Not long after we were enjoying a fully dressed roast pork dinner, Caroline rose with her Constitution booklet in hand to provide us with our weekly lesson. This week’s focus was on the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. Caroline referred to Sarah Palin’s lawsuit against the New York Times which claims the newspaper defamed her in an article linking her to a mass shooting. She pointed out that public figures often have less freedom and are often more carefully scrutinized than lesser known citizens, a point that probably most of us were not aware of. Thanks Caroline for providing us with another interesting insight about our Constitution.

Eddie noticed that President Tony looked more presidential with his tucked in Rotary shirt and so he kicked in a Happy Dollar for Tony’s new and improved image. Loren chimed in with some information about mirror neurons (“..a type of brain cell that responds equally when we perform an action and when we witness someone else perform the same action..”). Does this mean that we will all be tucking in our shirts and blouses soon?

There was a brief robust discussion of Nicole’s recent email regarding presidential succession which resulted in the following motion: Caroline moved, and Eddie seconded, that Caroline & Eddie would accept the Club’s nomination as co-PEs for 23-24, with Eddie serving as PE the first six months of that Rotary year and CSE serving as PE for the second ½ of that Rotary year.   So moved and unanimously passed by the Club.

Steve presented the FY23 General Fund Budget highlighting programs and services including funding of the Aldrich Library and the Barre Area Development Corporation, the Barre Partnership, Police K-9 Program and the Mental Health Clinician supporting the Police Department and new budget element allowances, such as an Assistant Director of Public Works, an IT System Administrator and Junior Planner. Also presented were additional ballot items to be voted on, such as streets, sidewalks, equipment fund and voter approved assistance request. He reported that there are twenty-two requests from a variety of organizations including the Barre Heritage Festival, Barre Area Senior Center, Family Center of Washington County and Washington County Diversion Program. The budget for FYE 2023 is $13,194,159 compared to FYE 2022’s $12,836,332, an increase of 2.79%. The projected tax change based upon property value generally ranges from $40-$64.  For more details, the budget proposal is available for review on the city website: https://www.barrecity.org/city-manager. Rotarians showed their appreciation of Steve’s clear and concise presentation with a warm round of applause as he departed for an appointment at City Hall.