, Solimano said, the cost to the resort for last year’s event was more than $2.5 million, which was offset by revenue that came in, most of it from sponsors. The net cost to the resort was $1.2 million, he said.

Solimano said the resort is not looking to make a profit. He said he is working to bring the cost down to make it a sustainable annual event.

That’s what prompted his request for funding to the Selectboard earlier this year. He added that he also is seeking additional sponsors and support from the business community.

The Selectboard agreed to put $100,000 in the budget, which would be used only if Killington is selected again to host a World Cup event.

Killington hasn’t heard yet from the federation that selects sites whether the resort will host the race again this year. However, last year’s event drew such record crowds for women’s World Cup skiing that officials say a strong case was made to return.

“They basically said to us, ‘We really want to do it again there,’” Solimano said. “We haven’t officially locked it in, but preliminary discussions are, if we can pull it off and we want to do, they want to do it here again.”

He hopes to hear a decision within the next month.

Killington Selectboard Chair Patty McGrath said the numbers made economic sense to include the $100,000 for the World Cup in the budget.

The board, she said, compared the revenue that came in from the town’s local option tax on sales, rooms, meals and alcoholic beverages from the previous year during the same quarter as the World Cup last year.

That comparison, she said, showed a $65,000 bump in revenue over the previous year.

Based on the tax money that came in, she said, that translates to an additional $10 million in revenue coming into the community of Killington compared with the same quarter a year earlier.

“Not all of it came from World Cup, but a lot of it did,” she said. “The ramification it has, it’s not only the $10 million extra we make at the time, it’s how it builds the town of Killington’s brand and the resort’s brand over the years.”

And with the debt payments on the municipal golf course dropping by $160,000, she said, the board agreed to budget the $100,000 for the World Cup.

“We’re investing in the event, and not the resort,” she said. “If they don’t have that event, we don’t pay the $100,000.”

A separate ballot item would eliminate the sales tax portion of the option tax. Killington, the resort president said, generates a great deal of the total sales tax revenue that comes in, and lift tickets are a major driver.

Over time the amount of money coming to the town from the option tax has grown to almost $900,000 a year, McGrath said. About 45 percent that money, she said, comes in from the rooms, meals and alcoholic beverages portion of the option tax, with the sales tax bringing in about 55 percent.

Residents will vote on the proposal to eliminate the sales tax portion of the local option tax on Town Meeting Day. With money already in the proposed budget for the World Cup event, the change would not go into effect until July 1, 2018.

The total proposed town budget is just under $4.51 million, which is up $353,166. About $300,000 of that increase, McGrath said, comes from greater investment in the town’s capital plan, funding such items as upgrades to town infrastructure and equipment.

The estimated tax rate, not including the school portion, would be about 36 cents per $100 of assessed property value, up roughly 3 cents.

Also on the ballot, incumbent Selectboard member Ken Lee faces a challenge from resident Jim Haff. In addition, voters will decide whether to do away with Australian balloting and move to a traditional floor meeting for town matters.

Board: World Cup Boosted Options Tax Revenue

Vermont Standard

By Curt Peterson

Standard Correspondent

Killington – On Town Meeting Day resident voters will approve or reject a budget that includes the $100,000 commitment to support a possible redux of the 2016 FIS Women’s World Cup Ski Races as a line item. The budget would increase the municipal tax rate by $.289, or about $60 per year for a home assessed for $200,000.

The 2016 FIS Women’s World Cup Ski Races in November were an enormous success by anyone’s measure, but whether or not to commit $100,000 of taxpayer funds to attract the event back to Killington in 2017 is a question on which some disagree. Some voters seem to think it’s a great investment – the others, not so much.

The investment advocates point out that the funds are coming from taxes paid by the businesses that have benefitted and would benefit again from staging the event in the resort town. The Options Tax, as it’s called, is applied to rooms and meals, as well as a 1 percent additional tax on retail sales, and was originally intended to fund economic development.

Those opposed point to Killington Resort as the biggest beneficiary of the event, and feel they should fund the event from profits they will reap. They’d like to see the funds used to lower taxes or to fund other projects, such as renovations at the Library.

For its part, the Resort claims the races produced a net cost of $1.2 million, and that without support from the community and others they will not be able to afford to stage the event again. They asked the town for the $100,000 commitment.

During the brief Feb. 7 Select Board meeting, chair Patty McGrath went over the fourth quarter Options Tax report that was very recently received.

“I want to point out for the voters,” she said, “that in 2012 the fourth quarter Options Tax receipts were $159,000. In 2013 they were $161,000. In 2014 they were $200,000, and that was a phenomenal winter. 2015 wasn’t that great, but the receipts for the quarter were $180,000. In 2016, the Options Tax revenue was $240,000 for the fourth quarter, and that huge increase is primarily due to the World Cup event.”

Selectman Chris Bianchi pointed out that November, the month in which the Cup races were staged, is generally not a “banner month” for tourism in the town.

McGrath, who owns the Inn at Long Trail, said the races were a significant boost to her business right through the Christmas holidays.

“They came and saw how good the snowmaking was and enjoyed the town, and the stayed or came back to do it again and again,” she said. “All this makes the point that the $100,000 in the budget for the event is a good idea.”

