AVON, June 11, 2024 – Avon’s proposed town budget failed in a referendum on Friday. Seventy-one percent of voters said no to the town’s latest budget proposal of $116, 087 million with 39 percent saying yes.
There were 2,431 voters, the highest number of voters in a town budget referendum since 2005, according to town records. The budget proposal failed on a vote of 1, 745 to 686.
The first budget referendum of the year on May 15 failed by an even larger margin of 1,378 to 299 votes or a margin of 82.1 percent to 17.8 percent. It was the largest margin to defeat a town budget since at least 1999, according to town records.
What’s next?
The third and final budget referendum will be Monday, July 8, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Avon Senior Center. If the budget fails for a third time, the Town Council will set the town’s 2024-25 fiscal year spending plan, according to the Town Charter.
A three board budget workshop with the Board of Finance, Town Council and Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, June 18, at 7 p.m. in the meeting room at Fire Company No. 1 at 25 Darling Drive to determine a proposed budget that will be presented at a June 24 public hearing.
There will be no opportunity for public comment at the budget workshop. A meeting agenda with a link to view the meeting virtually will be posted at the Board of Finance’s web page.
If needed, a second three-board budget workshop is scheduled for Thursday, June 20 at the Fire Department at 7 p.m.
The Board of Finance will host a public hearing on the budget on Monday, June 24, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Avon Senior Center. It will be livestreamed via GoToMeeting. But only residents attending the meeting in person will be allowed to make comments.
The livestream may be accessed by the web at the following address: https://meet.goto.com/376546261 or by phone by dialing 1-866-899-4679 and entering access code 376-546-261.
Following the adjournment of the public hearing, the Board of Finance will hold a meeting at the Senior Center to set the budget for the third referendum.
Information regarding the proposed budget will be made available on the Town’s website at www.avonct.gov/home/pages/annual-town-budget once it becomes available.
The town’s budget proposal for the first referendum was also $116,097 million.
The difference in the second referendum was an additional $323,263 of revenue from the state — $240,422 of revenue from motor vehicle tax reimbursement and $82,841 for education cost sharing.
The addition of $323,263 would have lowered the proposed tax increase from 3.3 percent to 2.96 percent, according to town documents and the Board of Finance presentation.
The $116,087 budget that voters rejected had an overall increase of $5.9 million or 5.44 percent and would have resulted in a 2.96 percent increase in taxes. The town’s proposed operating budget of $31.0 million had an increase of $1.2 million or 4.25 percent. The Board of Education budget was set at $72.2 million, up $3.3 million or 4.90 percent from a year ago.
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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