Canton Voters To Decide Town/School Spending, Taxes This Week

Canton voters will decide this week at the polls a proposed $55.1 million budget that would raise the tax rate by 4.81%.

By Michael Lemanski, Patch Staff

May 11, 2026 1:51 pm EDT

Canton voters will head to the polls this week to decide the town/school budget for 2026-27 and the accompanying tax rate. (Tim Jensen/Patch)

CANTON, CT — Canton voters will determine on May 14 a proposed $55.1 million town budget for fiscal year 2026-27 that would increase the tax rate by 4.81%.

The budget referendum will be held from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 14, at the Canton Community Center, 40 Dyer Ave.

The proposed budget going to voters totals $55,089,729, an increase of $4,272,806, or 8.41%, over the current fiscal year budget of $50,816,923.

Under the proposal, the town’s mill rate would rise from 33.50 to 35.11, an increase of 1.61 mills. For a median home assessed at $217,293, annual property taxes would increase by about $349.72, from $7,279.32 to $7,629.04.

Voters will decide whether to approve the proposed spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. A “Yes” vote approves the budget, while a “No” vote rejects it.

The proposed budget includes:

$13.7 million for the Board of Selectmen operating budget, up 4.79%.
$1.9 million for the Capital Improvement Plan, up 87.93%.
$37 million for the Canton Board of Education budget, up 6.09%.
$2.45 million for the Board of Finance budget, up 34.69%.

The Canton Board of Finance reduced the board of education’s proposed operating budget by $200,000 before finalizing the referendum amount.

The board also reduced the proposed capital budget by $692,593, resulting in a total Canton Board of Selectmen budget of $15.6 million.

Eligibility rules for the referendum differ from regular elections.

Registered Canton voters may cast ballots if they are registered by the close of business on Wednesday, May 13. Same-day voter registration is not available for referenda.

Connecticut law also allows certain non-registered property owners to vote in local budget referenda.

Eligible voters must be at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens and owners of real or personal property in Canton valued at $1,000 or more on the Oct. 1, 2025, Grand List.

Eligible non-elector property owners may check in at the moderator’s table at the referendum.

Early voting is not available for the referendum.

Absentee ballots became available April 29 and must be returned by 8 p.m. May 14 to the drop box in the Canton Town Hall parking lot.

Officials said absentee ballots cannot be mailed to voters for the referendum.

For the latest Canton budget referendum information, click on this link.