Simsbury Board of Finance Meeting May 19, 2026

Board of Finance Meeting May 19, 2026

The budget has been passed with 5.8% of the18,501 electors.

1,068 people voted at the Referendum for $149,015,755.

Many people living in Town has seen the budget creep year after year.

The low vote appears to show that the electors have given up on voting because nothing changes with budget creep year after year.

It appears that the budget reflects special interest groups that have hijacked the government with escalating costs, paid for by the taxpayers.

Government should be by the people, for the people, not special interest groups demanding revenues that has bloated the budget.

Special Education costs have escalated without any cost controls and morphed into Specialized Education for each student enrolled in the schools.

The State has infused money for Specialized Education, without producing any model that would lower the costs.

The System is broken and throwing money at the problem will solve nothing, but continue with escalating costs.

The State and local governments must deescalate the budgets with a reduction in mandates, funded and unfunded.

The Board of Education should ask the State for a modification in the mandates for the delivery of services to Specialized Education.

All the players should produce a model with cost controls and a new model that gives the State more responsibility for delivery of services to Specialized Education throughout the Towns.

The Town has been using the taxpayer’s money to enhance Special Interest groups with MOU’s that create a partnership with private groups and government.

All costs associated with private Athletic and Entertainment groups should not be financed by the taxpayers.

The cost of living in Simsbury has escalated year over year.

Increased taxes place a burden on business, lowers property values, rents are increased and affordability becomes unaffordable.

At the next revaluation, there will be shift in taxes from Commercial Real Estate to Residential property, lowering property values.

Unless there is a real attempt to lower services, the bloated budgets will increase substantially.

If expenditures don’t change, Simsbury will become a Town that is unaffordable and noncompetitive for Economic Development.

The Board of Finance should not ignore the problems before them and give lip service to serious economic issues in the future.

To start lowering taxes, the Board of Finance should mandate a 10% reduction in all spending for the next budget cycle, placing the burden on government to reduce costs or eliminate programs in the budget.