Don Lowe First Selectman Column 04/28/25
A big THANK YOU to all the citizens who stepped up and helped with the Sherman Roadside Cleanup! It’s gratifying to see community spirit show itself in such an important way. Sherman looks much spiffier and ready for spring.
It’s a busy upcoming weekend in Sherman, especially on Saturday. The Community Expo, a circle of booths and tables of various local organizations within the Town Green, will be held from 11am to 3pm. This is a terrific event and an opportunity to learn about other community efforts, they’re goals, and how you can possibly support them or get involved. There is also live music with a great lineup of local players, and games for the kids.
In addition to the expo, there is the budget referendum from 8am to 8pm in Charter Hall. The Board of Selectmen and our team members Andrea Maloney (treasurer) and Liz LaVia (business manager) along with the Board of Education have worked diligently to bring Sherman taxpayers the most reasonable budget as possible. We were challenged by rising costs of materials, utilities, and insurance, a new collective bargaining agreement, and the first-year bond debt for the Sherman School renovation. Fortunately, we had planned ahead and are able to offset these challenges with the use of some budget surplus dollars saved during previous higher-than-expected revenue years. The total increase to your taxes in the event that this referendum passes is 1.89%. Naturally, I support this budget and hope that you vote YES.
A few things: Despite this budget’s increase, your taxes, with this this budget passing, have decreased by a cumulative 8% over the last eight years: Two budgets, including this one had slight increases; two budgets were flat; and four budgets produced tax decreases.
Our comprehensive goal over these eight years has been to offer Sherman taxpayers consistency. We haven’t lowered taxes dramatically during years of higher-than-expected revenue and we have been able to contain tax increases during years with budget expense challenges. Over the last seven years the Town general fund surplus more than doubled to $5.6 million. This year, we used a portion of that surplus ($460,000) to offset expenses in the 2025/26 budget – a move that was projected during hearings for the Sherman School renovation project and its subsequent bonding. The proposed 2025/26 Town budget is $6,546,632 (17.29% increase) and the proposed BOE budget is $9,931,764 (.063%) for a combined budget of $16,478, 396 (6.65% increase). Again, these increases are offset by the use of general fund surplus dollars. One other note: The 2025/26 budget also includes, for the eighth straight year, a $500,000 addition to our capital fund.
Voter eligibility for a referendum is different than a regular election. To vote for candidates in a regular election, one needs to be a registered voter and you can only be registered in one location. But to vote in a referendum, the only requirement is to be a property owner in the town holding the vote. So, to put it simply, even if you’re a weekend resident who is registered in, say, New York City, you can still vote here on this budget referendum or any issues that involve your taxes (the Sherman School vote was a prime example).
We are doing the planning for the upcoming Memorial Day Parade, which steps off on Sunday, May 25 at 1pm. If by any chance you want to be in the parade reach out to me. We’ll have the usual lineup of esteemed Veterans, marching bands, Scouts, various organizations, and, of course, tractors, cars, and possibly horses. It all culminates to a solemn ceremony at Veterans Field.
