December 5, 2002 |
2002-R-0911 (Revised) | |
BUDGET REFERENDUMS THAT FAILED | ||
By: Mary M. Janicki, Assistant Director | ||
You asked us to identify municipal and regional school district budget referendums that have failed since 1997.
Information in this report is based on responses town clerks and school superintendents provided on the annual survey of towns and regional school districts conducted by the Connecticut Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR). ACIR requests town budget adoption methods and the dates of town council, representative town meeting, town meeting, and referendum votes. The education budget in most towns (those that are not members of a regional school district) is included as part of the municipal budget and not voted on separately. In some towns, votes may have been taken on the budget at a town meeting, but the dates shown in this report are those when voters went to the polls to vote on the budget question.
SUMMARY
From 1997 through 2002, voters rejected budgets at referendums 236 times in 51 towns and 12 regional school districts. The only towns where voters voted solely on an education budget were those that are part of a regional school district. Education budgets failed in 49 referendums in those towns during the period. Passage of a budget requiring more than one referendum occurred most frequently this year (2002). Table 1 shows the annual numbers of referendums that failed.
Table 1: Number of Unsuccessful Referendums by Year
2002 |
79 |
2001 |
46 |
2000 |
28 |
1999 |
24 |
1998 |
15 |
1997 |
44 |
Between 1997 and 2002, the most common annual number of unsuccessful budget referendums was two, with 47; followed by one (41), then three (20). In four cases, there were four failed referendums before the jurisdiction got a budget. Two towns had to have five votes before approving a budget: Beacon Falls in 1998 and Windsor Locks in 1999. Among the towns, Monroe has had the most referendums fail in the past six years with 14; followed by Watertown with 11. Regional School District #8 has had nine referendums this year (the most in a single year) and still no budget has passed. If voters do not approve the budget at the next referendum, it will have additional failed referendums.
UNSUCCESSFUL BUDGET REFERENDUMS BY YEAR
Tables 2-7 below list the towns and regional school districts that failed to approve a budget referendum at least once during the year, along with the dates the referendums were held.
Table 2: 2002 Budget Referendums that Failed
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Andover - 5/15 |
Ledyard - 6/4 |
Avon - 5/15 |
Litchfield - 5/29, 7/18 |
Beacon Falls - 5/31, 6/20 |
Monroe - 5/13, 5/30 |
Bethel - 5/14, 5/29 |
New Fairfield - 5/8 |
Bolton - 5/15, 5/30, 6/13 |
New Milford - 5/14, 6/25, 7/16 |
Brookfield - 5/21, 6/4, 6/18, 7/2 |
Newtown - 4/23 |
Canterbury - 5/24, 6/27 |
Orange - 5/21, 6/6 |
Chaplin - 5/20 |
Plainfield - 5/20, 6/10 |
Coventry - 5/7, 6/4, 7/9 |
Portland - 5/13, 5/20 |
Cromwell - 5/21, 6/4, 6/18 |
Preston - 6/4 |
East Hampton - 5/14 |
Ridgefield - 5/21 |
Easton - 5/7, 5/28 |
Salem - 5/8, 5/29 |
Farmington - 5/2 |
Somers - 5/21 |
Haddam - 6/11, 7/2 |
Vernon - 5/4 |
Killingly - 5/23, 7/11 |
Watertown - 6/4, 7/30 |
Winchester - 6/1 |
Regional School District #12 - 5/7, 5/23 |
Windham - 5/14, 6/11 |
Regional School District #14 - 5/7, 5/22, 6/19 |
Regional School District # 5 - 5/7, 5/23, 6/12, 6/26, 7/23, 8/20 |
Regional School District #15 - 5/8, 5/23 |
Regional School District # 8 - 5/7, 6/4, 6/27, 7/25, 8/15, 9/10, 10/3, 10/25, 11/21* |
*As of 12/4/02, the Regional School District #8 budget has not passed and additional referendum(s) may be held.
Table 3: 2001 Budget Referendums that Failed
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Bethlehem - 5/17, 6/21 |
Simsbury - 5/15 |
Bolton - 5/23, 6/5 |
Stonington - 5/9, 6/16 |
East Hampton - 5/29 |
Vernon - 5/1, 5/22 |
Monroe - 5/14, 5/31 |
Watertown - 5/22 |
New Fairfield - 5/24, 6/2 |
Woodbury - 5/21, 6/4, 6/14 |
New Hartford - 5/29, 6/19, 7/12 |
Regional School District # 1 - 5/8, 5/24, 6/13 |
New Milford - 5 /15, 6/12, 7/10 |
Regional School District # 4 - 5/8 |
Oxford - 5/31, 6/14, 6/28 |
Regional School District # 6 - 5/8, 6/5 |
Plainfield - 5/21, 6/13 |
Regional School District # 8 - 5/8, 5/23 |
Preston - 5/16, 6/19 |
Regional School District # 14 - 5/8, 5/30, 6/19 |
Salem Board of Education - 5/9 |
Regional School District # 17 - 5/8, 6/2, 6/26 |
Table 4: 2000 Budget Referendums that Failed
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Bolton - 5/17, 6/1 |
North Stonington - 5/8, 5/20 |
Coventry - 5/2, 6/6 |
Orange - 5/25 |
Griswold - 5/25, 6/21 |
Plainfield - 5/15, 6/6 |
Lebanon - 5/9, 6/5, 7/6 |
