$48.2 Million Budget Approved at Old Lyme Town Meeting With Scant Turnout

OLD LYME, CT – Just over half a percent of registered voters came out to Monday evening’s town meeting to approve the $48.2 million 2026-27 budget in a near-unanimous vote. 

The turnout represented 0.6% of registered voters. Adults who own property with at least $1,000 in assessed value are also eligible to participate in town meetings. 

The voice vote yielded a lone “no.” 

The town spending plan – consisting of town operations, education, debt and capital costs – represents an increase of $2.8 million, or 6.2%, over the current year. 

The Board of Finance following the town meeting voted unanimously to set the tax rate at 16.86 mills, an increase of 0.6 mills, or 3.9%, over the current year. The budget allocates $1.2 million in surplus funds to soften the impact on taxpayers, without which the increase would have been an additional 1.1 mills, or 6.8%. 

Finance Director Anita Mancini has said the estimated surplus fund, which is evaluated by credit rating agencies as a sign of municipal financial health, is expected to stand at 31.9% of total budgeted expenses after the $1.2 million allocation.  

Healthy reserves help towns qualify for higher bond ratings, which in turn earn favorable interest rates on municipal bonds. Bond agencies generally recommend municipalities keep at least two months of annual budget expenses in the undesignated fund, or roughly 17%, with higher reserves in shoreline towns vulnerable to storms and flooding.  

The amount in surplus has climbed from 24.6% in 2021 to 34.3% in 2025 as the finance board has tried to find the balance between sufficient savings and not overtaxing residents. 

Finance board member Andy Russell attributed the growth in the town’s reserves to conservative revenue projections that have yielded more interest income than anticipated, combined with departments, boards and commissions not spending all budgeted funds. 

Scant attendance at the town meeting came after more than 200 people filled the high school auditorium last May at the culmination of a budget season dominated by a 7.88% increase in spending over the prior year. 

The 2025-26 budget included large-scale renovation projects for the Region 18 school district and Lymes’ Senior Center, while a revaluation drove up property values – and the resulting tax bills – for a majority of homes in town.  

First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker at the time said no meeting in the previous seven years had drawn more than 60 people.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to correct terminology. The surplus fund is measured as a percentage of total budget expenses rather than operating expenses.