When the town-village merger took effect on July 1, it did more than erase a border

LYNDON — When the town-village merger took effect on July 1, it did more than erase a border. It initiated the long, arduous task of weaving the separate Lyndon and Lyndonville budgets into one. “The one-time process of combining the Town and former Village’s budgets together is easily the most difficult task this year,” said Town Administrator Justin Smith. Over time, Smith, Town Treasurer Dawn Dwyer, and others painstakingly crunched the numbers, intermixed the town and village line items, and created a unified budget document. Their work culminated on Friday when the Select Board put the finishing touches on the first post-merger municipal and highway budgets. The board unanimously approved a $6.7 million spending plan for 2024, with $3.35 million to be raised through taxes. Next, the proposed $3.7 million municipal general fund and $2.97 million highway department budgets will go to Town Meeting on March 5.