Portland - 5/8, 5/24 |
Ledyard - 6/1 |
Vernon - 5/2 |
Monroe - 5/8, 5/25, 6/13, 6/28 |
Watertown - 5/16, 6/20, 9/28 |
New Fairfield - 5/17 |
Regional School District # 15 - 5/3 |
New Milford - 5/25 |
Table 5: 1999 Budget Referendums that Failed
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Brookfield - 5/18 |
New Milford - 5/11 |
East Hampton - 5/11, 6/8 |
Stonington - 5/13, 6/9, 7/14 |
Griswold - 5/12 |
Watertown - 5/13, 6/8 |
Guilford - 4/28 |
Windsor Locks - 6/1, 6/15, 6/29, 7/13, 7/27 |
Lebanon - 5/11, 6/10, 7/1 |
Regional School District # 4 - 5/13 |
Monroe - 5/10, 5/27 |
Regional School District # 18 - 5/4, 5/25 |
Table 6: 1998 Budget Referendums that Failed
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Bethel - 5/12, 5/28, 6/9, 6/23, 7/8 |
Monroe - 5/11, 5/28 |
Canterbury - 5/22 |
Plainfield - 5/18, 6/15 |
East Hampton - 4/28 |
Watertown - 5/12, 6/16, 8/18 |
Lebanon - 5/12 |
Table 7: 1997 Budget Referendums that Failed
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Town or Regional School District and Date(s) of Vote that Failed |
Bloomfield - 5/22 |
Sterling - 6/12, 6/30 |
Canterbury - 5/30, 6/19 |
Thompson - 5/29, 6/17, 7/9 |
Coventry - 5/6, 6/10 |
Union - 6/11, 7/7 |
East Hampton - 4/29, 5/27 |
Vernon - 5/6 |
East Windsor - 6/3, 6/17 |
West Hartford - 4/23 |
Griswold - 5/15, 6/26, 7/22, 10/8 |
Windsor Locks - 6/17 |
Hartland - 5/28, 6/17, 8/12 |
Regional School District # 10 - 5/6 |
Killingly - 5/28 |
Regional School District # 11 - 5/6, 5/28, 6/18, 7/16 |
Lebanon - 5/15 |
Regional School District # 14 - 5/6 |
Monroe - 5/12, 5/29 |
Regional School District # 15 - 5/7 |
New Fairfield - 5/20, 6/3, 6/24 |
Regional School District # 17 - 5/6, 5/31 |
Sherman - 5/10, 6/7 |
TOWNS AND DISTRICTS WHERE BUDGETS FAILED
During the six-year period, voters in 51 towns and 12 regional school districts rejected 236 budgets as shown in Table 8.
Table 8: Towns and Regional School Districts Where Budget Referendums Failed
Town or Regional School District |
Six-Year Total |
2002 |
2001 |
2000 |
1999 |
1998 |
1997 |
Andover |
1 |
1 |
|||||
Avon |
1 |
1 |
|||||
Beacon Falls |
2 |
2 |
|||||
Bethel |
7 |
2 |
5 |
||||
Bethlehem |
2 |
2 |
|||||
Bloomfield |
1 |
1 | |||||
Bolton |
7 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
|||
Brookfield |
5 |
4 |
1 |
||||
Canterbury |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 | |||
Chaplin |
1 |
1 |
|||||
Coventry |
7 |
3 |
2 |
2 | |||
Cromwell |
3 |
3 |
|||||
East Hampton |
7 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 | |
Easton |
2 |
2 |
|||||
East Windsor |
2 |
2 | |||||
Farmington |
1 |
1 |
|||||
Griswold |
7 |
2 |
1 |
4 | |||
Guilford |
1 |
1 |
|||||
Haddam |
2 |
2 |
|||||
Hartland |
3 |
3 | |||||
Killingly |
3 |
2 |
1 | ||||
Lebanon |
8 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 | ||
Ledyard |
2 |
1 |
1 |
||||
Litchfield |
2 |
2 |
|||||
Monroe |
14 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
New Fairfield |
7 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 | ||
New Hartford |
3 |
3 |
|||||
New Milford |
8 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
||
Newtown |
1 |
1 |
|||||
North Stonington |
2 |
2 |
|||||
Orange |
3 |
2 |
1 |
||||
Oxford |
3 |
3 |
|||||
Plainfield |
8 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
||
Portland |
4 |
2 |
2 |
||||
Preston |
3 |
1 |
2 |
||||
Ridgefield |
1 |
1 |
|||||
Salem |
3 |
2 |
1 |
||||
Sherman |
2 |
2 | |||||
Simsbury |
1 |
1 |
|||||
Somers |
1 |
1 |
|||||
Sterling |
2 |
2 | |||||
Stonington |
5 |
2 |
3 |
||||
Thompson |
3 |
3 | |||||
Union |
2 |
2 | |||||
Vernon |
5 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 | ||
Watertown |
11 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
|
West Hartford |
1 |
1 | |||||
Winchester |
1 |
1 |
|||||
Windham |
2 |
2 |
|||||
Windsor Locks |
6 |
5 |
1 | ||||
Woodbury |
3 |
3 |
|||||
Regional School District # 1 |
3 |
3 |
|||||
Regional School District # 4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
||||
Regional School District # 5 |
6 |
6 |
|||||
Regional School District # 6 |
2 |
2 |
|||||
Regional School District # 8 |
11 |
9* |
2 |
||||
Regional School District # 10 |
1 |
1 | |||||
Regional School District # 11 |
4 |
4 | |||||
Regional School District # 12 |
2 |
2 |
|||||
Regional School District # 14 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
1 | |||
Regional School District # 15 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 | |||
Regional School District # 17 |
5 |
3 |
2 | ||||
Regional School District # 18 |
2 |
2 |
|||||
TOTAL |
236 |
79 |
46 |
28 |
24 |
15 |
44 |
*As of 12/4/02, the Regional School District #8 budget has not passed and additional referendum(s) may be held.
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