---
title: "Stamford Select Board — January 8, 2026"
date: 2026-01-08
session: regular
speaker_labels: 1 cluster(s) named from the roll call and that meeting's chair in the minutes, 0 named from roster attendance, 4 of 5 clusters unnamed
voice_ids: {"SPEAKER_00":1,"SPEAKER_03":2,"SPEAKER_04":5,"SPEAKER_05":95,"SPEAKER_06":4}
duration_min: 76
audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GaEstKI-Gk3f5FuBOJKL5u08yfybQwvW/view?usp=sharing
audio_source: town drive
minutes: https://townofstamfordvermont.org/mediaItems/Sbd%20Minutes%201-8-26.pdf
minutes_pending: false
present: [Nancy L. Bushika, Kurt Gamari, John Dunn]
absent: [Michael G. Denault, Douglas Wright]
transcribed: 2026-09-04 (faster-whisper large-v3, CUDA; names corrected per data/name_fixes.json)
diarization: pyannote/speaker-diarization-3.1 (automated; cluster labels may over-split a single voice; unattributed paragraphs have no reliable speaker)
---

# Stamford Select Board — January 8, 2026

**Session:** Regular · **Duration:** 76 min · [Audio](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GaEstKI-Gk3f5FuBOJKL5u08yfybQwvW/view?usp=sharing) · [Minutes](https://townofstamfordvermont.org/mediaItems/Sbd%20Minutes%201-8-26.pdf)

**Present:** Nancy L. Bushika, Kurt Gamari, John Dunn
**Absent:** Michael G. Denault, Douglas Wright

---
**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay, let's stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. All rise. Thank you, Laurie.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Welcome to a meeting of the Stamford Select Board. If you have a matter to discuss that is not included on the agenda, you may do so by addressing the chairperson and stating your name and address. You will notice that all our meetings are recorded, and this is to aid with the summarization of the minutes. Visitors are welcome, and we allow five minutes of comments per visitor and 15 minutes per topic. Discussions will be held in a calm and civilized manner and respectful of others. Select Board members present are Nancy Bushika.

**Speaker 1:** John Dunn. Kurt Gamari.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Will there be any adding of items

**Speaker 2:** or removing items from tonight's agenda?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yes, I got a few. I've got an executive session. I want to add for Sally and Dave Tetra. Separately.

**Speaker 3:** Personnel.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. Can I have a motion? Will there be any adjustments to the agenda such as changing the order of items? Probably delinquent tax sale will be going into personnel also. That would be the only thing I can see there. And Jeb is recording tonight's meeting for his YouTube video. Correct? Okay. So could I have a motion to go into executive session for personnel and delinquent taxes?

**Speaker 4:** Motion.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Second?

**Speaker 4:** Second.

**Speaker 5:** All in favor?

**Speaker 6:** Motion.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** You want to make a motion to come out of executive session?

**Speaker 5:** Motion to come out of executive session.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Okay. Executive session decision motion to approve hiring the attorney to follow up on delinquent taxes. Can I have a second on that motion? Second. All in favor? Aye. Okay. And then no decision regarding personnel. Oh gee, Laurie's not here. It's right in the beginning of the tape here.

Me. Did John have a second?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yes. Okay. Hearing of visitors. Reading and approval of records and orders for December 4th and December 18th. December 4th. What was it here on the 4th? I guess we'll just let them go then, but.

**Speaker 5:** Okay. And I don't think we can do the 18th either, can we?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Three of us will do it. Yeah. The 18th. I can approve it. Oh, yeah. Okay.

**Speaker 5:** Motion to approve the minutes from anybody? Yeah. I approve.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye.

**Speaker 1:** Second. All in favor?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Aye. All in favor?

**Speaker 4:** Aye.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Aye. Aye.

**Speaker 4:** Yes. I approve. Highway update, Dave? We've got to deal with that and see if it . I got prices, which will maybe remember on this season .

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. Those will probably both have to be warrant articles in the bank so we're not quite ready for them.

**Speaker 2:** Anything on recycling?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** There was a little issue .

**Speaker 4:** Because they should be bringing the smaller one all the time and they should only

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** be talking to Dave. That's correct. We got a letter concerning that, but that shouldn't happen again and should be over. Right, right. Okay, anything else on recycling? Delinquent tax sale, we went into executive session for that, and we are hiring an attorney to follow up on that. Planning Commission municipal grant. I got the paperwork, 15 pages. Lori and I are going to work on it Monday. I think I just have to sign, and then everything else is done by BCRC, hopefully. That's the way I understood it. And then somebody sent a notice on January 15th at 2 o'clock, there's going to be a Zoom meeting with Planning, Select Board, and Conservation. Do you know what that's about?

**Speaker 7:** I know that they want to adjust the energy portion so it does not specify the PUSIC range in specific areas. I'm leaving that.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** So the municipality will be able to voice there.

