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Orange voters defeat proposed general and highway budgets after extended questions about audits and accounting
Summary
At the March 3, 2026 Orange town meeting, voters rejected the proposed general fund ($457,938) and highway fund ($740,544) budgets after residents raised concerns about missing audits, unreconciled fund balances and apparent reporting errors; the meeting approved limited borrowing authority to carry operations while the board revises the budget.
Orange — Voters at the Town of Orange annual meeting on March 3 rejected both the proposed general fund and highway fund budgets after a prolonged public debate about bookkeeping and audits.
Moderator (the meeting moderator) read Article 5 proposing $457,938 in general fund operating expenditures — $313,818 to be raised by taxes and $144,120 from non-tax revenues. Multiple residents, led by Scott Edwards, challenged the accuracy of the town report and the budget lines, and said audits and bank reconciliations for several years were missing. Edwards said the package contained “numerous errors” and asked that the budget be returned to the select board for reconciliation and audit before voters approve it.
Select board members responded that emergency flood spending in 2023 and 2024 affected recent budgets and that the board is continuing to work with FEMA and state emergency management to recover reimbursements. A select board member acknowledged turnover in town treasurers and said staff and volunteers are trying to reconcile the ledgers. After discussion and a call of the question, the moderator put Article 5 to a voice vote; the moderator declared the article defeated.
The highway fund proposal (Article 6), asking $740,544 in expenditures with $665,199 to be raised by taxes and $75,345 from non-tax revenues, also failed after voters moved to call the question and the moderator declared the ayes did not carry the motion.
Despite the defeats, voters approved Article 9, which authorizes the town treasurer, with select board approval, to borrow money in anticipation of taxes, grants and other revenues. Supporters said borrowing authority is a standard cash‑flow tool to keep town operations running while the board completes audits and a revised budget.
Other outcomes: the meeting approved employee compensation levels for elected officers (Article 4), combined and approved Articles 10–20 (small appropriations totalling $8,275), and set property tax installment due dates (Article 21). Multiple articles proposing to stop mailing the annual report and the town newsletter in favor of online distribution were defeated.
What comes next: Select board members said they will work to reconcile prior years’ books, finish audits in progress, and return a corrected budget package to voters for consideration. The borrowing authorization approved by Article 9 gives the town short‑term access to funds while that work is completed.
