At Town Meeting last year, voters approved a special monetary Article, authorizing the spending of $30,669.51 for a Regional Energy Coordinator. That sum was raised through taxes, but never spent. The money was not spent because TRORC dumped Norwich from the project in July and the Selectboard did not do anything to reverse that decision.
I keep hoping there will be a public discussion of what to do with the unspent $30,000. Minutes from the last Selectboard meeting are silent on the topic. I recall Town Manager Herb Durfee mentioning at one of the budget meetings this month that the cash goes to surplus, just like any other unspent money in an annual budget. That accounting name for that surplus fund is the Undesignated Fund Balance.
But, that money was specially approved by voters. Shouldn’t its fate get a little more attention than opting for the default dump into the Undesignated Fund Balance? I realize the amount involved is not huge.
Here are some suggestions, each of which requires voter approval
- return it to the taxpayers;
- contribute all or part of the $30,000 to the Climate Emergency Designated Fund;
- contribute all or part of the money to the Affordable Housing Designated Fund; and
- use part of it to study whether the Fire District water system could provide geothermal heat to Tracy Hall, as suggested by the Energy Committee in 2010 and Steve Flanders in 2020.
Never miss a new post on the Norwich Observer. Subscribe to my blog by submitting your email address in the subscribe box in the right column above. Thanks!