**Speaker 7:** I'll also be going to the BCRC meeting the third Thursday from now.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** The Zoom meeting, I think we can all sign up at home if we want. It looks like that. Anything else on the planning grant?

**Speaker 7:** Not so far. I think it's waiting.

**Speaker 8:** There's a deadline, right?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah, the 24th, I think. We have to sign that by the 24th and send it in, but I'm sure... As soon as it's signed, you just click the button and it's gone, and then it's up to them. Budget work session? Can we just skip over that for a minute? Ten minutes. Anything on correspondence, Lori? You should have changed the order of that in the beginning. Okay. 911 numbering update. I'm not able to make it.

He has...

**Speaker 3:** He has started working on driving around the town to check on the 911 numbers.

He's got close to a third of the town done.

**Speaker 3:** Good. It's a slow process. He's still recovering from his hip surgery and whatnot, but he is beginning to make progress and thinks he'll need a few more weeks.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. That's moving ahead. Okay. Town sign update. We noticed the town sign is up.

**Speaker 9:** Yay.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah. I don't know if it's finished because I don't know if the poles on the side are to be painted white or black or plastic. I don't remember that, so... And Jim's not here. Do you know? No. I don't know either. Okay. Post. Yeah. It looks like pressure treated. Yeah. So they're probably waiting...

**Speaker 3:** Okay.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** What was that, Lisa? Oh. Oh. New business. Park here in front of... All right. Then let's go in... Any other new business guys? Nope. All right. Let's go into budget work session. Dave, you want to start with it?

**Speaker 3:** It's me and... We're going to be doing a lot of work. We're going to be in touch with Dave Castro and I wanted to come here and talk to you guys, but I don't know much more about it.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Do you know anything?

No.

**Speaker 3:** All right.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Are they up by you, Deb, or you don't know?

**Speaker 10:** Oh. Green...

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Green Mountain Power?

**Speaker 10:** Yeah. They're... They've been... They're redoing all the poles.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Are they going to be doing anything different that you know of?

**Speaker 10:** I can find that out. If you go down... You know where the old... Where they came out of the old... The old, old Walmart?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah. Yeah. Yes.

**Speaker 10:** Where there's nothing there. National Grid. Yeah. Lay down there. Where they're staging all those poles. Those are going to be... Yes. Put along the ridge. Yeah. Yep. So that's... I do know that. I was talking with the woman who was kind of head of all that. She said, if we have any questions, because I've told her in the past, I don't seem to get good information on what's going on. So if you want, I can reach out to her, but she's coordinating that whole project.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Well, let's see what Green Mountain Power... They want to come next week. They're going to come to your next meeting. And they're going to be talking to Dave, so we'll see what they have to say, and... If not, I'll say, Deb, call them. There's been a lot of activity.

**Speaker 10:** It's like a super highway, that's behind our house. It's 64? Yeah. Wow. Five, six, seven, eight.

Five, six, seven, eight.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. Dave. Highway. Laurie gave us the worksheet. I think it's on the last two pages of this... Even receipts, we don't know what we're going to get for receipts in. State it. Okay. Do you want to do expenditures or receipts first?

**Speaker 4:** I'll do expenditures.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay.

**Speaker 3:** First two lines, the highway, laundry, that's principal and interest. Yep. 2026 will be the last payment. Yep. So the principal payment, $44,857 will be the same. The interest, will be $785.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Mm-hmm. Okay. The salary parts, you can fill in when we get them. We'll finish working on them. I think over time, Dave, I think you gave Laurie 30? Yeah. We really can't tell last year.

**Speaker 1:** Well, you started plowing earlier this year than you did last year. Is that part of that?

**Speaker 4:** Well, part of it's also that I get paid an hour. Yeah, last year we spent $26,900.

Yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Nice. $29,001.

**Speaker 3:** 26 with two guys, now we have three. Yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Dave's going 30. 30?

**Speaker 3:** Yep.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Do you think it's worth adjusting the salary spreadsheet? Yeah.

Okay.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Because I already saw an error.

**Speaker 3:** Oh. Another one?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Come on. I have. I have, yeah.

**Speaker 11:** I thought we were good.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. We estimated 28.

**Speaker 3:** Yep. Highway health insurance? $111,000.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** $111,000. $111,000. $111,000. $111,000.

**Speaker 3:** $111,000. $111,000. $111,000, 10,000, nine hundred sixty-six, 111966.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** FICA Medicare will have to be adjusted.

**Speaker 3:** Yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** We'll fill that in. Okay. Highway child care tax, that'll have to be adjusted. Workman's comp?

**Speaker 3:** You should count it.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Uniforms?

**Speaker 12:** You got to go up on that one.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. Medical life and disability?

