VIENNA – Townspeople here will have some significant issues to decide at their upcoming town meeting, but if all goes like it has in past years, they’ll take their sweet time.

Vienna, a close-knit town with a population of 560 people, 330 of them registered voters, typically takes a while to get through the warrant, Town Clerk Connie Smith said.

“The meeting starts at 2, and it always goes pretty late,” she said, adding it might finish around 8 p.m.

In that time, voters will tackle 58 articles. Usually about 130 people turn out to participate, far more than in a town like Farmington, which has more than 10 times the population, but pulls in only about 100 or so voters on an average year.

“We barely have the space,” Smith noted, thinking back to last year’s meeting which had an excellent turnout. “There is standing room only and some people even have to sit in another room.”

Last year, voters raised $276,834. This year, $285,318 is proposed to be raised, plus an additional $72,500 for administration, which will be entirely offset by excise tax, said Selectman Dodi Thompson.

Perhaps the most important decision townspeople will make is whether to change the length of selectmen’s term of office.

Currently, three selectmen elected annually. But, an article on this year’s warrant is to elect selectmen to three-year terms on a staggered schedule.

The upside of this, Smith explained, is that it guarantees experience on the board and is a time-saver as selectmen don’t have to campaign each year.

It also assures for some continuity from year to year.

“People think, ‘Yeah, we should do this,'” she said. “That way, we will always have somebody on the board who knows what’s going on.”

Another article that has important ramifications is because of a citizens’ petition. Townspeople who signed the petition want the town clerk to have 20 set hours a week with the stipulation that that would include at least one late night a week and one Saturday a month.

Smith said she easily works more than that, and would be worried about having set hours. She tries to meet everyone’s needs, she noted.

The morning of town meeting, Vienna voters will head to the polls and face a lengthy ballot.

Incumbent selectmen Randy Carl, Chris Smith and Dodi Thompson are all unopposed for re-election.

Meanwhile, incumbent Connie Smith is up for election as town clerk again. Denise William is running against her.

Smith, who also serves as tax collector, is opposed in that race for another one year term by Annie Tibbetts.

Incumbent Treasurer Martha Gross faces competition from Belinda Lilley for a one-year term as well.

Both Smith and Gross have served in those positions for three years.

The town’s longtime road commissioner, Dan Goucher, has decided not to seek re-election.

Alan Williams and Linwood Meader will be battling it out at the polls for that post, which is full time.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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