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Annual Report FOR THE TOWN OF c / (: ) ?Lam/psAltey leuj(y Year Ending December 31 2007 Annual Report FOR THE TOWN OF C ?vam/psAives yi£Mjts Year Ending December 31 2007 PAGE 2 Town of Benton, N.H. Annual Report of Town Officers Year Ended December 31, 2007 Table of Contents Benton Town Officers 5 Annual Town Meeting Warrant 7 Budget & Summary Analysis - Revenues 8 Budget & Summary Analysis - Expenditures 9 Comparative Statement of Appropriations & Expenditures....10 Report of the Treasurer 11 Detailed statement of Payments by the Selectmen 13 Report of the Tax Collector 17 Report of Clerk to Treasurer 19 Report of the Town Clerk 20 Schedule of Non-Taxable Property 21 Summary of Inventory Valuation 22 Report of the Trustees of the Trust Funds 23 Year 2007 Town Meeting Results 24 Vital Statistics 28 Annual Report of the Benton School District 29 PAGE 3 Katie Ella Jewell Goodwin January 17, 1911 - September 2, 2007 Thisyearsawthe passing of Benton's oldest resident, KatieGoodwin. Katiewas thesecond child and onlydaughter born to William and CeliaJewell in Lunenburg, VT. Afterseveral years,thefamilymoved to Red Village, VTwhere, when Katiewas seven, her motherdied and sherelied on heraunts who lived nearbyformaternal needs. Shedid occasionallyneed helpfrom aneighborto brush her hair before goingto school,and sometimes her brother had to help braid it. At age 15, herfathercould no longerafford to buy herschool supplies,so she repeated 8thgrade, her last formal education. In June of theyearshestarted work inthe Goodwin's home. The Goodwins lived next doortothe Mountain View House,and took overflow guests in. The senior Mr. Goodwin had a residential milk route which hisson, Max, eventuallytookover. Afteraromancedeveloped between Maxand Katie,shewroteto herfatherto ask his permission since shewasunderage. When no responsecame,she decided that meant herfatherconsented,and thetwo were married on March 21, 1927. Katie helped in the business by putting the milkcapson the bottles. TheirdaughterMaxine was born in 1928. When shewasoid enough,Maxinetook overthecapping.In 1944,the Goodwins bought afarm in Landaff,and Katieworked alongside Max in thefields. Katienevercut her hair because hermother-in-lawfelt it frivoloustovisit a hairsalon. Her hair becameso long that shesat on it and kept it braided and wrapped around her head. In late 1955,some timeafterthe passingof her in-laws,Maxinecut off hermom's braids, gave her herfirst home permanent,and saved the braids in a box. Katie wasanewwoman! In 1947 Maxinemarried George Tylerand moved Katieand Maxwith herto Howe Hil! in Benton. In 1969 Max passed away, having been married to Katiefor42 years. Forthenext 5 years, Georgewould drive Katieto visit her brother in Northwood,NH. AfterGeorge passed away in 1974, Maxinetookthedriver'stest and got her license. She and Katiewould go to Northwood. Overtheyears, Katieand Maxinecooked,cleaned,crocheted,sewed, embroidered and tended the garden together. Maxinefelt blessed to have suchaspecial motherwho wasalso likea big sisterand friend,all in one."Wintersnewerseemed long to us",said Maxine. Katiewasa Ballot Inspectorat elections, comingdown with Maxineand crocheting orembroidering for most of the day. Shealso baked someof "the best bread around"according to those luckyenough to havesampled her loaves. AdaptedfromabirthdayprogramforKatie's90thbirthdaybyStephanieSaffo. PAGE 4 BENTONTOWN OFFICERS Term Exp. Date Board ofSelectmen: PAGE 6 Annual Town Meeting Warrant Grafton S.S. March 11, 2008 Town ofBenton To the inhabitants ofthe Town ofBenton qualified to vote in Town affairs: You are hereby notified to meet atthe Benton Community Building in said Benton on the second Tuesday ofMarch next, the 11th, atseven o'clock in the evening tovote and act upon the following subjects: ARTICLE 1 To choose a Town Clerk, a Treasurer, a TaxCollector, an Auditor, a BallotClerk, a Ballot Inspector, a Sexton, an Assistantto the Sexton and a SurveyorofWood and Lumberfor a term ofone year, a Moderatorand a Selectman fora period oftwo years; a Supervisorof the Checklist and a Selectman fora term ofthree years; a Memberof the Planning Board fora term offive years and any otheragents or Officers necessaryforthe ensuing year. ARTICLE 2 To see ifthe Town will voteto acceptthe reports ofofficers and agents as printed. ARTICLE 3 Non-Lapsing Special WarrantArticle. To see ifthe Townwill vote to appropriate the sum of$4,630to replace thewindows in the Benton Town Hall building. The monies are to be drawn from the surplus in the General Fund. (This article requires a 2/3 majority vote on a written ballot) The Selectmen recommend this article. ARTICLE 4 To see ifthe Townwill voteto raise and appropriate the sum of$113,193 forGeneral Municipal Operations. The Selectmen recommend this article. ATrue Copy -Attest Selectmen ofBenton Jeremy Elli Q,. rt J. Boutin, Jr. Marjorie L. Robitzer PAGE 7 BUDGETAND SUMMARYANALYSIS Estimate ofRevenue Sources ofRevenue Est. 2007 Rec. 2007 Est. 2008 Yield Taxes $9,000 Intereston DelinquentTaxes MotorVehicle Registrations White Mountain Nat'l Forest State ofNew Hampshire Shared Revenue Rooms & MealsTax Highway BlocGrant Income From Trust Funds Dog Licenses & Fines Intereston Deposits Totals $109,284 $116,562 $113,826