**Speaker 11:** requested that we're still waiting highway retirement we've got to wait on that

**Speaker 2:** unemployment outside services municipal road permit fee now why did we have a thousand

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** they have twice on that highway maintenance building maintenance and repair

**Speaker 4:** we had 10 because i think we were talking about replacing doors but i was able to get a

**Speaker 2:** um did we get the um reimbursement from yet for the doors the garage doors

**Speaker 13:** the big ones we have um not the electric update we did okay so where does that show oh yeah right

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** there doors okay and that i'll be in 2026 because jim

**Speaker 12:** senecal just we just got the bill yeah that's all that we're paying that right yep right equipment maintenance and repair

**Speaker 4:** some of the ages some of the trucks are starting to catch up with us there i think

**Speaker 2:** what vehicle would we be replacing

**Speaker 4:** i mean this year really the 20 would it still replace the 2019 brightliner i guess that's up to you what vehicles do we have we used on our trucks did you get to town to decide what they want to do it's uh it's nice to have unfortunately we can't fix things in-house usually vehicles are gone for a month so it's nice to have a spare i don't know what you get for it probably not anywhere near what you want it'd be i think better just to keep it around and use it as a spare looks like it's all paid for yes i think all our trucks are paid for at this point now i think we have six more months left until we start to put them in stock just keep that in check and keep them out there next year and you get to the next level but i do think that it's going to get a little change when we get to town we can pick up that to prove what we're doing so we're going

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** to have a good deal and when you do get to town if you're going to get this thing a little I think we have six more months in the RAM.

**Speaker 4:** Yeah. Okay.

**Speaker 14:** I think we do.

**Speaker 3:** Yeah.

**Speaker 4:** But by the time we would... And I don't know if we can borrow from ourselves again. I think we've done that in the past. The save on interest. Yes. We have. We'll have to discuss that with... I mean, I think we're...

**Speaker 12:** Unfortunately, we're spending the money anyway, because the repairs are as much or more than

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** the payment at this point. For a new RAM set up the way the one we have now, we're probably able to connect it to the RAM.

**Speaker 4:** Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So for a new RAM set up the way the one we have now, we're probably looking at probably close to $140,000. We'll plot down and figure on that yet, but it's going to be around there. Okay. And for the Freightliner, it's probably more like $200,000. Replace that truck. So... Maybe if it would last a little while longer. Last year, I think we put probably close to that into it, too. So what do we want to budget? Keep it 45. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah. Yeah.

**Speaker 2:** Yeah.

**Speaker 4:** Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

**Speaker 5:** Yeah. Yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah. Yeah.

**Speaker 4:** Yeah. There's no way of knowing. It really costs a ton of money now that I work on it. It's lasted a while, but it's not cheap. It's been gone for quite a while.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Do you want to keep $150,000 in education?

**Speaker 4:** Yeah, I guess. The classroom, I've taken most of it. James?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Mm-hmm. And a lot of them are online now.

**Speaker 4:** Tools, I would just keep it $1,000. Okay.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** What's utility? Oh yeah, utilities.

**Speaker 4:** Utilities are the...

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Keep it $2,000?

**Speaker 4:** Yeah, more.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** That's close. Heat Town Garage.

**Speaker 4:** For the firewood and dry stuff, so I think the year before, it kind of caught us. We had to buy double the amount, so we budgeted more, but we didn't spend it.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** So where is the wood stove, what account is that coming out of, that one?

**Speaker 2:** That's Heat Town Garage.

**Speaker 4:** Okay.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** So how about the... The stove itself, where is that coming out of? We didn't pay that yet.

**Speaker 4:** That's going to be out of...

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** So then in Heat Town Garage, you want to keep $4,000? Let's go with $8,000. Fuel equipment, pretty close, keep $20,000.

**Speaker 4:** Highway, pave, and coal patch.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay, equipment replacement fund, let's put $5,000 in just to keep something in there. Highway truck purchase, that's nothing. Freightliner loan, nothing. Ram truck loan. Ooh, $0.08, Lori. Under budget, $0.08. Good figuring. Ram truck, probably six months, $6,000, $7,000.

**Speaker 3:** We'll give you a good figure next time.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. Lincoln Road culvert loan, probably around $50,000 anyway.

**Speaker 3:** $126,000. $47,951.20, so maybe $47,900. $47,952.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Highway sand. Ooh, that just about doubled.

**Speaker 4:** That was part of the issue last winter where we couldn't get salt. So we started using a lot more sand. It was a bad winter. I think I was trying to... Because everybody else was trying to do the same thing, I was trying to get as much sand as I could and just stockpile it so we would have material, too.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** So should we go back down to $4,000?

**Speaker 12:** Yeah, I mean, that's one that you just don't know.

**Speaker 4:** I mean, it's been, you know, a week into this year, so it's hard to say what it's going to be like. Yeah. I know that my stockpile, you know, so I'm going to be resupplying that brown sand.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. Highway salt.

