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Simsbury board votes to raise first selectman stipend to $15,000 starting July 2026
Summary
After debate, the Simsbury Board of Selectmen amended a motion and approved increasing the first selectman's annual stipend from $10,000 to $15,000, effective July 1, 2026; a prior proposal to raise it to $35,000 failed to gain support.
The Simsbury Board of Selectmen voted Dec. 1 to increase the annual stipend for the town's first selectman from $10,000 to $15,000, with the new amount scheduled to take effect July 1, 2026.
Speaker 7 opened the item by proposing a $35,000 stipend, arguing the office requires many hours and noting the rise in Connecticut's minimum wage as context. "I think it's time to acknowledge that almost a decade has gone by," Speaker 7 said when introducing the motion to set the stipend at $35,000. The proposal prompted an extended discussion about precedent, budget timing and proportionality.
Board members raised a range of concerns: several said $35,000 represented too large an increase in a single step and recommended tying changes to the budget cycle. Speaker 5 proposed a smaller amendment — raising the stipend to $15,000 and reviewing it during the next budget process — which was seconded and approved. The amendment carried and the board adopted the amended stipend by voice vote; members specified the increase take effect 07/01/2026.
Why it matters: The stipend establishes the monetary recognition for the town's chief elected official and can influence who seeks the office and how the town budgets for elected leadership. Members noted the stipend had not been adjusted since 2017 and framed the vote as a modest alignment with cost-of-living and workload changes while preserving the board's budgetary discretion.
The board recorded that reimbursement for direct job-related expenses remains available and that any future adjustments will be handled during regular budget deliberations. The vote was accompanied by public discussion but no recorded roll-call tally in the transcript.
