BUCKLAND — Voters in Tuesday’s town election approved a Proposition 2½ override in a 241-130 vote that will raise an additional $500,000 to cover operating costs.
The override will raise the town’s property tax rate to an estimated $18.27 per $1,000 of assessed value in fiscal year 2027. For the owner of a $350,000 house, the annual tax bill will increase by $530.
Of the town’s 1,392 registered voters, 373 cast their ballots in Tuesday’s election, making for a roughly 26.8% turnout, according to results from Town Clerk Alicia Graves.
Finance Committee Chair Larry Langford previously explained the $500,000 override would cover operating costs and “replenish the reserves that we have depleted over the past several years.” Voters at Annual Town Meeting in May had passed a $2.75 million operating budget for Buckland, contingent upon approval of the override at the ballot box. Buckland’s operating budget for town services represents a 10.4% increase over the $2.49 million budget for fiscal year 2026, with Langford noting that a failed override would result in “dramatic cuts to town services.”
Even with the approval of the override, the town will need to call a Special Town Meeting because the operating assessments for the Mohawk Trail Regional School District and Franklin County Technical School were not approved at May’s Annual Town Meeting.
There were no contested races on the ballot, and two positions were won with write-in votes. The results are as follows:
- Selectboard, three-year term — Joan Livingston, 325 votes.
- Board of Health, three-year term — Kate Conlin, 321 votes.
- Board of Assessors, three-year term — Mary Bolduc, 335 votes.
- Buckland Public Library trustee, three-year term — Horace Taft-Ferguson, 330 votes.
- Finance Committee, two seats with three-year terms — Larry Langford, 314 votes, and write-in candidate Karl Rogler, 71 votes.
- Mohawk Trail Regional School Committee, three-year term — write-in candidate Charles Leach, 76 votes.
- Town clerk, three-year term — Alicia Graves, 326 votes.
