Dunbarton residents wrapped up Tuesday night’s annual town meeting in an hour, moving through all 13 warrant articles with little or no debate before voting to approve each one.
The evening’s biggest item — a municipal operating budget of $4.04 million — passed without any pushback. While the figure represents a 9% increase over last year’s budget, the town’s unassigned fund balance will offset $1.9 million of that amount.
Voters approved a projected total tax rate of $2.77.
The primary drivers behind the budget increase are a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for town employees and rising health insurance costs, both of which have become costly line items for municipalities across the state.
Dave Nault, the chair of the select board, attended his final town meeting last night after announcing he is stepping down from the role following nine years of service. In the select board race, Charles Frost defeated Jonathan Hammond.
Frost received 189 votes, while Hammond got 83.
Among the other articles on the warrant, voters approved a change to the term length for the supervisor of the checklist, reducing it from six years to three years in what was described as a housekeeping measure.
Residents were not asked to vote on any major purchases this year.
This year’s annual town report was dedicated to Town Moderator John Trottier, who has held that role since 2022. Trottier said he was genuinely surprised by the honor.
As always, Dunbarton also continued its more than 250-year tradition of selecting Hog Reeves.
In the time-honored custom tied to the town’s annual meeting, the role is typically given to a couple who were newly married in the previous year. Historically, Hog Reeves were responsible for keeping the town’s roads free of wandering swine.
This year, voters selected Cody Marcou and Liberty Scott for the ceremonial role.