BERLIN — Voters rejected both the town government and Board of Education budgets in Tuesday’s referendum, with many saying the spending plans were too low.
According to the tally sheets, the Board of Education budget received a strong “no” vote, with most voters indicating it was “too low.” The general government budget also failed, though results were more mixed.
“The general government budget and the Board of Ed budget, because there are two separate votes, both of them failed,” Town Manager Ryan Curley said. “And with each one, voters said, no, the budget’s too low.”
On the education side, the result was clear.
Vote totals show the Board of Education budget failed 1,022 to 459. The town budget failed 1,237 to 249.
Overall turnout was higher than usual. The town reported 1,512 voters, or about 9.39% of eligible voters. That is about double last year’s turnout, according to Curley.
“People came out to the polls, which was good. We liked that,” he said.
The proposed FY27 general fund budget total was $110,081,603, an increase of $3,534,248, or 3.3%, over the current year. The general government portion was $53,684,544, while the Board of Education budget was $56,397,059, both reflecting increases from the previous year.
The proposed budget includes a mill rate of 31.28, an increase of 0.63 from the current rate of 30.65, or about a 2.1% rise.
The Board of Finance met Wednesday night to review the referendum results and may revise both the general government and Board of Education budgets.
Town officials expect the board could increase spending in response to voters, who indicated in both questions that the budgets were too low. The education budget may see a larger increase, while the town side could also rise slightly.
After the Board of Finance takes action, the proposal will be sent to the Town Council, which is scheduled to meet May 5. The council can approve the revised budget and send it to voters for another referendum or reduce it, but it cannot increase spending.
A second referendum is expected to take place May 26, the day after Memorial Day. If the budget fails again, the process will shift, and the town will set the mill rate.
“If the budget fails at the second referendum, then it goes back and the town sets the mill rate,” Curley said.
Despite the outcome, town officials said they were encouraged by higher voter turnout, noting residents came out in greater numbers and made clear they wanted changes to the proposed budgets.
“I’m really happy that the turnout was higher,” Curley said. “Obviously, we want the budget to pass, but clearly the voters in town wanted some changes to it, and that’s why we have referendums.”