BUCKLAND — Voters will decide on Tuesday, June 2, whether to fully fund Buckland’s fiscal year 2027 budget. If the $500,000 Proposition 2½ override passes, the $2.75 million town budget will stay in place, but if the vote fails, cuts will have to be made.
Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the second floor of Town Hall at 17 State St.
The override is “for the purpose of funding school and municipal operations,” according to the language of the question on the ballot. Finance Committee Chair Larry Langford recounted that the town had asked for a $151,262 override in 2023, which he now believes was a mistake, as the amount represented the bare minimum needed. The $500,000 override would cover operating costs and “replenish the reserves that we have depleted over the past several years,” Langford said previously.
The override would raise the town’s property tax rate to an estimated $18.27 per $1,000 of assessed value. For the owner of a $350,000 house, the annual tax bill would increase by $530. At an April Selectboard meeting, Langford had laid out three financial threats on the horizon that he believes make the override necessary.
The first is that the Mohawk Trail Regional School District’s budget is going to increase at least 5% for fiscal year 2028. Secondly, Buckland’s portion of Franklin County Technical School’s proposed $236.6 million building would be at least $250,000 over 30 years. The last is the Department of Environmental Protection testing landfills across the state, including Buckland. Testing alone will cost $150,000 and if something is found in the groundwater, it could cost as much as $300,000.
At that April meeting, Finance Committee member Paula Consolo said Buckland needed to pass the override for “our town to remain our town.”
A “yes” vote would be in support of the override, while a “no” vote would be against it.
There are no contested races on this year’s ballot, and there are two positions — three-year seats on the Finance Committee and the Mohawk Trail School Committee — that don’t have any candidates listed. These positions can still be won by write-in candidates, who would then need to accept the nomination.
The uncontested races are as follows:
- Selectboard, three-year term — incumbent Joan Livingston.
- Board of Health, three-year term — incumbent Kate Conlin.
- Board of Assessors, three-year term — new candidate Mary Bolduc.
- Buckland Public Library trustee, three-year term — incumbent Horace Taft-Ferguson.
- Finance Committee, three-year term — incumbent Larry Langford.
- Town clerk, three-year term — incumbent Alicia Graves.
