Grange meeting: plans for our tax relief drive
Our Oct. 3rd meeting included discussion of plans for us to ask the town of Berlin for tax relief. As everyone probably knows, our annual property tax bill of almost $7,200 is a huge burden–about 1/3 of our annual budget. Merry Shernock has taken on the project of getting our taxes reduced, and presented plans for a sequence of actions we can take:
Phase 1: we need to collect signatures on a petition to place our request on the ballot for Berlin’s Town Meeting. The minimum number needed is 100; we plan to collect at least 130 to make sure we have enough valid signatures of Berlin voters. The deadline is January 16, 2016. We plan to set up tables at places like Central VT Hospital, Applebee’s restaurant–and at the contra dances at the Grange.
Phase 2: the petition asks for elimination of our property tax bill for 10 years; we need to get a majority of those who vote in Berlin’s “Australian ballot” to support our request. We will need to make a case for the value of our community hall to the town, to justify the Town voters giving up the tax money. As the well-informed people who read these Notes know, we have been meeting with a sympathetic member of the Selectboard, and are willing to donate free use of the Hall to Berlin organizations for couple of rentals every month, as one direct benefit. We also expect to make the case that our Grange Hall is a valuable asset to the entire region, which happens to be located in Berlin. We provide an essential resource for community and non-profit organizations, plus individuals and families to provide a venue for celebrations, community organizing, training, dances, and much more.
So how will we reach the people of Berlin who will vote on this important issue–one that will make a huge difference in our future finances?
Phase 1: we need to collect signatures on a petition to place our request on the ballot for Berlin’s Town Meeting. The minimum number needed is 100; we plan to collect at least 130 to make sure we have enough valid signatures of Berlin voters. The deadline is January 16, 2016. We plan to set up tables at places like Central VT Hospital, Applebee’s restaurant–and at the contra dances at the Grange.
Phase 2: the petition asks for elimination of our property tax bill for 10 years; we need to get a majority of those who vote in Berlin’s “Australian ballot” to support our request. We will need to make a case for the value of our community hall to the town, to justify the Town voters giving up the tax money. As the well-informed people who read these Notes know, we have been meeting with a sympathetic member of the Selectboard, and are willing to donate free use of the Hall to Berlin organizations for couple of rentals every month, as one direct benefit. We also expect to make the case that our Grange Hall is a valuable asset to the entire region, which happens to be located in Berlin. We provide an essential resource for community and non-profit organizations, plus individuals and families to provide a venue for celebrations, community organizing, training, dances, and much more.
So how will we reach the people of Berlin who will vote on this important issue–one that will make a huge difference in our future finances?
- Information in the Town Meeting Report–like other organizations looking for support, we hope to present our case with information sent to every household
- Information tables–like our petition drive to get on the ballot, we can set up tables in public places with pictures, handouts and friendly people who can talk about the value of the Grange and the Hall
- Personal contacts with the voters–we’d like to follow up with any Berlin residents who already use the Grange Hall, as part of the dance, church or other groups–if you know someone who lives there, pass on contact info!
- Door-to-door canvassing–this is how most of the votes are gained for financial support and tax relief, according to those Merry has consulted. We’ll be developing lists of neighborhoods with likely voters, and looking for volunteers to knock on doors, asking for support on March 1st, 2016 when the Grange tax relief proposal appears on the Australian Ballot.
We know that this sounds like a lot of work–but it is an issue that will repay us for the work, by removing a heavy burden of tax payments. If we can avoid having this large amount of money siphoned off every year, we can improve our Hall more easily, and could make it possible for us to consider making charitable contributions, rather than struggling to survive.
Can you help us? Please contact me (at the usual email and phone number) or Merry (her contact info is at the top of these Grange Notes). We really need some of the friendly people of the Grange community to show the people of Berlin that we are worthy of support.
Can you help us? Please contact me (at the usual email and phone number) or Merry (her contact info is at the top of these Grange Notes). We really need some of the friendly people of the Grange community to show the people of Berlin that we are worthy of support.
Remember my appeal for help with the washed-out low spot in the parking lot?
Well, it turned out to be a lot more than we could do with a wheelbarrow and a few shovels–even if more people had turned out. As it was, Grange members and stalwart volunteers Kurt and Patty Giavara showed up, plus Lewis Neill after church. We researched the problem a little more deeply on the spot. As you can see from the photos above, the visible gully leads to a much deeper eroded area. Runoff from the parking lot, which has this year directed itself to a new “exit” from the plateau on which the Hall sits, has eaten a real gully in the edge, leading down to lower areas on the south side of the lot. Lewis has re-directed the runoff using water bars, to a different side for the time being.
We need a permanent solution to the run-off problem. On Friday, Patty and Kurt met with an excavation contractor. This is the guy who re-graded our driveway and dug the footings for the new sign last year–we were impressed with his work and careful approach. Matt Dwyer thought it would take about 3 dump-truck loads of material, and about a half-day of bulldozer work to fill and compact this ravine, and to re-grade to create a slow, less eroding drainage solution. This is obviously not going to be cheap! He also suggested we get some advice from a specialist in drainage solutions from the VT State Agency for Natural Resources. This is not going to lead to a big regulatory intervention, just a useful second opinion before the operation, as for any expensive reconstructive surgery.
I have emailed Matt’s contact, with whom he has worked before, and expect to meet with him this week. Stand by for more information and cost estimates…we will need to get this fixed before the winter. Contributions gratefully accepted!
In the meantime, I have surrounded the gully with stakes and fluorescent surveyors’ marking tape for safety.
We need a permanent solution to the run-off problem. On Friday, Patty and Kurt met with an excavation contractor. This is the guy who re-graded our driveway and dug the footings for the new sign last year–we were impressed with his work and careful approach. Matt Dwyer thought it would take about 3 dump-truck loads of material, and about a half-day of bulldozer work to fill and compact this ravine, and to re-grade to create a slow, less eroding drainage solution. This is obviously not going to be cheap! He also suggested we get some advice from a specialist in drainage solutions from the VT State Agency for Natural Resources. This is not going to lead to a big regulatory intervention, just a useful second opinion before the operation, as for any expensive reconstructive surgery.
I have emailed Matt’s contact, with whom he has worked before, and expect to meet with him this week. Stand by for more information and cost estimates…we will need to get this fixed before the winter. Contributions gratefully accepted!
In the meantime, I have surrounded the gully with stakes and fluorescent surveyors’ marking tape for safety.