In a brief Monday evening town meeting, voters quietly passed six items, including the Board of Finance’s proposed $9.1 million budget for fiscal year 2024-25. Following the meeting, the Board of Finance convened and set the mill rate at 28.4, an increase of .71 mills, or 2.5 percent.
The budget was passed with one dissenting vote.
Board of Finance chairman Michael Sconyers moderated the meeting. He said the reason for the budgetincrease is a $230,000 rise in the Botelle School budget, of which $181,000 is for educating a special needs student. At the same time, the town’s assessment at Regional School #7 increased $342,000 because Norfolk is sending more students to the school next year.
The general government portion of the budget was reduced $52,500.
Kim Crone, who currently represents Norfolk on the Region 7 Board of Education, was unanimously elected for another four years.
Housekeeping issues—such as setting the town’s fund balance at no less than 15 percent of the budget, approving expenditures to maintain plantings in town, authorizing the selectmen to apply for and expend state and federal funds, and authorizing the selectmen and the town treasurer to issue notes in anticipation of the receipt of taxes—all passed unanimously.