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Town Manager briefs council on 2026 capital budget; council outlines referendum items and next steps
Summary
Town Manager Sean Kimball summarized updates to the town’s proposed 2026 capital budget, described changes since the March recommendation and outlined schedule and referendum thresholds; the council identified a tentative set of referendum projects and set follow‑up meetings to finalize resolutions.
Town Manager Sean Kimball told the Town Council the original capital plan presented in March contained 30 projects totaling about $7.7 million and that subsequent workshops and adjustments put the working total near $8.0 million. He reminded the council that the town charter allows the council to add, delete or modify projects following the public hearing and that projects above $500,000 net of grants require a local referendum.
Kimball walked the council through updates and priorities across departments. Highlights included a fire truck replacement ($1.1 million), a proposed $800,000 road improvement program (which would trigger referendum), public works equipment and vehicle requests, and repairs and design funding for municipal buildings including animal-control facility improvements (staff requested replenishing a town building-improvement account to approximately $250,000 for additional enhancements). Water & sewer items — including a Moss Farms pump-station remediation and replacement work at the wastewater plant — were described as priorities but some could be deferred a year if necessary.
Education and school projects were discussed: the council reviewed a proposed Cheshire High School loading-dock and parking-lot reconfiguration and a separate CHS fire-alarm control system, both of which staff labeled as referendum items because of size and scope. Multiple councilors asked whether components could be split into separate referendum questions; staff and facilities managers said some elements (loading dock vs paving) were interdependent and separating them would not substantially reduce cost without adding complexity.
Kimball and Finance staff also reviewed capital‑and‑nonrecurring (CNR) cash-flow constraints: town staff had originally proposed $1 million in CNR funding in the budget, but the council set a lower cash appropriation during workshops; staff said they would shift some CNR items into bonded projects to balance the plan.
On process and schedule, staff told the council the filing deadline to place referendum questions on the November ballot is in early September (counsel referenced a September 3 filing date for a November referendum), and the council agreed to finalize project amounts and proposed referendum language at a meeting before that date. Council members discussed meeting dates to complete final resolutions; staff said final bond language and resolutions would be prepared for council review and that prior‑year closeouts and grant matches would be netted against bond amounts where appropriate.
No final appropriations or bond issuances were adopted at the meeting. The council closed the public hearing on the capital budget, moved into a special budget meeting and scheduled follow‑up work to finalize first‑year capital projects and any referendum questions.
