Jully
Active member
Can you not attend local town meetings?
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- Thread starter WWF-VT
- Start date
Can you not attend local town meetings?
You could potentially, but often they are during the week when 2nd homeowners aren't around. You can't vote so they can listen to you at the meetings and then just ignore you anyway if all the locals want to go in a certain direction.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
Quickly eyeballing that it looks like they jack up the towns in/by many of the ski areas.
Jully
Active member
Doesn't shock me!
drjeff
Well-known member
Yup, same thing in Dover where my 2nd home is. The town meetings are typically on some Tuesday or Wednesday, late afternoon/early evening during some obscure time of the year far from typical vacation time, where I am welcome to attend, but can't vote.
As long as I just keep paying my taxes, which then go into the VT state pool and redistributed around the state to where the folks on Montpelier see fit, all is fine.... :angry:
Hawk
Well-known member
I don't think this is the case. These are local property taxes we are talking about and not VT State income tax. I don't think that towns fork over funds to the state. Does anybody know if that is true?
Yes, they do. ACT 60 was established to even the playing field for education throughout the state. A portion of the property taxes from "gold towns" which are often ski towns is redistributed to towns that have less revenue.
In regards to second home owners having a voice in where their tax money goes, is there a state in the country that offers that to second home owners? I mean doesn't that really boil down to 1 person, 1 vote? What if you owned two properties in the same town? Should you have double the influence?
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In regards to second home owners having a voice in where their tax money goes, is there a state in the country that offers that to second home owners? I mean doesn't that really boil down to 1 person, 1 vote? What if you owned two properties in the same town? Should you have double the influence?
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It's a good philosophical question. On the surface, if you own property somewhere, you should have a say in how things are run in the town.
The closest I've gotten is a friend who also happens to be on selectman.
It's a delicate walk. No matter what, you'll always be an outsider. You don't want to be that loudmouthed you know what flatlander who's always making demands.
Hawk
Well-known member
Yes you are right. I guess I am just bitching that I have to pay. I guess we all do. I just wish that VT would get more creative and less socialist. If any state should adopt the legalization of Weed and have dispensaries it should be VT. It would help them greatly.
benski
Active member
You could always register to vote in the town where your second home is and vote absentee. I register to vote in Binghamton where I go to college but still don't have that on my drivers license.
drjeff
Well-known member
The issue with that, especially if one has kids, is then you give up your right to vote where your primary residence is, and that isn't a good option either....
Smellytele
Well-known member
NH is trying to not allow college students from registering to vote in their college town. I happen to agree as this sways the vote and these student do not pay taxes in town. While they probably spend some money in town they are only there for 4 years at the most and can really effect spending, taxes and who gets elected.
Right, as opposed to the Trustifarians that moved up and won't let anything be changed. Speaking from the MRV perspective.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
Like nearly every law Vermont enacts, New Jersey did it first.
Hopefully it's fairing better up there than in Jersey, because here it's a massive failure with practically zero educational results & a taxpayer boondoggle of corruption.
Oh, I'd see this when I lived a stone's throw from UVM all the time.
They'd step out of their (obviously not purchased by them) Jeep Cherokee with Connecticut plates looking like they're in need of a handout and a warm meal, but Daddy's a hedge fund manager in Greenwich pulling down 7-figures.
The worst and most insipid part of it all is they universally act like they're underprivileged and somehow oppressed.
x10003q
Active member
They spend some money? Tuition, room and board, and fees say hi.
Heard on the radio today (I'm in the mrv for the weekend) vt is putting together some commission or something on that topic. They said they know it is inevitable that it will eventually be legalized in this state so need to start planning for it.
I get the argument about not wanting to pay, but at the same time there are plenty of people with primary residences and no kids yet they have to pay. If you exclude 2nd homeowners, then those people would have an argument too.
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Smellytele
Well-known member
No really seen within the towns though. Well for the schools that are nonprofit which are most of them.
They know they need to move quickly before NH and MA open their dispensaries for recreational use. Don't want to miss out on that tax income
Smellytele
Well-known member
NH has not made rec use legal. MA and ME have.
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