Cannabis, Appointed Town Clerk Questions to be on April Election Ballot

Burlington's town election is coming up on April 5, 2025, and in addition to what candidates citizens are voting for, the town will also be posing two question on the ballot.

The first question is whether the town should be appointing a Town Clerk rather than electing one. There are a number of pros and cons to both situations, which you can read more about. There is a one-year elected seat for Town Clerk on the ballot now, as current Town Clerk Amy Warfield will be retiring in April, four years into her current five-year term. The response to this question will determine what will happen after this election, but the winner of the Town Clerk seat will keep it for a year regardless.

And then there's the question of whether recreational cannabis sales should be allowed in Burlington. This, after a 2016 state-wide vote revealed 54% of Burlington voters were against this, following which Town Meeting passed a ban on such sales in 2017. Times have changed, say proponents, and it's time to see if public sentiment has changed as well. This question is designed to get a feel for where the public stands on this issue and is considered a non-binding referendum.

What won't be on the ballot this time around: A debt exclusion for the Fox Hill project or the police station project. This fiscal management tool would allow the town to fund these projects without having to factor the cost into the annual 2.5% tax increase calculation for the town, thereby allowing the town to raise taxes like normal to pay for the services it provides and separately add in the amount of the project. The Select Board voted 3-2 at their November 18 meeting to put the debt exclusion on the ballot, but such a question needs a 4-1 vote, and therefore the motion failed.

These projects won't be fully funded for a few more years, and the town could still put a debt exclusion on a future ballot.