More Voters, Less Support: What Pomfret's Budget Vote Really Says

This year in Pomfret, more people than ever turned out to vote on the budgets—and that’s a good thing. But compared to last year, support actually dropped. The general town budget went from about three‑quarters yes down to about three‑fifths. The education budget did the same. 

Let’s be honest: we only had a full‑day referendum this year because residents did the work and petitioned for it. The Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance didn’t just decide to open up the process; the community had to push them into it. Last year, about 280 people at a single town meeting decided our budgets. This year, once it became a full‑day vote, more than 460 people weighed in. That proves the problem isn’t ‘lack of participation’—it’s lack of access and transparency.

Even with more people voting, the budgets passed with less support than last year. Around 4 out of 10 voters said ‘no’ to both the town budget and the education budget. And yet, the boards are still moving forward with a projected 1.1 mill increase in our taxes. A 1.1 mill increase might sound small, but it’s not. Every mill is one more dollar per $1,000 in assessed value, so homeowners are going to feel this in real money on their tax bills. 

So when officials claim they ‘didn’t get much participation’ or act like this is some kind of overwhelming mandate, that’s gaslighting. Residents asked hard questions about the numbers, demanded a full‑day referendum, turned out in much higher numbers, and a big chunk of them still rejected these budgets. The message from taxpayers is not ‘spend whatever you want’—it’s ‘we’re watching, we’re skeptical, and we want a process that respects both our time and our wallets.’

Long story short, we had to petition just to get a fair vote—and when we finally did, turnout exploded and support slipped.  If the boards do not do the right thing and make the full day referendum a new, annual tradition, you can count on us to petition for them and keep the participation growing in the right direction.  

What did you guys think?  Did you miss voting in the Town Meeting, or were you happy about the full-day referendum?  We’d love to hear from you!