Wilmot has 33 articles in its town warrant this year, but the proposed tax impact increase is lower than in previous years. Two candidates are running for one three-year term on the select board – incumbent Jonathan Schwartz and former member Gary Palumbo.

This year’s proposed operating budget for 2025 is $2.12 million, which is nearly a 7.6% increase compared to last year’s $1.96 million operating budget.

In total, last year’s tax rate per thousand dollars of assessed value was $11.18, which included funds raised by taxation for other articles not included in the operating budget. This year’s total approximated cost per $1,000, if all warrant articles were approved, would be $11.56. This would be a total tax increase of 3.4%, or $152 more per year on a $400,000 home.

Last year, Wilmot approved adding a second police officer and Article 17 on the warrant is an advisory article asking if the town will approve the select board to proceed with the planning for the design and construction of a 2,622-square-foot addition to the existing Volunteer Fire Department building to provide a space for the Wilmot Police Department.

Incumbent candidate Jonathan Schwartz said that he wants to continue serving on the board to see through the development of the police station and continue to work on zoning regulation changes with the planning board that would allow more young families and professionals to move to Wilmot. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of preserving the natural areas and open public spaces in town.

“Our Conservation Commission has done a lot to help acquire the building rights and to protect parcels of land for the preservation of open space to keep this a country town and the police station and housing that’s affordable by young people,” he said.

Schwartz added that he believes that the state should do more to cover education costs to alleviate the burden on local taxpayers in Wilmot and the other towns within the Kearsarge Regional School District.

His opponent for the vacant position is a former select board member, Gary Palumbo, who shared this same view of the lack of funding for education. Palumbo is an IT software professional who moved to Wilmot around 21 years ago and raised his family in the school district. He said that the Kearsarge district is the largest by geographic area in the state which presents unique logistical challenges that lead to increased costs, and he believes that the state should provide more assistance for education and road infrastructure for the school district and Wilmot, respectively.

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He believes that the select board needs to prioritize long-term planning, be more careful about its spending, and continue to slow down the increase in taxes. He described himself as not fiscally conservative but believes that some money could be better allocated and that town personnel decisions could be made more carefully, even though he supported adding a second police officer last year.

VOTING: Wilmot’s town election will be held on Tuesday, March 11th from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 9 North Wilmot Road. The town meeting to vote on warrant articles will be on March 13 at the  same location, starting at 7 p.m.