Avon voters reject proposed budget for second time

AVON, June 7, 2024 – For the first time since 2008, Avon voters have rejected multiple budget proposals.

Seventy-one percent of voters said no to the town’s latest budget proposal of $116, 087 million on Friday 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.

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.

A third budget referendum will be held. If voters reject it, the Town Council will get the assignment to determine the final budget, according to the town charter. In 2008, town voters rejected three budgets and the Town Council set the final budget.

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 a $72.2 million, up $3.3 million or 4.90 percent.

2004-25 Avon Town Budget information