**Speaker 4:** The price has gone up a little bit. I think we went down. I think the other thing is last year we went down on some of these a little bit, too. You want to go $35,000?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** I'll go $35,000.

**Speaker 4:** It has gone. Hope for the best. I've got to use what I've got to use. $35,000.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah, that's what we had the year before. $35,000 we budgeted and we went down to $30,000. Back up $35,000? Mm-hmm. Okay.

**Speaker 4:** Special projects, magnesium chloride, road improvements, culverts.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** You need to stockpile some more?

**Speaker 4:** Well, the numbers are way low, but I used grant funding last year. Mm-hmm. Probably should keep it $35,000. Yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** That's not, in reality, it's not enough to keep up.

**Speaker 4:** All right.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Street signs, six or seven.

**Speaker 4:** Structure program. Klondike Road. Okay, these are. Class II resurfacing program. Unfortunately, we have to pay for that, don't we? I'm trying to see, you know, offsetting positives.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Better back road. Yeah.

**Speaker 4:** Okay.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

**Speaker 4:** Okay.

**Speaker 3:** Okay. Okay. Okay.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Clean water, act grant. Well, we don't budget for that anyway. Oh, here's Mike's. Well, we did the 2026 project already.

**Speaker 4:** So, you know, we already have, we could have . You put that in? And we spent $20,000 it looks like. Clean water. Nothing's coming back. That was for the combined.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Right, that was your both projects so. And we just got to look at the 2026 project.

**Speaker 3:** Okay. I'm waiting to tell you, when you started that. When we started those. At the beginning.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** When we started that. And Mike's favorite, Highway Miscellaneous, $500. $500.

**Speaker 4:** Yeah, I keep the same.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. What's going on this year with Sportsman's Road Culvert, the Elkenwell one?

**Speaker 4:** Oh, we did submit a grant for that.

Two different ones that we've never heard about.

**Speaker 3:** I know when they decided, but just to know they usually tell me, but I haven't heard.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Two grants submitted.

**Speaker 4:** Two different grants. We wrote two different grants for that because the first one, they called and said that they would not fund that particular grant. Right. After they accepted the applications for it. So then we tried to get a different angle.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. Well, this is just a rough going through anyway. How about receipts for revenue for the highway? You should have a sheet that says revenue and it's on the back side of something.

**Speaker 7:** Is this it?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yes. How's our state highway payments this year? Did they go back on schedule or? I think we're going to get on a good form without a problem. Okay. Yeah.

**Speaker 13:** What the heck is that?

**Speaker 3:** Because they messed us up last year. About $40,000, was it?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** In 2024 we got $50,000, but I think that's too much. Yeah, I think so, too. That's why the line budget is $20,000. I'm going to put a question next to it and maybe you can get the answer. Okay. Okay. Let's get something closer. That's too resurfacing. Okay. We got $17,000 in for the Clean Water Act grant. Where was that? For the 2025 portion of the sports room. And then, oh, our flood reimbursement finally for 2023. 2023. And we've submitted the last, what, $4,600, but it's $2,000. $4,600. $4,600. $4,600.

**Speaker 3:** $4,600. $4,600. $4,600. $4,600. $4,600.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** $4,600. $4,600. $4,600. $4,600. $4,600. $4,600. $4,600. $4,600. $4,600.

**Speaker 11:** $4,600.

**Speaker 3:** $4,600. $4,600. $4,600.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** $4,600. $4,600.

**Speaker 3:** $4,600. $4,600. So, we know that we're going to get $4,500, but it's still retail, but it's still

**Speaker 13:** in, yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Well, I think we'll wait before we budget that because who knows what they're going to do. Okay. That's it. We're having to go through this again and again, but it won't be quite so bad.

**Speaker 12:** Well, I did get numbers.

**Speaker 4:** I don't know, do you want to talk about that? talk about the paving at all or do you want to wait on that i think we should wait till mike

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** yeah so we have time on that and like i said it's going to be a warrant article that in the truck do you want to go on any expenses are we pretty close on that or sure start with the revenue i think it's a single page national forest we budgeted 35 and we got 42. we want to budget more like 40. sure state-owned property we budgeted 200 and we got 285 that's for the state yard up by me and what else i think that's it 200 okay sale of town-owned property current use we budgeted 10 and i think we should stay with the 10. yes education billing fee retained true number for that is

**Speaker 3:** 3800 3800 yeah we were i think we're using the wrong figure and this is something that auditor says we should be anticipating but i'm not quite sure where it comes from because we used to just put the municipal payment which he feels we shouldn't be budgeting for we should be budgeting for this expense

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** let's see if we get an answer before okay lori i think there's two figures on that cash flow sheet one is retained by municipality and i can't remember

**Speaker 11:** what the figure is land sale fund interest swapping banks mid-year made a considerable difference in our interest income 2000 well let's go 2000 or 15.1

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Fifteen hundred. Fifteen hundred. Fifteen. Okay. Money market. Ooh, even the money market. Yeah, but. Oh, that's because we've got a lot of money in there before we paid the school. We got a lot of interest on that.

