At the conclusion of Tuesday evening’s (May 6) Annual Town Meeting, residents and property owners in attendance accepted the FY 2026 town budget and mill rate proposed by town leaders. Immediately after, voting began on whether to approve the proposed budget of $145,835,795 and mill rate of 24.4054 mils as presented by the Boards of Finance, Selectmen and Education.

For eligible voters who were unable to cast a ballot Tuesday evening, voting continues Saturday, May 10 at the Clune Auditorium (395 Danbury Rd.) from 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

During the meeting, town officials presented details about their spending proposals, and residents asked questions or commented about what they’d heard. GOOD Morning Wilton‘s coverage of the meeting provides a full account of what took place and includes a video recording of the proceedings.

For Fiscal Year 2026:

  • Elected Town officials have proposed a FY’26 operating budget of $145,835,795 to run the town and the schools for FY2026. That’s a 3.92% increase ($5.5 million) over FY’24.
    • TOTAL Board of Selectmen: $37,130,471 (3.65% increase over FY’25)
      • Operating budget:  $36,293,138
      • Capital: $832,333
    • Board of Education budget:  $96,968,334 (4.0% increase over FY’25)
    • Debt Service: $9,907,420
    • BOF Reserves: $1,829,570
  • The total FY’26 amount that needs to be raised through a levy is $146,966,545, a 3.9% increase ($5,495,889) from FY’25.
  • The proposed FY’26 mill rate is 24.4054, reflecting a 1.93% increase over FY’25.

This year voters will see new ballot scanners on the tabulators when they submit their ballots. Registrars of Voters Karen Birck and Annalisa Stravato have shared a video for anyone who wants to see the how the new scanner works.

Voting

Voters will see 11 questions on the ballot. The first regards the proposed budget and questions 2-11 pertain to proposed bonding items.

Question 1:  The Budget

For the budget vote, voters have three options to consider:

  • YES, I approve the budget proposed at the Annual Town Meeting
  • 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.

If voter turnout is 15% or higher, all the ‘yes’ votes are counted, and all the ‘no’ votes are added together. If there are more ‘yes’ votes, the budget passes. If there are more ‘no’ votes, the Board of Finance will go back and revise the budget based on the numbers of ‘too high’ and ‘too low’ votes, and bring it back to voters again. 

Question 2-11:  Town Referendums

The town referendums are simple YES or NO votes, and they require no minimum voter turnout — they will pass or fail based on whatever the actual YES or NO vote is. The ten bonding questions — the ten projects for which the town would like to borrow money — are:

  • $2,000,000 for the Wilton High School library roof replacement
  • $1,646,314 for Middlebrook School improvements including floor tiles, ceiling tiles and lighting replacements
  • $1,547,678 for Cider Mill School water chiller replacement
  • $1,286,618 for Historic Raymond Ambler House at Ambler Farm renovations
  • $725,000 for repaving of school district drainage, sidewalks and parking areas
  • $700,000 for road restoration and paving
  • $700,000 for turf field replacement at Memorial Stadium (Wilton High School)
  • $373,000 for Middlebrook School exhaust fan replacement
  • $330,000 for purchase of a large dump truck, two sanders and two plow apparatus
  • $250,000 for Middlebrook School gymnasium HVAC system replacement

Sample Ballot