Guilford's 2024-2025 $117.9M Budget Passes At 2nd Referendum

GUILFORD, CT — A little over a month after Guilford residents rejected the proposed 2024-2025 budget, the revised $117.9 million spending plan passed on Tuesday.

The vote this time around was 2,430 in favor and 1,698 opposed.

Last month, the budget was rejected by a vote of 1,300 in favor and 1,688 opposed.

"Several factors may have had an impact on Guilford voters," the town said after the failed vote from the first referendum on April 16. "The impact of the fall 2022 revaluation, school vacation the previous week, the opening of an APT Foundation facility in Guilford (which has no direct budget effect) and misinformation posted on signs around town and in the local paper regarding the proposed tax increase all may have had a final role in the results of the vote."

Following the failed vote in April, the Board of Finance reduced the original budget by a total of $1.15 million. The Board of Education budget was reduced by $835,000, and the town budget was cut by $315,000.

At the beginning of May, the town announced the launch of a website-based digital budget book, which allows constituents to see precisely how funds are generated and allocated, and better understand how the agency’s annual budget impacts the community programs and services they care about most.

With the new budget approved, First Selectman Matt Hoey told CT Insider that taxes are expected to increase by 2.7 percent. The mill rate, which is used to calculate property and vehicle tax, is projected to go from 26.58 to 25.88, CT Insider reported.

According to results from the town, nearly 26 percent of Guilford residents voted on Tuesday.

Read more from CT Insider