Willington schedules May 5 referendum on $22.56 million budget after town meeting debate

Willington voters will decide on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, whether to adopt the town’s proposed $22,561,563 general government and education budgets, town officials said after a town meeting that also set the polling place and hours.

At the meeting Selectman Mike Poo laid out the town’s fiscal picture, saying revenue pressures from state funding and shrinking local reserves left the town with a plan that requires more taxation. “This is a 1.97 mil increase which would be a 7.7% increase in your property tax,” Selectman Mike Poo said, summarizing the proposal’s estimated tax impact. Officials read budget line items into the record: total estimated revenues $4,372,565; last applied fund balance $241,000; net amount to be raised by taxation $17,947,900; education K–8 $10,501,957; Region 19 $4,975,893; town budget $22,561,563.

Why it matters: town leaders said a combination of lower state education cost‑sharing (ECS) payments, reduced slot/casino distributions to towns and a declined ability to draw down fund balance forced a heavier reliance on property taxes this year. “They’re shorting us on our DCS payment,” Selectman Poo said when describing state funding shortfalls. He and others said proposed legislative fixes might increase revenue in later years but could not be counted on for this budget.

Residents who spoke at the meeting were split on priorities. Moderator Peter Tanaka, who addressed the meeting during public comment, thanked volunteers and committee members who shaped the proposal and urged voters to consider both short‑term sacrifices and long‑term needs. Several commenters, including Michelle Cunningham, pressed for investment in roads, public safety and staff pay to retain municipal employees, saying those services have been underfunded for years.

Opponents at the meeting warned that education spending has risen faster than the town’s operating budget. One resident argued that repeated cuts to capital projects were weakening the town’s infrastructure even as education budgets increased. Board and committee members explained that some capital reserves have been used to offset operating pressures and that project closures earlier in the budget process returned funds to the general fund to balance the proposal.

Formal action: a motion to set the referendum date for May 5, 2026, was made and seconded during the meeting and approved by voice/hand vote; the town also set the town office building as the polling place and moved to hours between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (the meeting record does not include a numeric roll call tally). Town officials emphasized that tonight’s vote scheduled the referendum; it did not adopt the budgets themselves.

Next steps: the budgets will appear as separate yes/no questions on the May 5 ballot — one for the town general government budget, one for the town education budget, and the Region 19 regional education question — and will be decided by voters in that referendum.