Editorials

It's Time To Vote Again

Published: May 14, 2026 3:34 pm

With the failure of both the proposed 2026-27 municipal and school budgets at referendum on April 28, residents will again be faced with a decision on a now reduced budget bottom line from 6 am to 8 pm Tuesday, May 19.

Voters denied the previous budget on April 28, saying no to the $51 million town budget 1,791 no to 1,506 yes votes; and the $96 million school budget 1,798 no to 1,504 yes. Had it been approved, the total budget bottom line would have been $147,415,217, a 4.34% increase. The mill rate would have increased to 29.54, a 2.79% increase.

The turnout was 3,326 casting votes out of 18,367 registered voters, an 18% turnout, down from last year's 25.4% turnout.

The Legislative Council met on May 5 and made approximately $471,000 in cuts to the town and $400,000 in cuts to the schools.

With the cuts, the budget now sits at $50,982,035 for the town, a 2.24% increase over last year; and $95,561,919 for the schools, a 4.16% increase over last year, for a total of $146,543,954, a 3.48% increase over last year. This would increase the mill rate to 29.30 mills, a .52 mill or 1.8% increase over last year's mill rate of 28.78.

Approved cuts by the council were a $65,000 reduction to roads, a $75,000 reduction to NYFS, reduction of a technology director salary by $15,000, $4,000 from registrars, $50,000 from mid-year hire of a new police officer, $10,000 from contingency, $5,100 from seasonal wages for a finance intern, $2,000 from EDC inflation cushion, $25,000 from a teen center furnace, $4,000 from the United Way, $25,000 from tree removal, $75,000 from a facilities maintainer, $54,464 from an assistant building official, $23,097 from a Parks & Rec excavator, $15,000 from ECD new spending, $9,000 from Highway Department random drug testing, $10,000 from police radar testing, and $4,600 from MDT replacement software.

The specific cuts to the school budget will not be made until the budget is passed.

Voters will also face a decision on an appropriation question that was missed, regarding an HVAC project at Newtown High School in the C, D, and F wings of the building.

Approval of this question authorizes the appropriation and bond authorization of $2,317,210 to proceed with this project. There will not be any new issue of debt for the project as the Town can transfer unspent bond proceeds from another completed project. This project provides for the replacement of five rooftop units (RTUs) and one chiller at the High School.

The 18% turnout marks the first time the turnout has not increased over the last four referendums in three years. The break in the trend was probably inevitable, but still disappointing. Voting is a civic responsibility and privilege, and it was good to see more and more residents exercising that right on a budget that has a large effect on their day-to-day lives.

The 2025 budget referendum passed with 4,287 out of 18,310 eligible voters casting a vote, 25.4%. This was up 17.7% from the low in 2022.

For the 2024 budget referendum, during which the feedback was negative, the education budget went down for the first time in 11 years; 1,701 no votes to 1,194 yes votes, with a 15.1% turnout. In May, it passed, 2075 yes votes to 1198 no votes, with a turnout of 17.4%.

In 2023, Newtown had a turnout of approximately 8.8%, the first year of increased participation after years of waning participation, especially following the COVID pandemic. In 2022, participation was only 7.7%; in 2021, the turnout was 8.98%; in 2020, there was no budget referendum due to the pandemic; in 2019, turnout was 17%; in 2018, turnout was 15.7%; and in 2017, turnout was 19.9%.

What was different was that voter turnout decreased for the first time in three years following it bottoming out in 2022 at 7.7%. Last year's referendum hit 25.4%. This year, the turnout was 3,326 casting votes out of 18,367 registered voters, an 18% turnout.

The 2025 budget referendum passed with 4,287 out of 18,310 eligible voters casting a vote, 25.4%. This was up 17.7% from the low in 2022.

Lower voter turnout is not only a sign of voter apathy but also a sign of lessened support. While a large amount of people made sure to turn out in 2025 to support a difficult-sell budget with a more than six percent increase largely driven by self-insurance claims, that same groundswell did not again come out to support the budget.

We encourage voters to get back on track and get out and vote. Let's make the break in the trend a one-off, and get as many folks as possible out to the polls.

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Vote To Support The Town And School Budgets

Questions For Commission </p><p>On Aging

Follow The Minutes, Not Workarounds

We Can Support Our Children And Our Taxpayers

Discusses Budget Reductions

Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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It's Time To Vote Again

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