East Hampton council advances town and capital budgets, sets July town meeting and referendum dates

The East Hampton Town Council advanced several budget measures and set dates for voter consideration at a meeting in Town Hall.

Under agenda item 8B the council moved to adopt the town general government budget as recommended by the Board of Finance, with the amount presented on the record as $19,699,909. Council members questioned whether the use of unobligated surplus required additional voter action; the town manager explained that because the funding comes from noncurrent-year surplus the council would manage transfers before the fiscal year closed, and that it was not a separate taxpayer appropriation.

The council then considered the Board of Education budget. A motion to approve the school budget of $39,900,937 was moved and seconded. After discussion the vote was recorded in the transcript as 5-2 against the motion.

The council approved the FY2027 capital improvement plan as recommended by the Board of Finance in the amount recorded on the record (2,364,530). The motion passed by a 5-2 vote.

The council set the town meeting for Tuesday, July 7 at 5:45 p.m. at Town Hall and scheduled a budget referendum for Tuesday, July 14, 2026, with polling between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. The town manager said absentee ballots should be available starting Friday at the Town Hall clerk's office and noted recent state changes allowing no-excuse absentee voting.

Separately, the council approved a proposed monthly budget for July as presented by finance staff; the figure listed in the meeting packet was read in the transcript as '6 million 746,000 496,000' (format in the spoken record was unclear). The motion to adopt the monthly budget carried on a voice vote.

The council will forward the adopted items to the referendum as scheduled; absentee ballots are to be available at the clerk's office.