Brighton electors largely agreed with their Town Board’s approach to the 2016 budget and approved a series of measures recommended by the Town Board at a special electors meeting Monday night.
Some of the meeting was held in subdued lighting at Brighton School as a power outage plagued the area while the meeting was taking place.
With almost 100 people in attendance, the following three measures were approved:
- A onetime special assessment to be added to the 2015 tax bill (payable in 2016) of $153.89 per household. This charge will in effect be used to repay the town for money it paid John’s Disposal for curbside garbage collection for January through November of this year. A majority of town electors at a meeting in June voted to cancel the curbside service and return to drop-off garbage collection. The money used to pay the curbside garbage bill was earmarked for road repaving, something town officials say they need to retain to do a credible job in future years. The last Town Board had not included money for the curbside garbage collection in the town budget because it was anticipated that residents would pay a fee to cover the cost. However, that fee was never collected. “We have to replenish the pot if we’re going to get roads done,” said Chairman John Kiel. Having the charge added to tax bills instead of as a separate charge will allow it to be claimed against federal income taxes, Kiel explained.
- Electors adopted a 2015 tax levy in the amount of $309,099 to be paid in 2016, an increase of $63,848 (26 percent) over the 2014 budget. Town officials sought to retain that money for road repaving they say is needed after a few years of none being done in the town.
- Electors also approved exceeding the state imposed limit on spending for the construction, maintenance, and repair of its highways and bridges.
None of those initiatives had more than 9 people oppose them.
