The Finance Director for the Town of Essex and Village of Essex Junction constructed an analysis of the impact to taxpayers in the village and the town in different scenarios which can be summarized as follows: merger, separate while sharing some services, and separating entirely. The link to the budget presentation where these numbers derive from can be found here.
The numbers are concerning for residents of Essex that do not live inside the Village boundary. The Finance Director’s main conclusion was that there is no scenario in which the taxes will go down for residents that live outside of the Village.
The tax increases to residents who live in the Town of Essex outside of the Village are are summarized in 3 brand scenarios:
Merger: $338 per year increase in municipal taxes after 13 years of a gradual phase-in of $26 each year. This would create a cumulative spending change of $2,366 over the 13 year phase-in period. Here is a spreadsheet to view that change in a more visual format.
Separate while Sharing Some Services: $288 per year increase in municipal taxes beginning on year 1 of the change. This would create a cumulative spending change of $3,744 over 13 years. This number is greater than the merger scenario because there is no phase-in of the increase.
Complete Separation: $777 per year increase in municipal taxes beginning on year 1 of the change. This would create a cumulative spending change of $10,101 over the same 13 year period.
These figures may be too conservative to capture the total cost change to residents who live outside of the village as there are many factors to consider. Some of these factors include whether or not the Village decides to switch a sharing of police force from the Town of Essex to the Town of Williston. It also does not factor in additional changes such as how the change may impact changes to the education tax that is a large portion of Vermont property taxes.
The bottom line is that a merger between the Town of Essex and the Village of Essex Junction would be a win-win for the Town of Essex.