POSTED: 10:06 am EDT August 11, 2004
DORSET, Vt. -- The town of Dorset may become the next in Vermont to consider seceding to New Hampshire as a means of dealing with high taxes.
Officials from Killington -- which in March voted to secede to the Granite State -- are scheduled to meet with Dorset selectmen next week to discuss the tactic.
Both towns share a similar gripe: They aren't happy with Vermont's system of financing education. Dorset Town Manager Tom Glavin said residents have been calling Town Hall in recent days complaining about their new tax bills, which include school tax rates that jumped 25 percent this year. Dorset, in the southern part of the state, is about 50 miles southwest of Killington.
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Glavin said he's upset and wants to learn more about secession because the town is sending $7 million to the state in school taxes this year but expects to get a little more than half of that in return for its school budget.
"We're collecting all the money and getting the short end of the stick," said Glavin.
Glavin said this is the first time the word "secession" has been used in town and that he wants to hear what Killington officials have to say. He and selectman Sandy Read said they think legislators would start paying attention if more towns considered secession.
Killington residents voted in March to support an article calling for the town to join New Hampshire, 25 miles to the east. Killington officials have said they could save about $10 million in property taxes if the town moved to the Granite State.
To secede, Killington -- and Dorset, if the idea takes hold -- would first have to get approval from the New Hampshire and Vermont legislatures, Gov. James Douglas and, finally, Congress.
Vermont officials have reacted tepidly to Killington's plight and appear to feel the same way about Dorset moving to New Hampshire.
"The whole exercise is humorous, but (Douglas) thinks we should be concentrating on legislative solutions rather than entertaining somewhat silly notions," Douglas press secretary Jason Gibbs said.