As mentioned in our page A1 story, the referendum for the 2026-27 town and school budgets passed on May 19 by exceedingly narrow margins. This represents a bit of a conundrum for town officials as they move forward into the next budget year and beyond.

First Selectman Bruce Walczak, while happy the budget passed and he now has an approved roadmap for running the town for the next year, expressed concern over the smallness of the margins.

"It doesn't tell me what the residents think of the budget," said Walczak. "I don't know how to infer if it represents the sentiment of the other 79% who didn't vote. Are we on course or way off?"

Legislative Councilman Ben Ruben, in a Hive letter this week (see page A11) noted that "nearly half of the voters who showed up said this budget is too high.

"Their votes matter just as much as the 'yes' votes. As a Legislative Council, our job is to listen to the whole town, not just the side that squeaked out a win," stated Ruben. "With turnout this low and margins this tight, nobody has a mandate for more spending. We have a mandate to listen, to be disciplined, and to protect taxpayers."

Legislative Council Chairman Laura Miller said she was "deeply mindful of the clear message sent by the voters: Rising expenses are stretching everyone's finances, and support for this budget was closely divided."

Very close to half the residents who came forward in this referendum to cast votes indicated that the budget and commensurate tax increase are too high. People are hurting right now; inflation continues to be above the ideal two percent, as it has since 2021; gas prices have spiked again just when they finally looked to be going down; energy, healthcare, and housing costs continue to spiral every year. Residents can hardly be blamed for saying "no" when given a choice on one of their expenses. It would be simpler to read the will of residents if the referendum would have indicated a margin of at least a few hundred votes (or if more residents had come out to vote).

Hopefully the budget, whether voters cast their vote yea or nay, is one the town can live with. It seems certain that town officials will be cognizant that residents are struggling with their day to day bills in their future planning.