Avon Voters Blast Budgets (Again)

AVON, CT — Local officials, essentially, marched back the same spending plan for 2024-25 as the one soundly rejected by voters last month.

And, following Friday's second town/school budget referendum, they received the same results, as voters blasted the spending plan by an even wider margin than May 16, with more turning out as well.

After polls closed Friday night at the Avon Senior Center, the vote wasn't even close — 686 "yes" votes to 1,745 "no" votes. Voter turnout was much higher too ... 18.6 percent.

With taxes expected to increase by an average of slightly less than 3 percent, not counting revaluation-impacted tax adjustments, it appears voters are still concerned.

The 2.96-percent average tax-hike estimate came after finance officials tweaked calculations after the first vote, which had an average tax hike (not including the revaluation) of slightly more than 3 percent.

Last month, voters resoundingly shot down a $116.09 million town/school budget. The vote was 299 "yes" votes to 1,378 "no" votes.

In the first referendum, voter turnout exceeded the 9 percent, charter-mandated threshold for a vote to be valid on the budget. It was 12.4 percent.

If less than 9 percent of voters turn out, the budget is automatically approved, regardless of what the votes say.

How this budget will impact individual taxpayers depends on the new, post-revaluation assessments.

Because of the recently completed revaluation, it doesn't mean taxes will decrease even though the proposed mill rate will be much smaller.

The Town of Avon had set up a web page that allowed taxpayers to calculate their tax bill based on that proposed 2024-25 budget going to voters.

With the budget's rejection for the second time comes a delay in when tax bills will come out, though the plan is now to, at least, have them out prior to Aug. 1.

For more information on all of Avon's 2024-24 town/school budget proposals, click on this link.

From June 5: 'Avon Sending Same Budget To Voters, Hopes For Different Results'

From June 6: 'Avon's Tax Timeline Impacted By Budget Battle'

From May 16: 'Voters Destroy Avon's Town/School Budgets'