With the 2017 Annual Town Meeting behind them, Wilton residents will now look to their next step in the budget setting process–the adjourned vote. Eligible voters will be considering eight questions, with setting the mil rate and budget as the primary responsibility.
Voting will take place Saturday, May 6, from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Clune Center (at Wilton High School, 395 Danbury Rd.).
The meeting was a long one, adjourning shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday evening. There were 280 eligible voters (and approximately 50 guest observers) who checked in with the ever-efficient registrars and team of volunteers; of the 280, there were 125 people who stayed to the end to cast ballots last night.
The first question on that ballot is whether or not to approve the proposed FY’18 budget as passed by the Town Meeting last night–the Board of Education at $80,572,640, a flat, 0.0% increase over FY’17; and the Board of Selectmen at $33,208,876, a 3.0% increase over FY’17. Despite two motions from the floor of the meeting to reduce the Education budget, the majority of electors chose to pass the budget as proposed by the Board of Education.
All other proposed ballot questions–five bonded items and two referendum questions–also passed and voters will now consider whether or not to approve those. Those seven questions include: bonding for road restoration (paving), developing plans for new Police Department headquarters, replacing the Wilton High School tennis courts, roof repair at the Board of Education building, and replacing an elevator at Middlebrook School; as well as the questions on extending hours for liquor service in restaurants, and discontinuing the road known as Old 2 Rod Highway.
For coverage of everything that happened at last night’s Annual Town Meeting, including slides from the presentations, read our LIVE Blog coverage of the meeting.