WHITING — It was something like an old Town Meeting Day in Whiting this week as residents held an in-person meeting on the first Tuesday in March, after postponing their annual town meeting until May last year because of the pandemic.
But the annual town meeting was held in a new venue — the firehouse, because the town hall needs repairs. Plus, everything passed as warned.
Whiting voters OK’d proposed town spending of $411,218 (with $291,088 coming from taxes).
On the election front, five incumbents won re-election. They were: Marcia King, selectboard, three years; Peg Allen, lister, three years; Alison Remy, auditor, three years; Rani Fallon, collector of delinquent taxes, one year; Heather Mattison, library trustee, three years; and Rusty Brigham, first constable, one year.
Those at town meeting assented to giving the collector of delinquent taxes the power to collect delinquent taxes, and set the due date for property taxes — in hand, not postmarked — as Dec. 1.
There was no vote on the last topic, but participants discussed the repairs needed to the library and, of course, town hall.
Whiting voters on Tuesday also took part in voting on the proposed Otter Valley Unified Union School District spending plan of $22,710,955. The six-town district rejected the school spending plan, 522-462. The district’s proposed budget presented a 7.8% jump in spending. The defeat comes as a surprise only because very little public comment against the budget had been noticeable ahead of the Town Meeting Day vote.
