Somers Budget Vote Results Are In

SOMERS, CT — Somers voters rejected the town budget again Tuesday, with another referendum now scheduled for the end of the month.

The budget failed by 123 votes, according to results shared Tuesday night by David McCaffrey, the town’s director of elections and registrar of voters.

The unofficial vote total was 709 in favor and 832 opposed, according to the results.

The next budget referendum is scheduled for Tuesday, June 30. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to McCaffrey.

The June 16 vote was listed by McCaffrey as “Budget Referendum #3.” The latest rejection followed a May 19 vote in which the proposed budget failed by 26 votes, with 392 residents voting in favor and 418 voting against it.

The town’s budget history summary shows the proposal has been reduced during the referendum process.

The originally adopted budgets totaled $42,976,089 and carried a proposed mill rate of 24.13. After proposed cuts for the June 2 referendum, the budget was reduced to $42,737,246, with a proposed mill rate of 23.95.

Additional reductions were made for the June 16 referendum, bringing the proposed budget to $41,990,005, with a proposed mill rate of 23.36.

Those latest reductions included $272,731 in town government cuts and $474,510 in Board of Education cuts, according to the town summary.

The town government reductions included cuts tied to positions, staffing, benefits, salary increases, materials and government group grants. The Board of Education reductions included cuts tied to positions and salaries, benefits, professional services, property services, other purchased services, supplies and property.

Compared with the adopted FY2026 budget, the June 16 proposal represented an overall increase of $173,885, or 0.42 percent, according to the town summary.

The Board of Finance previously said the fiscal year 2027 budget process was shaped by reduced state aid, federal budget cuts, lower estimated interest earnings and a state-mandated veterans exemption that reduced collectible taxes.

The board’s analysis listed $615,000 in projected revenue reductions before current budget requests were considered. That included a $165,000 cut in state aid, a $200,000 reduction in estimated interest earnings and a $250,000 reduction in collectible taxes tied to the veterans exemption.

Officials also said “excess revenues” used last year to help limit tax increases are no longer available.

At the same time, the town said it had to account for an 11 percent increase in health insurance costs, a 16 percent increase in energy costs and 3 percent to 4 percent labor contract increases.

Further details on possible changes before the June 30 referendum were not immediately available.