
The Canton Board of Finance will consider a proposed budget on Monday that could raise taxes by 2.47 percent.
CANTON, May 14, 2020 – Canton residents have until Monday to make comments on the 2020-21 proposed town budget that would raise taxes by 2.47 percent.
The Board of Finance is scheduled to meet on Monday at 7 p.m. in a virtual meeting and hopes to set the mill rate for the coming year.
The Board of Finance is considering a budget of $40.9 million that includes $27.6 million for the Board of Education, $11.4 million for the Board of Selectmen. It would require a mill rate of 32.82.
The Board of Education has already removed $206,499 from their first proposed budget while the Board of Selectmen have removed $71,651 from their proposed budget. Another $153,000 was cut from the capital Improvement budget that funds projects overseen by the selectmen and the school board.
Questions and comments regarding the budget can be emailed to [email protected]. All questions and comments received will be included as part of the record of the meeting and will provided to Board of Finance officials. At the last meeting on Monday, there were 40 pages of comments from town residents.
While the public is invited to watch the virtual meeting on Monday, only members of the Board of Finance, Board of Education and Board of Selectmen will participate in the meeting.

There have been several signs placed around town urging no tax increases.
There will be no town referendum of the budget due to the COVID-19 crisis. To help reduce the spread of COVID-19, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont issued an executive order on March 21 that, in part, suspended the in-person budget adoption requirement for cities and towns.
Canton’s current budget is $40.9 million but at a budget hearing last week, the Board of Finance asked the Board of Education and Board of Selectmen to come back to Monday’s meeting with answers about specific cuts.
The finance board is asking the Board of Education what they would have to cut to reduce their budget by $138,000 and asked the Board of Selectman what they would cut to reduce their budget by $51,000. A reduction of $70,000 in the capital improvement budget is also being considered.
“We are looking to understand the (proposed) cuts to make Canton affordable for all residents while balancing the needs for services for both our town and the schools,” said Board of Finance chairwoman Jennifer Rottkamp.
Proposed Canton budget 2020-21
Comments from residents
Comments are included in this package.
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.


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