Should Advisory Question Be Included on Budget Ballot?

If Avon residents vote against a proposed town budget, is it generally because it is too high or too low?

Town officials are discussing whether it makes sense to include an advisory question on the budget referendum ballot that would allow voters to indicate whether they think the budget is too high, too low or just right.

Avon Town Manager Brandon Robertson brought the question up with   the Board of Finance at its Monday night meeting as a followup to a Town Council discussion on the subject at a Sept. 1 meeting.

"In a lot of communities, this is a subject that comes up once in awhile," Robertson said."It comes up under the guise of you put a budget up for referendum, how do you know why it failed? Is it too hard, too soft or just right?"

When the idea was brought up in the past, the finance board did not favor it, board members recalled, and Chairman Thomas Harrison (R) still said he did not think it was necessary. He said that input as to whether the proposed budget is "too high" or "too low" is not specific enough.

"What does that tell us we should do? Reduce it by how much or increase it by how much?" Harrison said.

Board member Thomas Gugliotti (D) said he was up in the air about the topic.

"I can see a lot of people saying when a budget passes, fine. We're done. We're over it. But when it fails, let's be realistic. There's a bunch of people that would say it failed because it was too high and some people would say it failed because it was too low," Gugliotti said. "I'm not sure where I am on this, but logic might say, you might like to know which one of those was the driving force behind the budget failing."

Harrison also pointed out that there was no guarantee that every voter would answer the question, which could skew the data.

Additionally, he said that having an advisory question on the ballot could make its way into anti-budget campaigns, encouraging voters to "tell the Board of Finance it's too high" or "too low."

"We can consider it going forward," Harrison said.

The Board of Finance has the authority under state law to decide whether this question should be included, Robertson said, which he said Town Attorney Dwight Johnson confirmed for him. The town charter does not need to be opened in order for this change to happen. However, the finance board would have to vote on the issue, "no later than the last budget workshop prior to submitting the budget for referendum because the next day is when the town clerk has to put out the ballots."

"You certainly have a lot of time to think about it," Robertson told the board, stating that it is beneficial to think about it "earlier, as opposed to later."