Updated Wednesday at 10:43 a.m.
Voters in Stowe, by a voice vote on the floor of Town Meeting on Tuesday, opted to provide some relief for their beleaguered town budget by passing a 1% local sales tax.
Jamaica, Londonderry, Rutland and Shelburne also approved similar new taxes.
In Stowe, the extra income is intended to address the pressures of inflation, population growth, tourism and a scarcity of emergency volunteers. The Town Meeting vote is expected to bring in an additional $700,000 a year, according to Cindy Fuller, the town’s finance director. The town could use the money to mitigate an increase in property taxes.
Stowe already has 1% local taxes on meals, alcohol and rooms.
In Jamaica, voters chose by a floor vote to impose 1% taxes on rooms, meals and alcohol. Greg Meulemans, chair of the selectboard, estimated that the new taxes would raise about $25,000 a year.
Despite an estimate that a 1% general sales tax would have raised an additional $30,000, voters turned down that option by a ballot vote of 23 for, 47 against.
In neighboring Londonderry, voters, by a floor vote in the old town hall, chose to impose a 1% local tax on rooms.
In Rutland, preliminary results showed that voters approved a 1% sales tax by a vote of 1,729 to 1,216, according to the Rutland Herald. Mayor David Allaire, who lost his seat to challenger Michael Doenges, estimated that the tax could bring in an additional $1 million to $1.2 million per year in revenue, and said the money could be used to upgrade city buildings, address a deficit in the city’s pension fund and alleviate property tax increases.
Rutland already has a 1% tax on meals and alcohol and on rooms.
In Shelburne, by an unofficial count of 838-593 Tuesday night, voters approved a 1% tax on meals and alcohol, rooms and sales, according to the town clerk.
Tuesday’s votes mean 29 Vermont municipalities have imposed a 1% local option tax on meals and alcohol, rooms or sales.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of municipalities that have imposed a 1% local option tax.