If voters approve the budget, they won’t necessarily be spending the money, nor are they voting to give the money to the Resort. The commitment the Select Board is asking voters to make is to pay up to $100,000 of the actual incurred expenses only if the event is held in Killington next November. If the FIS races go somewhere else or weather precludes racing at Killington, the funds will go back into surplus in the town budget.

Vote for proven economic drivers

Mountain Times

March 1, 2017

Dear Editor,

I am writing today to voice my support for two issues facing voters this March. 1) Allocating monies from the economic development fund for the 2017 Killington World Cup, and 2) repealing the sales portion of the local option tax for the following fiscal year.

Both concepts make sense for our town and businesses.

The 2016 Killington World Cup event cost Killington Resort well over $1 million to produce—monies that they did not and will not recoup. My local business, the Killington Mountain School, spent in excess of $10,000 in association with the event, and logged thousands of worker-hours, adding up to substantially greater costs.

In my opinion, this was money well spent. The Killington World Cup was a culmination of many entities working together to produce one of the best World Cup events in the history of the sport. Many of my colleagues in the ski racing community commented that they have been to the biggest shows in winter sports in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, etc., and that our World Cup event was the BEST they have ever witnessed. This event cemented our place in the winter sports pantheon and guarantees that guests and potential students will think of Killington first when considering where to vacation and enroll their children.

This success was no accident. Our mountain resort, town government, local businesses, the KPAA, the United States Ski and Snowboard Association, the Vermont Alpine Racing Association, the International Federation of Skiing, and many, many others all came together and were part of something historic and impactful for our town and brand.

Town business reports show that the town taxable receipt numbers for the month of November 2016, were approximately $3.4 million over the previous tax year, and $2 million more than the largest year in recent history. To allocate $100,000 back to the resort to ensure that this annual event continues is a no-brainer—it must happen. KMS, a local non-profit business, will continue to allocate precious resources to ensure that it continues; the town must do the same.

The second issue, repeal of the sales portion of the local option tax, also makes sense. Killington has invested heavily in summer and winter events and infrastructure. We know that the resort is committed to this investment, as we have witnessed its ongoing push to make Killington a true four-season vacation destination. Our off-season business traffic has increased over the past two summers. Killington’s investment is evident and is paying off for our town and the community in which we live. We are best served leaving these resources in the hands of a business that has proven that they will make good decisions for our growth, recreation, economy and town.

Sincerely,  Tao Smith, Killington

Tao Smith is the head of school at Killington Mountain School

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Keep the 1 percent local option sales tax

Mountain Times

March 1, 2017

Top three reasons to consider

Dear Editor,

I am​ writing in support of the 1 percent local option sales tax, a tax I did not initially support years ago when first proposed, but one that I now find necessary and worthwhile. I am generally in favor of reduced taxes sent to Washington or Montpelier due to what I see as wasteful spending on programs and policies that are poorly though out and badly implemented, and I recognize that 30 percent of the option tax is sent to Montpelier rather than remaining here in Killington, but I also see the benefits of this tax for our town and region. I support continuation of this tax for three essential reasons.

First and foremost, the revenue from this tax encourages (if not forces) the town and Killington Resort to work together for the common good. We don’t have to go too far back in time to see the resort seemingly operating at cross purposes to the town’s needs, the time that began with Powdr’s purchase of Killington Resort and before Mike Solimano took over resort leadership. Solimano has done an outstanding job of correcting the errors of his predecessor and promoting the concept of “One Killington,” of that there is no doubt. Working with the town, KPAA and the Killington region as a whole, we see everyone pulling in the same direction, working for the benefit of all. Unfortunately, Solimano works for a company based 2,000 miles away, with interests that are not always aligned with our town and region—a privately-owned company whose focus may shift without any public influences.

Also to be kept in mind is the fact that Solimano will not be here forever, whether moving to another Powdr resort or taking a job outside the company. Either way, a successor may not be as committed to regional efforts and local cooperative goals. Keeping a revenue source that requires the resort and the town to work together to effectively spend tax revenue generated by and for tourism is the only way to ensure cooperation regardless of who might be at the helm.

Secondly, while KPAA does a good job of representing its business owners’ interests and working in tandem with the resort to promote activities and tourism, not all businesses in town are KPAA members.  Those non-members get a “free ride” by enjoying the benefits of KPAA efforts without putting their own funds into the mix. Clearly, those businesses are taking unfair advantage of the voluntary nature of KPAA membership. One could also envision several bad business years in a row where businesses suffer and members drop out. Even the resort is not immune to those kinds of business pressures and KPAA membership could dwindle or even come apart as a result. With the town dependent upon tourism, it is preferable to trust future tourism investment on mandatory taxation rather than voluntary contributions.

Third, and finally, we hope to soon see the start of construction of a resort village, a 20-year construction effort that we anticipate will bring new vibrancy to the resort and the town. That village and its construction will, however, potentially strain existing services and force additional tax dollars to be spent.  We may need to expand our police department and/or convert our volunteer fire department to a full-time force. We will certainly see road damage caused by heavy construction traffic over the 20 years of village development. By maintaining the 1 percent sales tax, the town will have the incremental revenues generated by the project to pay for those increased needs.

For these reasons and more, I support continuation of the 1 percent local option sales tax and hope that most Killington residents will agree.

Art Malatzky, Killington

- See more at: http://mountaintimes.info/keep-1-percent-local-option-sales-tax/#sthash.RwgPJGUv.dpuf