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Stafford sets 2026–27 mill rate at 25.59 after $34,000 in targeted cuts
Summary
The Board of Selectmen approved $34,000 in reductions requested by the Board of Finance and set the 2026–27 mill rate at 25.59 mills; the board referred transfers to the Board of Finance and heard residents question budget priorities and request that $75,000 for solar repairs be charged to the utility fund.
The Stafford Board of Selectmen approved a set of $34,000 reductions requested by the Board of Finance and adopted a proposed mill rate of 25.59 mills for fiscal year 2026–27.
The chair presented a package of reductions totaling $34,000 intended to meet the Board of Finance request. Proposed cuts included $3,000 in transfer-station trash disposal savings, $2,000 in parks trash disposal, $14,000 in building maintenance reductions, and $10,000 from the community center budget. The board moved to accept the reductions and to set the mill rate at 25.59; the motion passed by voice vote.
Earlier the board reviewed several intra-budget transfers and referred them to the Board of Finance for final review. Transfers included a $1,000 move to account for increased vehicle repairs in police protection and a $1,500 transfer for an unanticipated telephone-cost increase; the chair asked staff to provide an explanation for the telephone increase before the Board of Finance acts.
During public comment, residents urged deeper budget scrutiny. Derek Demick Monson asked the board to move $75,000 budgeted for solar-panel repairs to the utility fund, arguing those repairs should be paid from the utility fund rather than general taxpayers. “That’s what the utilities fund is for,” Demick Monson said. Laura Liber urged the town to gather data on service usage before making cuts and backed the Board of Education’s request to separate referendum questions. Brian Bagley said his understanding of Connecticut law is that municipal budgets must be voted as one combined question; he presented that as his understanding rather than a legal ruling.
The Board of Education’s May 12 letter — provided to the selectmen as an informational item and signed by Board Chair Eric Bushard and Superintendent Scott Sugarman — formally requests future budget referendums present town and education budgets as separate questions and include advisory questions to clarify voter priorities. The selectmen received the letter as information and did not act on it during the meeting.
Next steps: transfers go to the Board of Finance for review, staff will provide requested explanations for the telephone line increase, and the town will proceed toward the scheduled referendum process under the adopted mill rate.
