Mont Vernon OKs budget, SB2

Thursday, March 11, 2010

MONT VERNON – Gay marriage, budgets and fire trucks dominated Town Meeting on Tuesday night for the more than 100 residents who showed up at Mont Vernon Village School.

In elections during the day, voters returned Town Clerk Jeannette Vinton to her job in the only contested race in the school or town.

And voters also decided to switch the Mont Vernon School District from traditional town meeting to SB2, in which items are discussed in February and then voted on by ballot in March, instead of handled all at once in a traditional annual meeting.

Soon after the evening began Tuesday, discussion skipped ahead to Article 12, a resolution asking to allow citizens to vote on what constitutes marriage, due to a request that it be decided by secret ballot rather than a show of hands.

Slightly more than an hour and half later, it was announced that the non-binding measure passed, 83 -69.

“(Gay marriage) is a cultural change and the people have a right to vote,” state Rep. Bob O’Brien said. “I don’t think this is an equal rights argument anymore than the rights of anyone doing something that is prohibited.

“It’s framed in the precious language of our civil rights struggle and it misuses that language, a glorious history of doing away with sexual discrimination and racial discrimination and they’re using that language to pervert our society.

“I think it’s very important for all of those representatives who sat out have a chance to know what the people really want.”

Those in opposition cited civil rights and the duties of elected officials as their main arguments.

“I’m a native of Kentucky, and I can tell you that my grandparents wouldn’t have voted to desegregate because of the time they lived in,” said Selectman Paul Apple. “We don’t vote on other people’s civil rights.”

Another major item of the evening was the budget, which was approved at the amended figure of $1.9 million, $26,686 less than the budget presented initially to the voters and $10,589 less than last year’s town budget.

The largest cut was the motion to reduce the line item for part time police officers from $45,221 to $20,035. Although Police Chief Kyle Aspinwall discussed the concerns of residents soon after the murders of Oct. 4 and mentioned that many town residents wanted around-the-clock police coverage, which he said would cost approximately half a million dollars, Budget Committee chairman John Arico said that the four part-time officers would not significantly increase police coverage or change response time.

The other particularly contentious issue within the budget was the salary for the town clerk, which saw amendments to both raise and lower the salary defeated, ending in no change after a lengthy discussion.

“This is not a Wendy’s job, this is a real job. I feel that it’s time the town gets up to level for the job that the town clerk has to do,” said Town Clerk Jeannette Vinton, who was reelected 181-138. “I’m not asking to be paid $34,000 a year, I’m a taxpayer, too. I’m just asking to be paid to be what I’m worth.”

Vinton is paid $9,500 a year.

Fire Chief Jay Wilson made the amendment on Article 5 to buy a new fire truck, lowering the overall total for the article from $600,000 in appropriations and capital reserve withdrawals to $300,000, citing that a used fire truck could likely be purchased for $250,000 or less.

In ballot voting during the day, an article to change the Mont Vernon School District from traditional town meetings to SB2 style town meetings passed 262-144.

The $18.2 million Souhegan Cooperative School District budget failed 193-219, but it was passed easily by Amherst voters, which means it passes.