DEERFIELD — For the second time in two years, Annual Town Meeting voters once again rejected a citizen’s petition on Monday that would have asked the state Legislature to lower the municipal voting age to 16.

This year’s rejection, however, was much more resounding than the 2024 vote, as the measure failed 107-194, which was determined after a ballot count was requested by citizens. At the 2024 Annual Town Meeting, the petition failed by just three votes.

The brief discussion on the article, which was called to a vote after about 20 minutes, followed the same threads as last year, with opponents arguing that 16 and 17 year olds are not prepared to make decisions on items that could have severe impacts on taxpayers, while supporters said allowing students to participate in democracy will create a life-long voting habit.

In 2024, the petition was brought forward to each of the four Frontier Regional School District towns in a coordinated effort by seventh graders, with Deerfield serving as the lone rejection. While each school committee passed a resolution to support the effort then, no such effort was put forward this year, as the petition was submitted independently.

“Expanding voting rights to teenagers will allow students to have a say in selecting the School Committee that directly affects them and it will provide them with a learning opportunity,” said Deerfield Elementary School Committee Chair Carey Etchells. “Our Annual Town Meeting often attracts less than 5% of registered voters. In a busy year, it might be closer to 10%. … If there is a way to get more people involved and participating in our local democracy, I am in favor of that.”

Charlene Galenski, an opponent of the measure, said she is an educator with nearly four decades of experience and students need time to develop mentally and emotionally to build a strong foundation before they should have the ability to participate.

“They are not ready yet. … You do need an understanding, that’s how you become an intelligent voter,” she said, adding that while this petition was proposed for a second year in a row, there has been little engagement with students at town board meetings. “There hasn’t seemed to be any interest in the young people in the town yet and I just think it’s the wrong move for the town of Deerfield.”

The rest of the articles on the warrant, except for three related to green energy initiatives that were tabled, were approved by the 322 residents present, which was the highest turnout for an Annual Town Meeting in at least 10 years, according to minutes on file with the Town Clerk’s Office. Only October 2024 and October 2022 Special Town Meetings had more residents in attendance, with 363 and 372 people attending, respectively.

Over the course of about two hours and 10 minutes, many of the articles were approved with little discussion, including the $19.68 million fiscal year 2026 budget request, which is an approximately $1.39 million, or 7.6%, increase over FY25 and the largest increase in several years.

Finance Committee Chair Julie Chalfant explained many of the increases across the board are due to new personnel in various departments, including a new police officer and a position in the Department of Public Works, or just general cost increases the town has seen over the last several years. Debt service, too, is much higher this year, with borrowing for Tilton Library’s expansion project coming online. The library project accounts for almost 3% of the 7.6% budget increase.

While the Finance Committee continues to have some “concern” about free cash use on recurring expenses, Chalfant said the community was able to put $200,000 into the Capital Stabilization Fund for the first time in several years and South County EMS introduced a new plan for improved revenue generation, which are both good signs.

Chalfant also thanked Town Accountant Brenda Hill, who is expected to retire at some point in the near future and likely worked through her final budget-development process this year after more than 10 years in Town Hall.

“We wish that was not true because Brenda makes this whole budgeting process run more smoothly than you could imagine,” Chalfant said. “She is an absolute joy to work with and so we’re very sorry to see her leave us, but appreciate everything she’s done.”

Other articles approved by residents include:

■A transfer of $50,000 from the Sewer Retained Earnings Account to purchase a $30,000 sewer lift station generator and a $20,000 4-inch water supply pipe.

■Free cash transfers of $84,500 for circulatory pumps and a multi-year flooring project for Deerfield Elementary School, as well as $20,000 for computer upgrades at Town Hall.

■Several Community Preservation Act requests, including $200,000 for Deerfield Elementary School’s playground, $16,000 for the town’s share of a dock at Tri-Town Beach and an $18,000 grant match for a MassTrails grant.

■The adoption of the “prudent investor rule” for trust funds held by the town.

■Changing the constable role from an elected position into a Selectboard-appointed role in 2026.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.