Vernon 2025-26 Budget Endorsed: What It Means For Taxes

VERNON, CT — Voters at Tuesday's Vernon Annual Town Meeting approved a $107.6 million budget for the 2025-25 fiscal year, which on July 1.

The budget totals $107.603,361 million and requires a tax rate of 36.09 mills for real estate and personal property and 32.46 mills for motor vehicles.

The budget was approved 48-4.

The Town Council, in a special meeting that followed the Annual Town Meeting, voted unanimously to approve the tax rates, which increase taxes by 2.85 percent.

The town's Grand List of all taxable property showed a slight increase in real estate and personal property values, and a slight decrease in motor vehicle values due to a state law that changes how vehicles are valued.

The capital improvement budget prioritizes investments in infrastructure, road maintenance, building improvements, recreation and park upgrades, drainage projects and essential vehicle replacement. Capital expenditures will be funded from reserves and will not impact the tax rate, officials said.

The major drivers of the proposed budget are increases in the education and police budgets, health insurance costs, information technology and employee benefits, officials said.
Here is a summary:

• Education: The superintendent and board of education proposed an operating budget that increases spending primarily to cover rising health insurance costs. The education budget has a bottom line of $60,419,570, which represents an increase of 2.79 percent, or $1,640,506. See more here.
• Public safety: Investments are being made in police, fire and emergency medical services to ensure the safety and well-being of our community.
• Infrastructure: The proposed budget allows for investments in roads, public works, facility improvements and park improvements to enhance Vernon’s infrastructure.