Despite no official word from the state yet, town officials in Clinton are planning on holdi ng an in-person budget referendum as normal this year. The referendum on the town and schools budgets is scheduled for Wednesday, May 12.

Due to the pandemic, that process was different in 2020. As part of Governor Ned Lamont’s March 21, 2020 Executive Order 7I, the legislative bodies of each municipality in the state were given the authority to set their own budgets. In Clinton, the Town Council is that legislative body and it approved the budgets last year.

Town Manager Karl Kilduff says that likely will not the case in 2021.

“As I noted before, our plans have been for, and remain focused on, an in-person referendum,” Kilduff said, though he noted, “The governor just recently had his emergency powers extended into May, which covers the budget adoption process for many municipalities.”

When the governor’s executive order was announced in 2020, many Clinton residents were not pleased with the news. Some towns follow the process laid out by the executive order even under normal circumstances, but budgets in Clinton are typically a highly contested and divisive topic of discussion in town.

The annual budget referendum usually produces spirited debate and draws a large voter turnout. Many Clinton residents relish the direct input they are able to have on the budget and the accountability the town must show to the voters.

Kilduff said he believes that the voters will have their say again this year, particularly after the town was able to pull off an in-person election in November.

“Given the state of re-opening efforts and the fact that an in-person vote was held in November, I believe that the traditional budget vote will take place again this year. The governor’s powers may allow for the use of absentee ballots again, as was the case in the November election. We are waiting on an executive order that would allow the expanded use of absentee ballots and it is a contingency we are planning for,” said Kilduff.

Democratic Registrar of Voters June Hansen said that while the lack of communication from the state with just over a month until the referendum is frustrating, she is sure that she and Republican Registrar of Voters Wendy McDermott are up to the task.

“I think if we survived November, we can survive anything,” said Hansen.

Hansen said she has emailed the Secretary of the State’s Office, but has yet to be given an update on the protocols required this year for the referendum.

“We’re going to do the best we can and will move forward unless we hear different from the governor,” Hansen said.

The main issue for Hansen is what the guidelines will be for absentee ballots. Hansen said that in a normal year, the town receives about 300 to 400 absentee ballots for the budget referendums. A large portion of those ballots are from summer residents who are eligible to vote in the referendum because they pay taxes in town. There are normally stringent rules for who is eligible to vote by absentee ballot, but those rules could be modified to allow anyone to vote that way as they were in the presidential election.

To cope with an in-person referendum, Hansen said the town will probably need to purchase more supplies and hire more people to work the polls. In Clinton, the town and education budgets are separate votes, which means that it’s possible for one budget to be approved and the other to fail in the same vote. If one or more budget fails, it is amended that night, sent to a public hearing the following Wednesday, and to another vote the week after that. Hansen said enough supplies must be ordered for the possibility of a multi-week process, not just one referendum.

The registrars have already “talked briefly and we have people some lined up. We will probably need to hire some more people and we’re going to operate under CDC guidelines,” said Hansen.

Those guidelines include wearing masks, social distancing in line at the polls, and increased cleaning protocols.

More information on the proposed budgets can be found on zip06.com. A detailed line-by-line break down of the budget is available on the town’s website.