By Sarah Opdahl

It was a sigh of relief for town officials that the Town and Education budgets passed on the first try this year—after five referendums last year. Out of 9,299 registered voters, 1,924 residents voted, or 20.7% of eligible voters. The results read:

Question #1:

Town Budget

Yes 990

No 923

Question #2:

Yes 963

No 945                 

Question #3:

Town Budget Too High: 1,053

Town Budget Too Low: 383

Question #4:

Education Budget Too High: 1,019

Education Budget Too Low: 476

“This budget year was very difficult and stressful for the BOF,” Board of Finance Chair Ms. Thora Perkins remarked, acknowledging that town officials wished the budget increase was lower for taxpayers. She worked very closely with various board members and town officials both in public meetings and behind the scenes to build a consensus around the necessity for the spike, which is the highest increase in recent memory, save one other year in the wake of the new school construction. This year’s increase was complex in that it includes a steep rise in medical costs and it continues to address the Town’s sizable debt.

Coupled with five-year home revaluations, many residents will feel the impact of their tax bills. First Selectman Ms. Melissa Lindsey noted, “The tricky thing with this budget is that the percentage of increase is different for everyone, depending on what their revaluations came to be. I spoke with residents who will be seeing a 23% increase, an 11% increase, an 8.5% increase, a 17% increase, etc.” She went on to stress, “I did not support an increase this high, however I understand why we were in the situation that we were in. Overall, we had 1,924 people turn out to vote on whether or not to pass this budget –thank you to all who voted.” She lamented, as many have before, that the voter turnout tends to be low for budget referendums. Lindsey emphasized, “that needs to change. We had very little feedback from residents during this budget process. As elected officials, how can we represent what the voters want if they do not share that information with us?” Lindsey implored “all residents to take a few minutes out of your busy schedu les to get involved in the process. Take a few minutes to write an email, make a phone call, stop by my office, visit a monthly listening session, speak at a meeting, etc.  I do believe that once the tax bills are received, we will see many unhappy residents.”

Board of Education Chair Mr. Dominic Cipollone shared that when he and Superintendent Dr. Ken Craw initially discussed the 2025-26 school budget, “it was crucial that we developed a needs-based budget that addressed the specific requirements of our school community, while also being mindful of our fiscal responsibilities to the broader New Fairfield community.” While the original budget they proposed was decreased, they are happy and grateful that the budget referendum passed on the first attempt, which is “a positive outcome that hasn’t been achieved in recent years.” He echoed Lindsey’s sentiments in saying, “If the result didn’t align with your expectations, I encourage you to stay engaged and continue advocating for what you believe in. It’s through ongoing involvement that we can all contribute to the progress of this important effort.”

Registrar Ms. Elisa Beckett-Flores explained that the voters spanned all age groups and there was generally higher engagement than in many annual budget referendums in recent years. Beckett-Flores and Registrar Mr. Dan McDermott were happy to lean on this referendum as a chance to test the bra nd-new voting machines, which performed without issue. Likening the leap in technology as going from a calculator to an iphone 16, she said that the machine has a much higher capability to fla g issues in the moment when a ballot is processed. This will be helpful in November when there is typically a bigger draw for voters.