The VTDigger newsroom is covering Town Meeting Day across the state. Find all of our 2024 Town Meeting Day stories below. This post will be updated through Wednesday, March 6.
- How Nikki Haley won Vermont — More Vermonters cast ballots in the state’s Republican presidential primary than in any year since 2000. Independents and Democrats likely made her victory possible. (March 6, 6:04 p.m.)
- Vermont Conversation: Emma Mulvaney-Stanak on making history as the 1st queer woman elected as Burlington’s mayor — “The historic nature of this race — the fact that after 159 years, we finally have a woman mayor, after 159 years, we finally have an out LGBTQ+ mayor — that really matters,” she said. (March 6, 4:30 p.m.)
- Tunbridge votes to expand policing — Voters conducted town business between helpings from more than four dozen home-baked pies so plentiful the leftovers were raffled off for lucky winners to take home. (March 6, 12:14 p.m.)
- Voters reject bond for new Woodstock school — The current building has a failing heating system, faulty plumbing and a lack of sprinklers, among other woes, but voters proved unwilling to stomach the $99 million price tag. (March 6, 2024, 10:17 a.m.)
- Vermonters rejected nearly one-third of school budgets on Town Meeting Day — Twenty-nine of 93 reported budgets were voted down, according to data from the Vermont Superintendents Association. (March 6, 9:48 a.m.)
- $11.4M bond for downtown development approved in St. Albans — The large majority of the bond money, $10 million, was to be set aside for the development of a new housing complex behind city hall. (March 5, 10:59 p.m.)
- Cabot votes to keep its high school open — The decision came in Cabot’s fourth vote on the question in 11 years. (March 5, 10:40 p.m.)
- Democrats maintain control of Burlington City Council — The party still has six seats on the 12-person council, while Progressives picked up a fifth seat. (March 5, 10:14 p.m.)
- Emma Mulvaney-Stanak elected mayor of Burlington, 1st woman to lead the city — The Progressive beat out Democrat Joan Shannon. (March 5, 9:45 p.m.)
- Swanton Village voters deny $14.8M public safety facility — The project was among the most expensive public safety proposals in Vermont this Town Meeting Day. (March 5, 9:30 p.m.)
- Montpelier voters approve ‘just cause’ eviction protections — Montpelier has become the latest Vermont municipality to approve the protections for renters. Despite voters’ greenlight, the proposal is likely to hit a roadblock at the Statehouse. (March 5, 9:19 p.m.)
- Jack McCullough holds on to Montpelier mayor seat — Adrienne Gil also won the District 1 City Council race. Residents voted down the school budget. (March 5, 9:04 p.m.)
- Rutland votes to keep fluoride in city water — A ballot article asking voters to approve a Rutland charter change that would ban fluoride from the city water supply failed Tuesday. The vote came after a similar ballot article failed in 2016. (March 5, 8:59 p.m.)
- Israel-Hamas war on Vermonters’ minds during Town Meeting floor debates — An anti-war group urged voters to pass resolutions supporting a cease-fire during their communities’ floor meetings. (March 5, 8:21 p.m.)
- Winooski voters approve $4.6M bond funding for its share of Burlington-Winooski bridge reconstruction — Connecting the downtown areas of two of Vermont’s most densely populated cities, the bridge is the Onion City’s busiest stretch. (March 5, 8:25 p.m.)
- Nikki Haley wins Vermont, the first state to spurn Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary — President Joe Biden easily prevailed in the state’s Democratic primary. (March 5, 7:25 p.m.)
- On question of Town Meeting Day voting, Jericho tries to balance tradition with equity — The question of in-person floor votes vs. paper Australian ballots touches on some of Vermont’s most closely held values: public participation, direct democracy and accessibility. (March 5, 6:54 p.m.)
- Voters wrestle with supporting schools or pushing back against rising property taxes — Amid an unprecedented rise in the cost of education, residents face daunting property taxes and a beleaguered public school system. (March 5, 2:59 p.m.)
- After a year of flooding, Vermont Town Meetings face the lingering costs — The residue from last year’s storms has seeped onto agendas throughout the state — although one community had a spirited reason to decide it no longer wants to stay dry. (March 5, 12:48 p.m.)
- PHOTOS: Vermont Town Meeting Day 2024 — Images from Town Meeting Day 2024 across the state. (March 5, 12:36 p.m.)
- VTDigger’s 2024 guide to Vermont Town Meeting voting — The state’s 247 municipalities are set to decide local government and school spending, leaders and charter changes — as well as join the nation in the Super Tuesday presidential primary. (March 3, 6:01 a.m.)
