Orange: Ells Wins Selectboard Seat
Orange — Robert Ells won his bid to stay on the Selectboard and David Stacy received enough write-in ballots to win a spot on the town Budget Committee.
Ells, who was appointed to the Selectboard last year to serve out the final six months of Linda Giner’s term, narrowly defeated George White, 68-65, for the three-year term. Stacy, meanwhile, won his write-in campaign against Colin Higbie, garnering 54 votes to Higbie’s 48.
In other contested races, Patricia Mercer was elected overseer of public welfare, defeating write-in candidate Donald Pfaefflin, 76-54. For auditor, Christina Souza and William Souza won write-in campaigns for two open positions, with 95 votes and 86 votes, respectively. Henry Minasian got 27 write-in votes.
Tonight, voters will consider all other Town Meeting articles, including a proposed budget of $227,831 for 2013, up less than 2 percent from last year’s budget. All other spending articles include appropriations of between $500 and $3,000 for various capital reserve funds.
The total proposed spending comes to $227,831, a 2.4 percent increase. The tax impact is not known, but the town portion of the property tax bill now is $4.10 per $1,000 of valuation, or $820 on a $200,000 home.
Voting on the budget and other Town Meeting articles will begin at 7 p.m. in the Town House.
