Canterbury Budget 2026-2027

The Canterbury Budget: What's Actually Happening and Why It Matters

Posted by the Canterbury Democratic Town Committee

The FY2027 town budget was voted down at referendum. The Board of Finance heard it, and within days reduced the proposed mill rate increase from 1.5 mills to 0.9 mills. That's a real reduction and it represents the limit of what can be cut without directly eliminating positions or reducing services to residents and students.

We're writing this because a lot of what's circulating on social media about this budget is simply not accurate, and Canterbury residents deserve a clear picture of what's going on.

The process is open. It has always been open.

The budget process starts in the fall. The Board of Education and town departments build their budgets. The Board of Finance begins its review in March, holds weekly public meetings, and conducts a formal public hearing where residents can ask questions and provide input. The meeting schedule is published on the town website and available at the Town Clerk's office before the end of the preceding year.

This year's public hearing — where the mill rate drivers, fund balance history, ECS grant flatness, and full budget details were presented and explained — had one member of the public in attendance.

The budget is not secret. It is not hidden. It is not designed to deceive anyone. The spreadsheet used to calculate the mill rate is displayed on screen at every Board of Finance meeting, visible to all board members, to anyone attending in person, and to anyone watching on Zoom. If there are errors, any attendee can and does raise them. That is how the process works.

Why is the mill rate going up?

There are three drivers, and voters deserve to understand all three.

First, costs go up. Trash collection, transportation, fuel, and contractual wage increases all cost more than they did last year. The town is not insulated from the same inflation everyone is feeling.

Second, state education funding has been flat for years. The ECS grant Canterbury receives has been essentially frozen since 2013 on a per-student basis. If it had kept pace with inflation, Canterbury would receive roughly $1.5 million more per year from the state — the equivalent of over 2 mills of local tax revenue. That shortfall has to be made up locally.

Third — and this is the part that gets lost — nearly 1 full mill of the proposed increase is not new spending at all. It is the cost of reducing our reliance on the unassigned fund balance, which is the town's rainy day savings account.

About that rainy day fund.

For several years, the Board of Finance drew money from the town's unassigned fund balance to keep the mill rate flat or reduced. This shielded residents from increases during COVID and in the years that followed. It was the right call at the time.

But you cannot draw from savings indefinitely. Last year the town drew $1,615,258 from that fund. This year the draw is being reduced to $917,108 — still significant, but a necessary step toward fiscal sustainability. That $698,000 reduction in the fund balance draw is what's driving nearly 1 full mill of the increase. It is not waste. It is not mismanagement. It is the bill coming due for years of protected mill rates.

The Board of Finance was protecting Canterbury taxpayers during those years. Now we are asking you to help us rebuild that cushion.

What happens if the budget fails again?

We want to be direct about this because it is not well understood.

The town's fiscal year ends June 30. If a budget is not approved by that date, the town operates on prior year spending levels, funded by short-term borrowing. That means a potential spending freeze. It means potential pauses in services. It could mean layoffs.

The choice is not between a mill rate increase and the status quo. The choice is between a responsible budget and operational disruption that would be worse — and more expensive — than the increase itself.

What we are asking.

The Board of Finance has put forward a responsible budget with a 0.9 mill increase. It reflects real constraints, real costs, and a good-faith response to the referendum result. Further cuts mean fewer teachers, fewer paras, reduced town services — real harm to real people in Canterbury.

The town meeting is June 16. The referendum is June 18. We encourage every Canterbury resident to attend the town meeting, ask questions, and then vote yes on June 18.

The volunteers serving on the Board of Finance, the Board of Education, and the Board of Selectmen have spent months building a budget that serves this town. The process is open. The math is sound. The number is fair.

Vote yes.

— Canterbury Democratic Town Committee