Seymour residents rejected both the town and school budgets at a referendum Thursday.
The $22.8 million town budget was rejected 627 – 571.
The $31.8 million school budget was rejected 644 – 555.
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About 13 percent of the town’s 9,100 registered voters cast ballots.
Both First Selectman Kurt Miller and members of the school board said voter turnout was lower than they expected.
The Seymour Board of Finance will meet Monday to examine the budgets and decide if changes are needed. A second referendum will be held.
Voters rejected a combined budget that would have added 1.15 mills to the mill rate. It would have increased property taxes by $172 for a residential property assessed at $150,000.
Voters simply felt the tax rate was too high, First Selectman Kurt Miller said after the vote. He was not surprised the budgets went down.
“Residents want a mill rate that’s much lower than it currently is,” Miller said.
Miller will propose reductions to the town side of the budget Monday. Seymour recently had its bond rating upgraded, which means the town will be able to make some adjustments to tighten the town side of the budget, Miller said.
In Facebook posts and in interviews prior to Thursday’s vote, Miller repeatedly referred to the vote as “the first referendum.”
Considering the budgets could have passed, was labeling it the “first” referendum defeatist?
“Our history shows that it’s very difficult for us to pass a budget on the first try,” Miller said.
“The margin was much closer than I anticipated,” he added later.
Click the play button below to listen to Miller’s complete remarks.
School board members and Superintendent Christine Syriac seemed more frustrated than disappointed after the budget vote.
School board chairman Yashu Putorti said board members worked hard to get out the vote. There were several forums, even a Valley Indy-hosted webinar to try to promote civic engagement.
“Monday’s the board of finance meeting, and we’ll go down, make a speech and tell them — don’t cut us,” he said.
Click the play button to listen to Putorti’s remarks.
School board members Jenn Magri and Kristen Harmeling pointed out 644 residents voted “no” — the precise number of no votes during the June 2013 school budget vote.
But in that referendum the school budget passed — albeit on its third go-around — because 843 people voted “yes.”
With 555 people voting “yes” Thursday, the school board wondered why 288 people who voted yes in June didn’t come to the polls Thursday.
The board has to reach those “yes” voters and get them out to the polls.
“It’s frustrating,” Harmeling said.
