Selectboard discusses possible local option tax
Also begins to zero in on the draft FY2027 budget as it gets ready for some difficult discussions in January.
The Record Staff
One of the most difficult budget setting seasons in Hinesburg’s history is underway and on Dec. 17, observers could see why: the need is there, but the stomach for higher taxes is not.
The board’s more formal discussions of the budget begin at 6 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2026, at Town Hall, but that didn’t stop the board from discussing the following at its meeting:
a local option tax on sales, meals, rents and overnight accommodations. Town Manager Todd Odit estimated that the town could net about $250,000 a year by such a tax;
a possible less expensive plan to provide the Town Clerk/Treasurer’s Office with more staff help; and
a move to put a five-officer budget as a separate item on the March ballot and another separate option to pay for a sixth officer.
Midway through the discussions, Town Manager Todd Odit offered a perspective on the FY2027 town budget and its proposed $750,000 increase. Even with that number, which he acknowledged will be the subject of debate in January, the total town budget would amount to about $2,500 in annual taxes on a $600,000 home.
By contrast, the proposed budget of the Champlain Valley School District would amount to $6,500 in taxes on that home. The town government share, he said, “is a small piece of the pie. And the town cannot, in my opinion, make up for any increases in the school tax because what will eventually happen, and it’s already started to happen, is there’ll be nothing left.
“If you keep trying to offset the municipal budget in taxes based on school taxes, services will continue to be decreased and people will need to take on more and more and more responsibilities to the point they’ll go somewhere else.
“And as an example, the police department budget in fiscal year 2022 included enough hours for six full-time officers and also included about 3,000 hours [for part-time officers] … since then the budget has been whittled down.”
This year the police department is asking for six officers, again, and Interim Police Chief Frank Bryan is warning that exactly what Odit says might happen, will happen. All while the town is interviewing candidates for a new police chief.
And Fire Chief Prescott Nadeau has said often that without two more firefighters the department will continue to be unable to respond to 100 calls a year, will only be able to cover the town 60 hours a week (like the police department) and it will not be able to reduce its response times in emergencies.
Local Option Tax
While there is a document below that explains the rules of a local option tax, essentially it is a tax that the voters have to approve of one percent on meals and rooms, alcohol and general sales, including those sales made on the internet.
Maggie Gordon noted that already “if you shop to the north you are already paying” a local option tax.
Paul Lamberson said he is warming to the idea, particularly when he heard that internet sales were involved because then you are not putting all the tax burden on locals or more on property owners.
But others pointed out that the sales tax is regressive in that it will have a more significant impact on those with less means. Further, Hinesburg does not have a lot of commercial businesses or places that rent out rooms. Another sticking point was the fact that the state takes 25 cents of every dollar collected.
Both Lamberson and Dennis Place said that they weren’t sure a local tax was the answer. Place added that “we need to wait” for the planned developments to come online. “Unfortunately, for the services people want, we need to wait until we have the money.”
Budget Discussion
The selectboard spent almost an hour talking about various aspects of the budget. Place and Lamberson dominated the discussion.
Place was particularly concerned about the fire department proposal which included a plan to have 24/7 coverage by having someone in the firehouse all the time. Place said he wants the fire department to do more with volunteers and did not like the idea of a “career” fire department. Place also continued his mantra that the town should not be expanding services until it has the tax base and the money to do so.
In terms of police, Lamberson said he was in favor of 24/7 coverage. Maggie Gordon noted the rise in crime statistics and pointed to the problems of Burlington spilling our way.
Odit proposed that the town warn two separate police budget items, one for five officers and another for a sixth officer to avoid having the police budget turned down if the ask was only for a budget that supported six officers.
Odit also brought up that he was considering a plan of increasing the hours of the administrative assistant to the planning and zoning departments to 20 hours with 16 assigned to the Town Clerk/Treasurer’s office and four hours to planning and zoning.
In other action, the board:
appointed architect Steve Smith to the Energy Action Board;
set Feb. 9, 2026, (tentatively) as the Town Budget Informational meeting, 6 p.m. at the CVU library (but Odit’s staff needs to check if it is available); and
heralded the final opening of the new water and sewer treatment plant which has successfully passed all its testing.
