Berlin Voters To Decide Revised Town, School Budgets Next Week

BERLIN, CT — Berlin voters will return to the polls on Tuesday, May 26, to decide revised town and school budgets after both spending plans were rejected during the first budget referendum in April.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, while absentee ballots remain available through Friday in the Town Clerk’s office.

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The revised referendum proposal includes a combined 3.48% increase in expenditures for the 2026-27 fiscal year, including a 3.47% increase for general government spending and a 3.50% increase for the Berlin Board of Education budget.

Town officials said the proposed mill rate is 31.32, representing an increase of 0.66 mills, or 2.17%, over the current fiscal year.

Under the revised proposal, a homeowner with a property valued at $345,000 would see an estimated annual tax increase of approximately $152.

The updated budget package includes several changes made by the Berlin Board of Finance after voters rejected the original proposal during the April 28 referendum.

Officials added $81,000 to the Board of Education budget, $25,000 for reroofing the Timberlin maintenance shop, and $71,600 to partially fund an additional police officer position for half a fiscal year. Town officials said the police position would be offset through additional grant revenue.

The revised budget comes as Berlin also expects additional state aid to be approved after the second referendum package has already been finalized.

According to town officials, the new state funding includes $581,191 in supplemental education aid, $258,989 through the Revenue Sharing Grant program, and $75,947 in supplemental Pequot-Mohegan funding.

Officials said that if voters approve the revised budget, some of the new revenue could be used to further reduce the mill rate.

If the budget fails again, the additional aid could instead help offset spending increases in a future revised proposal.

During the first referendum on April 28, Berlin voters rejected the general government budget by a vote of 1,022 to 459 and defeated the Board of Education budget 1,237 to 249.

The original combined budget proposal totaled more than $110 million and would have increased the mill rate by 0.63 mills, or about 2.05%, according to town officials.

To find your polling place, click on this link.

For the latest Berlin budget information, click on this link.

From April 29: 'Berlin Voters Reject Town/School Budgets Amid Low Turnout, Split Views