**Speaker 13:** So.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** And now we just paid the school $700,000.

**Speaker 3:** Then maybe you want to do it $2,000?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** $2,000, you think? I guess.

**Speaker 3:** Yeah. Sure. I don't get the interest.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Checking interest. Two hundred? Oh. Local fines. We only got a hundred dollars. That's probably not long. And that's when state police or sheriff? It's not the sheriff anymore. Probably either one. Zero. Zero. Yeah. Beer and wine. Did that go up at all or keep it $185,000? That's the same.

**Speaker 3:** $185,000. Driveway permits.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Let's keep a hundred. Fish and drink. $100,000. $100,000. $100,000. $100,000. $100,000. $100,000. $100,000. $100,000. $100,000. $100,000. $100,000.

**Speaker 5:** $100,000. $100,000.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** $100,000.

**Speaker 3:** $100,000. $100,000.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** $100,000. $100,000. $100,000. $100,000.

$100,000. $100,000.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** $100,000.

**Speaker 3:** $200,000. $200,000.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** $200,000. Deed reports. Yep. Deed recordings. Great job. You can probably go up on that one. Maybe ten.

**Speaker 10:** How many people getting married?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Marriage license.

**Speaker 10:** Seventy-five or a hundred.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** A lot of people getting married? Yeah. Take them off 75? Sure. Okay. examination of records 150 certified and uncertified copies excess weight permits 150 see how good they are coming in cannabis local filing fee 200 oh we

**Speaker 3:** didn't get any let's go zero you're done this is boring okay I've been out

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** since 11 o'clock so thank you good night thank you penalties and interest oh we don't have anything from Sally yeah delinquent tax revenue dog license right on Lori keep it 1,500 dog officer receipts nothing this is EBA nothing okay permits an appeal to the zoning administrator 1,500 anybody building this year never know but whatever you do I never know yep hazardous mitigation Grant

**Speaker 3:** those proceeds to carry over from what we did in 2024 near the end and they paid us in 2025 so yes that should probably be zero

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** yep recycling card receipts right on keep it 1200 we're only 12 hop yeah 12,000 demo three holler receipts 150. did any uh hollers respond yet probably just one okay receipts copier let's keep it 10. receipts fax keep 50. dmv revenue a renewal service 15. oh miscellaneous revenue talk about it it wasn't uh oh yeah dv fiber

**Speaker 15:** yep that's zero remember the money that we put in for dv fiber for people that needed aid

**Speaker 1:** that's it that's it is that the yeah that's it okay that's our receipts administrative officers

**Speaker 3:** 1500 on this side so you want 1500 on the other

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** uh all bills were paid i think she turned in everything yeah okay education do you guys want to keep going or you want to head out keep going education uh let's keep 150 just in case they want to go for ao expenses auditor i think it's going to be 2700

**Speaker 11:** no 27 000. wouldn't that be nice i know it's in our it's in our paper so i'll check i think i

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** remember because it's done in 27 and i think i remembered the 27. but you better check postage

**Speaker 1:** went up yeah that's to mail the town reports or otherwise i paid 78 for a roll of stamps yeah yep

**Speaker 3:** so do you want to keep 12. How many?

**Speaker 5:** Four hundred?

**Speaker 3:** Fifteen. Fifteen hundred? Yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** And to print the town reports, let's keep…

**Speaker 3:** Considering a little bit of color, so I would stick with 24.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yep. Speaking of town reports, he said we'd like to dedicate the town report to Daddy Howe and Betty Badness. Did you, Gene wrote this out in your notes?

**Speaker 6:** Yep.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** And we'll use that picture of Daddy?

**Speaker 5:** Yes. And I'm still working on one for him.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** And you want that in color?

**Speaker 5:** Whatever you like. I mean, that's just a picture that I had available.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah.

**Speaker 5:** I think that's how I'm going to recognize her, basically.

**Speaker 6:** Yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah.

**Speaker 5:** And I'll get one of Betty as well.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Hopefully we get a colored one of Betty or something nice of her, so it kind of matches.

**Speaker 5:** I think I have accurate contact information for CJ, so I'm just going to go old school and knock on the door.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. I'll give this back to you, Lori. I guess it'll be all right.

**Speaker 5:** Yep.

Thank you.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yep. Okay. Board of Health, 25. Nothing from Cemetery yet. Three on the 12th, so. Conservation Commission salary, 175, because there's five members, and we have to put the money in in case they all want to get paid, but some of them aren't getting paid.

**Speaker 3:** They didn't want to get paid. Okay. Thank you.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Yeah, we're gonna... They didn't want their pay. Expenses. Yeah, we'll keep $300 in there. Delinquent tax collector, dog officer salary. Well, he didn't submit anything yet? Oh. He didn't do it for 2020.

