10/28/2026
Budget Referendum Study Commission starts meeting TONIGHT!
Do you have opinions to share as to whether the town should continue voting on our budget each year at the end of a Town Meeting on scratch pieces of paper OR would you prefer access to a FULL day of voting to go and cast your vote? This committee is tasked with hearing out and weighing ALL viewpoints.
Checkout our surrounding towns and what they offer their citizens. Most are offering a full day. (In addition to virtual meetings) I have a lot of parent friends who work, are running kids around the baseball field during budget season, and who can't make it to an evening Town Meeting to vote. I don't think that should keep them from being able to weigh in on something this major in our town.
Then there's also the factor of the bullying that takes place in our Town Meetings. We have a small group of citizens who are very loud, and very rude to anyone that has a different viewpoint from them. They don't like people asking questions. They don't like discussions. They actually encourage the opposite by using intimidation which also prohibits some citizens from coming out to vote on our budgets.
I am going to this meeting this evening with an open mind, but knowing that I will always fight for access for ALL citizens. That is your right. I will stand up to the bullying. If you haven't seen it or you don't know what I am talking about, you most likely are not going to Town Meetings or you agree with the bias mindset and have justified the behaviors taking place. Either way, it doesn't make it right and I'll continue to state that for the record.
This is the latest agenda that we received in addition to a three-page proposal from our First Selectman who's been very vocal about not wanting to spend the money on a Referendum. If you remember, a group of us citizens came together and petitioned for a full day referendum last year for the budget and we had the most participation ever. That is our right no matter what a very small appointed group of individuals decides.
I find it sad that we have the SAME little group trying to tell us what our rights are. I hope THEY come with an open mind and aren't looking to just waste everyone's time. It's 2026 and we need to do better for ALL of our citizens.
BTW - Did our PAID social media specialist post this Study Committee's meeting anywhere for the public to see? Why not? The solar proposal practically had it's own Facebook account....Things that make you wonder. 🤔
