Now that town leaders have proposed a town budget for Fiscal Year 2022, and attendees at last Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting voted to accept that proposal, it’s up to residents and property owners to vote on whether or not to adopt that proposed budget. Once the budget is adopted, that’s how the town determines how much to tax each property owner in order to fund the budget.

In-person adjourned voting for the Annual Town Vote will take place on Saturday, May 15 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Wilton High School Clune Center Auditorium (395 Danbury Rd.). The deadline for voting by absentee ballot has now passed.

Whether or not the very low attendance at last Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting is any indicator of how the vote will go, we’ll explain what’s at stake one more time when voting does happen this Saturday.

Question 1:  The Budget
  • Elected Town officials have proposed a FY’22 operating budget of $128,788,862 to run the town and the schools for FY2022. That’s a 1.21% increase ($1.5 million) over FY’21. (The presentations are available to review online.) (Board of Finance PowerPoint Presentation)
  • The total FY’22 amount that needs to be raised through a levy is $119,717,923, a 2.84% increase ($3,311,539) from FY’21.
  • The proposed FY’22 mill rate is 27.8685, reflecting a 1.48% increase over FY’21.
  • You’ll have three options to consider on the budget vote:
    • YES, I approve the proposed budget
    • NO, the budget is TOO HIGH
    • NO, the budget is TOO LOW
  • As always, the town needs to reach a 15% voter turnout threshold in order for the votes to qualify. Otherwise, with less than a 15% voter turnout, the budget automatically passes, no matter what votes are cast.

(For a detailed look at how the budget was set, read our prior coverage.)

Question 2-6:  Bonding Referendums
  • There are five bonding resolutions to consider–the five projects for which the town would like to borrow money. (Full explanations of the five projects are available online):
    • $1,500,000 for road restoration (paving)
    • $350,000 for replacement of the Middlebrook tennis courts
    • $600,000 for the School District roof replacement program
    • $1,450,000 for a new Fire Department Ariel Truck
    • $583,000 for the bridge replacement program
  • The bonding referendums require no minimum voter turnout and will pass or fail based on whatever the actual YES or NO vote is.

Vote IN-PERSON 

Only Town of Wilton electors (i.e. registered voters) and property owners are entitled to vote. People who aren’t registered to vote in Wilton (with the exception of people who own property in Wilton but reside elsewhere), or non-US citizen Wilton property owners–are not eligible to vote.

The deadline has passed to vote by absentee ballot, so in-person voting is your only option.

GOOD Morning Wilton will bring you the results of the vote LIVE on Saturday, May 15.