**Speaker 3:** Well, one dog gave, and what happened was the person paid, like, the... what we had for... Like, he gets paid so much a day for feeding and mileage. Mm-hmm. So, um... Okay. It was put into them, their dog expenses. He didn't really get it when he submitted it. Does that make sense? But you don't know when we're gonna get a dog

**Speaker 13:** or not get a dog.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** So let's keep the 900 there. Yeah. License book and tags, 200. Yes. Dog expenses, let's keep 2,000. Dog kennel enclosure, we didn't spend anything on it.

**Speaker 3:** The cemetery.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah. The fund that we collect now from the license, that's going into a separate fund.

**Speaker 3:** And I believe the amount was $1,070. So that will begin to build up. That'll be shown in the fund section of our town report. Okay. When we talk about dogs.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah. And that's in case dogs have to go to the hospital or the vet or...

**Speaker 3:** Just a case of dogs.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah, my friend had to bring her dog. Ooh. It was a puppy.

**Speaker 5:** Spend any money out of that. What happens if we never have a dog that needs any attention for that money? What happens with the money?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** I think we could probably vote at town meeting to transfer it to another fund, but right now it's into that fund. All right then, that's what I was gonna say.

**Speaker 5:** Is there a maximum amount that they allow in the fund?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** We didn't put a maximum amount there in the fund, did we?

**Speaker 5:** How much? The taxpayer agreed to just let us build it. Okay. Yeah. Push the building fund.

Okay. So... I mean, we had one year where we had like $5,000 in...

**Speaker 13:** Dog expense.

**Speaker 3:** ...administrated dog costs.

Right, right. Uh-oh. All right. So if they'll keep the thousand, we're gonna talk to Lou before we go down there.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Keep the thousand. Shouldn't need much repair unless there's something else in there, but as far as we know, there's no other dogs in there. Or animals, hopefully. Election and town meetings, ballot clerks.

**Speaker 3:** So I'd like to raise that up to like $950 because this year we only had one election in March. Next year, we'll have three elections, so... Mm-hmm.

**Speaker 1:** Let's just go with the thousand.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** ...triples everything. John, you want a thousand?

**Speaker 7:** Yeah, let's go with the thousand.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Go for a thousand. Okay. Moderator salary, $50. Law enforcement at the election. We didn't spend any of that money this year. Did they close school?

They spent $600.

**Speaker 1:** Oh, no. Yeah, they closed school one day, I think.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** I have to, I've got to look at that, right.

**Speaker 3:** So the obvious election happens before school starts. Okay. And November election, they closed school. So this...

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Oh, they might close it for March, too. I don't know.

**Speaker 3:** March town meeting, they closed school. But we had the special election in May, which was unanticipated, so I think that's where the $600 came from.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Well, let's budget zero. And if we need to, then we have to hire somebody. Ballots, $50. Election expense...

**Speaker 3:** You're going to have three elections.

**Speaker 11:** Oh, yeah.

**Speaker 3:** So you might want to do maybe a hundred.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** One-fifty. One-fifty? Or something. One-fifty.

One-fifty.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Well, wait a minute.

**Speaker 3:** You didn't spend a whole fifth yet.

**Speaker 11:** It's only for local elections, though, these ballots, right?

**Speaker 3:** It'll be local in March, and then we'll have Justice in November. JP's, yeah. So maybe let's do...

**Speaker 13:** One hundred.

**Speaker 3:** One hundred.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** One hundred, yep. Election expenses and supplies. How come we did $294?

**Speaker 3:** Look, I think a lot of that is postage, because there's so many more absentee ballots that are going out now that never used to happen. So it's a much greater expense than that. Yeah. It's like $2 and something for every envelope we send out. envelope we sent out so you want to make that a little higher 200 we spent 294 300 probably

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** three so we got three elections yeah emergency management uh 50 emergency well we didn't the only thing we spent was for the generator keep everything level funded and go to the generator 500. don't we have people right she'll learn steward johnson so yeah it's going to go up 50. we should have 75 bucks yep yep is that on the salary one too am i not dating uh there's a two there isn't there long to change

**Speaker 13:** employee benefits i don't we're in training are we still keeping 150.

**Speaker 3:** i don't i know you said do something about go right down the generator

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** keeping them all level funded employee benefits um can you fill it in anything probably not quite okay let's get all that for now energy coordinator 25. do we even have an energy coordinator no it's vacant but we could okay yeah fire department nothing

**Speaker 3:** fire trump loan we want the same amount 64 150. forest fire 550. taxi anticipation loan

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** 7 000 we budgeted we spent 56. i don't see interest rates going no keep 6 000. library law enforcement

