By Sarah Opdahl

On Saturday, May 9, 1,493 voters, or 16.4% of registered voters, took part in the Town’s budget referendum. They voted to approve both budgets with the following breakdown:

Town:

Yes: 841

No: 620

School:

Yes: 808

No: 652

 “It feels really good,” New Fairfield Board of Finance (BOF) Chair Mr. Wes Marsh said of the vote. He went on, “The process went smoothly, and I think that is a reflection of the hard work and collaboration that went into building these budgets from the start.” With unexpected additional funds coming from the State, the BOF voted to approve a mill rate of 4.60% at a special meeting on Monday May 11.

Marsh found it telling that “we had very little public comment during our budget meetings — either for or against the proposed budgets. And yet, when it came time to vote, the taxpayers still came out and approved both the town and education budgets. I think that speaks volumes.” He emphasized, “sometimes silence is its own kind of endorsement — it tells us that residents trust the process and feel confident that the Board is being responsible with their tax dollars.”

One very interesting element of the vote was the advisory questions asking if the budgets were too high or low. Marsh acknowledged the “interesting wrinkle” regarding the advisory questions “and the majority said both budgets were too high. And then they voted to approve them anyway. I think that tells you something very honest about how people feel. Nobody loves a higher tax bill, but when push comes to shove, residents recognize the value of what these budgets deliver for our town and our schools.” He reflected, “Passing both in the first round is a great outcome, and ultimately that trust from the community means everything.” Fellow members agreed at the May 11 meeting.

Results for the advisory questions were:

Town:

Too High: 793

Too Low: 291

School:

Too High: 726

Too Low: 360