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Budget Heads for Approval at May 13 Town Meeting

The Board of Selectman (BOS) has decided to once again conduct the town budget vote by town meeting rather than referendum. The date for the town meeting is May 13 at 7 p.m. at Westbrook High School.

At a BOS meeting on March 12, the board unanimously voted to conduct the approval of the upcoming budget at a town meeting rather than at a referendum.

One of the benefits of doing a town meeting vote is that the town can publish a citizen’s voting guide for the budget.

The citizen’s guide is intended to inform voters about the budget and the town’s finances before voting. State guidance directs that the town remain neutral in its presentation of the budget details in any summary document presented to the voters. Selectmen Joe Campbell and Chet Bialicki both specifically pointed to the ability to distribute the voter guide as a reason to keep the town meeting.

Before the May town meeting, the Board of Finance (BOF) will hold a public hearing over the proposed budget on Wednesday, April 17.

The BOS forwarded a Town budget of $15,075,599, a $1,141,030 or 8.2% increase, to the BOF for review last month.

When it comes time to vote for the final budget, the town budget will be combined with an education budget as well as a capital plan. BOF chairman Paul Winch noted the Board of Education budget and the capital budget were still being finalized at press time. The process will finish by time the public hearing is held.

Eight years ago, the BOS decided to stop conducting the annual budget approval process via a referendum and instead use a town meeting format. The reason cited at the time by then-First Selectman Noel Bishop was the declining referendum turnout. In 2015, only 245 voters came out to vote in the 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. referendum. The next year the town decided to do the town meeting form of vote.

Town meetings take much less time both to conduct and to set up than an all-day referendum, though referenda traditionally offer a 14-hour window for voters to participate, while a town meeting requires participation at a specific time.

The town did return to a referendum in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but again, less than 100 people came out to vote, and the town returned to a town meeting vote in 2022.