**Speaker 3:** library figures after tonight i think they're changing

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** okay communications

**Speaker 3:** no list or salary assessor clerk assessor fee that that's the Nemrut right

**Speaker 11:** okay nothing yet we budgeted 47. oh what'd you say kirk

**Speaker 3:** 47押 yeah

**Speaker 16:** keep it 15 000 again

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Got to pay for it though. Lister's mileage, I would say 50. Education fund. I've been doing some courses online, and I am familiar from working here on some of the Lister's stuff, and I'm like, wow, that is way over my head. Way over. I said, no way, no way. Learning curve. Learning curve. I can do the paperwork. That's all I'm hired for is the paperwork, but I just took some of the courses there to see. Yeah, see what it's like. Whoa, I'm glad I don't have to do that part. I hear you. Office supplies. Keep it five. Those darn carpets. Appraisal expense. Abatements. Why do we have abatements on today? Oh yeah, that's right. Planning and development. Planning. Commission salaries, 225. Septic officer, 25. Planning, commission, education. We have 100 in there. Bennington County regional dues. I think you just paid 4,700? Or was it 4,000? Maybe it was 4,000. 4,000. Planning commission expenses, 200. You spent 323. Do you want to foresee more?

**Speaker 7:** What expenses do we spend?

**Speaker 3:** We'll do the town plan. They're probably going to want to send out surveys. So you'll have mailing costs and different things. And that'll fall on us.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** And, yeah, was it going to be yours or theirs?

**Speaker 3:** I think they do the service, but a lot of those things will sit still. So you might want to go up to maybe 400 for this year. I don't know. It's hot luck. Yeah. At least three.

**Speaker 1:** Or?

**Speaker 3:** Or?

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Develop strategy. Develop strategy. Kickoff meeting. Survey. Administer a survey to solicit public thoughts in Stamford future. Printed an online survey. So, oh, and flyers. This is under their schedule. So I don't know if it's theirs. What's covered by the grant? Is any of that covered by the grant? $2,500. Grant refers to 28. Their total comes to 28. Our town matches 2,800.

**Speaker 3:** Should we plan grant expense, planning commission, $2,000?

I think we should put something in there. Is it going to be done this year? I think so. Okay.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** So, planning commission expenses. Keep $200 there? Or? Or for? And then the grant expenses for mailing and whatever survey they have to do, $2,000? Okay. Select board chair salary. We budgeted $1,000. I paid $840. Keep $1,000? $1,000, yeah. Are we going to have more meetings?

**Speaker 4:** Never know.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Never know. Member salary? $45. $45 because we never know how many are going to show up for meetings.

**Speaker 3:** Last year you had $3,450.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay.

**Speaker 3:** $4,500?

**Speaker 1:** Yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** The other, the administrative assistant salary, we can wait on that one? Liability? Liability, insurance, legal expenses. We didn't get the final bill from NIMRT yet. And that wasn't bad. We budgeted $5,000 and paid $6,000, but we'd like to figure out what it, how that went.

**Speaker 3:** The year before you spent $1,000, or you budgeted $1,000.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** And what did we spend?

$1,000.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Let's go $1,000. Unless we think we're going to have any more lawsuits. Let's go $1,000. Education fund. $1,200. The LCT dues. Whoa. Oh. Oh, oh, oh.

**Speaker 3:** The VLCT, what I have is BCRCs. $4,000 again. Okay. Yep. And we're anticipating paying $10,438 for each quarter, so, for highway.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** For highway revenue, $10,000?

**Speaker 3:** Per quarter.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Well, we did budget $40, so. Close enough.

**Speaker 3:** The LCT, I'll check.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yep. Okay.

Sorry.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Office supplies, we budgeted $100. We spent $309. That's for paper.

**Speaker 6:** $250.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** How much?

**Speaker 6:** $250.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** $250. Select board expenses. That was, $2,000 of that was assigned.

**Speaker 4:** Most of it.

**Speaker 3:** Question, Lori.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** The attorney didn't go in there, I don't think, did it? I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think so. Because $2,600 at last quarter was to sign. Select board expenses and sign. Tax sale purchase. We budgeted $2,000. We have a tax sale this year, so.

**Speaker 3:** Yeah. Let's do $2,000 again.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Again, in case we have to buy something. What about the website and email maintenance? Oh.

**Speaker 17:** Sorry, John missed that.

**Speaker 1:** I emailed you. I emailed you.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** I emailed you. I emailed you.

**Speaker 3:** I emailed you. You emailed him asking what his 2026 quote would be, I haven't heard that.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. Salad waste and recycling. We don't have those yet. Beast, Salad Waste Alliance, oh! And it seemed awful low, but payments.

