DOVER- Voters at Town Meeting overwhelmingly supported the town’s economic development efforts, turning down Article 2, which asked them to split Dover’s economic development fund in two and use half of the money for property tax reduction. Residents packed the Town Hall for the discussion and vote, eventually defeating the measure on a paper ballot vote of 139 against and only 39 in favor.

After the opening pledge of allegiance and moment of silence led by moderator Dick Kaufmann, the floor discussion turned to the funding question. The article asked if the voters of Dover should spend 50% of the revenues from the town’s one-percent local option tax to reduce the annual town and highway taxes, and keep the remaining 50% in the account set aside for the Dover Economic Development Committee.

The option tax generated just over $424,000 in revenues for the economic development fund in its first year, from July 2007 to June 2008. The revenue is generated from taxes on retail sales, rooms, meals, and alcohol. According to DEDC figures, just under half of all the revenues comes from combined sales at Mount Snow Resort. The DEDC committee has spent less than $100,000 of those revenues, mostly for event sponsorships, surveys, and marketing efforts.

Eddie Barber led off with support for the Dover Economic Development Committee, saying he had “lived in town since 1958” and was encouraged by the progress made by the committee.

Nelson Bond also voiced support for the economic development fund. Bond did question some of the action items of the DEDC, including the recruitment of a bank to the community. DEDC chairperson Lisa Coneeny responded that the committee had been actively working toward bringing a bank back to the town, which has been without one since Chittenden Bank closed its West Dover branch last July. Coneeny added that Brattleboro Savings and Loan had emerged as a leading contender, but that there had also been discussions with Chittenden, Merchants Bank, The Bank of Bennington, and others.

Danny Wright spoke in support of Article 2, saying that the town could face many additional costs if the DEDC went ahead with its plans to develop an events venue or recreation center for the community.

Cathy Kaufmann also voiced her support for the article, reminding voters that half of the funds would still be available to the economic development committee. Connie Wisse told the room she was “ambivalent” about the article, much as she was when the original one-percent option tax was approved in 2007.

Dover Planning Commission chair Nicolas Wallaert spoke in support of the committee’s efforts, and against Article 2. Innkeeper Royal Wilson also voiced her opposition to the article saying that the town needed additional public relations and marketing efforts and that the DEDC should be supported in its efforts. Don Albano also chimed in, saying he was opposed to Article 2 and that the DEDC was a “dedicated group with a purpose.”

After more discussion, Marge Thurber finally asked moderator Kaufmann to call the question and move the article to a vote. Her motion was supported by a voice vote, but when it came time for a final vote there was enough support to warrant a paper ballot. After the votes were tallied, Kaufmann, who had been one of the original supporters of the article, announced its defeat.

Voters also approved Article 5, which asked for $7,200 in funding for Kids in the Country child care. The request for funding came about after the 30-year-old nonprofit saw its United Way funding cut last year. Questions from the floor centered on whether or not the town should support the day care when there were other, privately-run day cares in town. KITC board member Albano noted that most in-home day cares operate under a different structure, and that larger private day cares such as those at Mount Snow or Southwestern Vermont Medical Center are subsidized in some way.

Linda Anelli questioned the precedent of funding the day care, or any nonprofit, citing the Deerfield Valley Transit Association as an example of the town turning down a funding request. After more discussion the article was passed by voice vote from the floor.

Voters gave a thumbs-up to additional funding for the town’s bicentennial celebration in 2010, and the town and school operating budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. The request for $10,000 was doubled to $20,000 by an amendment from the floor, and voters went along with the increase.

In all, Dover voters approved town expenditures of $2,116,934.52 and school expenditures of $2,763,158. The town won’t be able to set a tax rate until a property reappraisal is complete sometime this spring.

Voters approved Town Clerk Andy McLean’s request to begin using a ballot-tabulating machine for elections. McLean said he wanted to take advantage of a state program that paid for the purchase of the machine, which costs approximately $7,000. McLean noted the machine would not be used for every election, only those in which large turnouts were anticipated, such as the recent presidential election. Officials worked into the early morning hours hand-counting the ballots for that election. State Representative John Moran (D-Wardsboro) and Windham County State Senator Peter Shumlin (D-Putney) also made visits to the meeting to update the audience on the current legislative session in Montpelier.

Among other things, Moran talked about a new bill he has introduced, H-293, which calls for any legislation introduced to take into account the impact it may have on local property taxes.

Shumlin told the crowd about a variety of proposals being considered by the Vermont Senate to help make up budget shortfalls in the current and upcoming fiscal years. “Everything we do should ensure that we’re in better shape when we come out of this current economic crisis than when we went in,” said Shumlin. Both politicians fielded several questions from the audience ranging from property tax and education funding issues to health care reform and the use of electronic medical record “smart cards.”

In Australian balloting for town offices, incumbent Magnus Thorsson defeated perennial challenger William “Buzzy” Buswell for a three-year seat on the selectboard, 149-115. Incumbent Arlene Schertzer retained her seat on the school board, defeating John W. Snow Jr. 156-90. Write-in candidate Beth Smith won a three-year lister seat with 31 votes.