Weston to email, mail tax reminders; board mulls parking ordinance revamp

By Bruce Frauman
©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Weston property taxpayers will receive at least three reminders of the date that their property taxes are due, the Select Board decided at its meeting last week, Jan. 9. Those reminders will be sent out by email as well as through the Post Office.

That due date will be set, as usual, at the March Town Meeting.

Treasurer Kim Seymour will compile and maintain a list of residents’ email addresses and send out reminders on Aug. 1, Sept. 1 and Oct. 1. Usually, taxes are due in October. If a resident’s email is not known or is kicked back as undeliverable, Seymour will send out a post card reminder.

“We have to have money to operate, if we don’t get the taxes due,” said Seymour, adding that town funds first are allocated to every town agency, such as highway and social services, with the remainder going into the general fund to pay for ongoing operations such as payroll.

This year, the delinquent tax report is “short and small for this time of year,” said board member Jim Linville.

To be put on the email list, Seymour asks taxpayers to send their email address to clerk@westonvt.org or call 802-824-6645.

Parking ordinance gets an update

In other action, Linville said he is working on re-writing the winter parking ordinance from 1974 and has already reduced it considerably. Linville is considering dropping the town’s authority to tow vehicles. But, according to Linville, Road Foreman Almon Crandall said that while the town has never had to tow a vehicle, he would like that option to remain.

Linville said Crandall’s bigger concern is that construction vehicles sometimes park on the roads for a long period of time, making it difficult to mow or grade in the summer  or plow in the winter. Linville said he might add a provision that construction vehicles be moved at least once every two weeks. Benson suggested adding that provision to the construction permit as well.

The board also approved Seymour’s request to order parts for a new internal server for the office computers. It will cost about $800 and will run Pro-Val for the listers.  Linville said that in a few years the office will need a new server. Seymour said the current system should last a few years and the replacement will cost thousands of dollars.

In other business:

• The board appointed Andrew Harper to the Conservation Commission.
• Crandall said the new plow truck, which arrived around Dec. 1, has been running well. And the board OK’d the purchased of 1,000 yards of sand.
• Crandall said the town’s 2012 Ford 550 truck is ready to be put up for sale, and  includes a plow, a sander and a lift body. It has 67,000 miles, according to Crandall.  Bids will be due Feb. 12.
• The board approved a new annual $1,700 contract with CAI Technologies for maintenance of the property tax maps. Adding a new building or foot print to the map will cost $15.