Because in December of last year we paid the first quarter. So, really that's only three payments to the Alliance. And we should have met for four.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yep. I'll have to look at that. And I know I have it. well can estimate because they know definitely I know two quarters for 2026 we just guess the last two quarters repair and maintenance at recycling 750 we'd spent five recycling expenses 50,000 we spent 48 recycling electricity we budget four hundred and fifty dollars we spent 470 Lori anything on yours you want to fill in there okay would you say 10 or 11 keep it okay do

**Speaker 3:** 11,000 yep yep now Lori was mentioning to that the fellow for the Xerox machine told her that it's getting old

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** and hard to find parts so yeah she's looking into that

**Speaker 3:** should be able to pay for the copier one of our problems is the file cabinets here the five

cabinets in there are getting so old they don't block anymore the doors don't always close anymore

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** so we might have to I have no idea how much file cabinets cost you need Dave open them leave them open um yeah we should put in because even if I just do one a year one or two a year um think there has been any new file cabinets purchased in did you buy any and I the 18 years I was here we got them from people that didn't need them anymore from banks that were cleaning out and so if you know anybody that's

**Speaker 11:** got good file cabinets and we're always open for the option 100 bucks yep and internet

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** they haven't charged us anything all year I wonder if they're gonna catch up should we budget for it keep 16. yeah I know their books weren't in good shape but maybe we just fell through the cracks and postage Lori you didn't do well on postage let's drop that down five because you do a lot mailing now is uh you can do a lot online right for tax bills and postage a thousand oh eleven hundred was it 78 cents this year did it go up after mailing I don't remember what do you want you want to keep this up eleven hundred travel expenses um 600. runs to the bank. Education and travel expenses. Are these anything online or?

**Speaker 3:** Education. Yeah, I'm able to take a lot of webinars online so I'm not traveling.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yep. Dues and membership 90. Office supplies 1,200, 1,250, 1,300. 1,300. Kurt, you're

**Speaker 15:** generous tonight. You're right on it tonight. What do you want? Well, that was 1,244.

**Speaker 1:** So what are you saying? Yeah, we can go 1,200 and leave it there. 1,200 is fine, yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** 1,200. Copier expenses and supplies budgeted 850. Let's keep it 850. Bank and check charges

**Speaker 3:** 150. It's funny because last year we paid 183. Now we only pay 84. You know, if you want to do 100. Okay.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** 150. Town officers salaries. I think those are right down the line because they haven't changed. Library. Ethics liaison we have to put in 25 for that.

**Speaker 3:** We need five representatives. There's two so we have to do 50.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Do we only pay one person this year?

**Speaker 3:** One on it, one in it.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay.

**Speaker 3:** Eccency 50. Greenup 25.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Who's the other Bennington County? Commissioner. Lisa. Board of Adjustment. Salary 125. Education 0. Expenses 100.

**Speaker 5:** I never know.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Let's go 200 or keep it. Oh, ZBA expenses.

**Speaker 15:** 250.

**Speaker 1:** 250.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** 250. Permits and appeals. Let's go 250 there. Mowing. Leave it. 22. Town lighting 5000 and we spent 51. Go up 52.

**Speaker 1:** That's for about the street lights. Yeah. Yeah.

**Speaker 15:** 52.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** 52. Security monitor. They haven't billed us for that, have they? Keep it 140. Red Cross, do we have a, did they ask for money yet or?

**Speaker 3:** So Red Cross, Brock and the Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging have all asked for it. Okay. I feel like, Vermont who? I think it was Vermont who ended up saying okay. Because it was an email error.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Yeah, I think you're right. Yep. So did they get a warrant in, did they get a request in

**Speaker 13:** this year?

**Speaker 11:** So they got a request.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Okay. So that would be a warrant there too. Okay. Town flags 800.

**Speaker 4:** Yeah.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** This is a good preliminary. Yeah. Okay. Now it's next week, our regular meeting is 1st and 3rd. Next week. Oh, wrong month. We filled this over. Jeb, I need another calendar. Oh, we have one at home for you from today. Oh, okay. He's ready to bring it in. Has it got big spaces? Because West Oil has the best ones. Yeah. Or Santa has the best ones.

**Speaker 10:** It's still West.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** It's still West.

**Speaker 3:** Yeah. So we had said a meeting every Thursday, so January 8th would be. January 8th would be just budget. Okay. And we'll be able to review those and we'll fill in a lot more.

**Speaker 11:** Okay.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** And then the 15th will be your regular meeting. So January 8th then.

**Speaker 11:** Oh, that is the 8th.

**Speaker 3:** That is the 8th.

Yeah. Oh, so 15, okay. We went from a 1st Thursday to a 2nd. All right, because the 1st is the 1st.

**Speaker 5:** So next week, I don't know if we want to get back on track, it'll be a regular meeting, 1st and 3rd.

**Speaker 3:** It will be a regular meeting because it's 1st and 3rd.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Well, we can still work on budget next meeting too. See how far we get.

**Speaker 3:** And then if we need to do it on the 27th.

**Speaker 11:** Yep.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** Perfect. And then stuff will have to be turned in to Lori. Anything else, guys?

**Speaker 1:** No. Motion to adjourn. Second.

**Nancy L. Bushika (Chair):** All in favor?