Enfield Things

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Enfield raises taxes, but the bigger fight is just beginning

May 12, 2026

The budget fight Monday was sharply partisan and along familiar lines: cuts versus spending, and tax rates versus services. But the debate is also being shaped by forces that have little to do with party politics. The Enfield Town Council adopted a budget that set the mill rate at 33.11, a 1.61 mill increase, or about 5.1%, for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Republicans opposed it and lost every vote to amend the majority proposal. The final vote was 7-4. The approaches could not have been more different. Carol Hall, a Republican councilor and state representative, said Republicans were aiming for roughly a quarter-mill increase, which she said would add about $3.85 a month to the tax bill of a $300,000 home. The adopted budget adds about $338 annually — roughly $28 a month — to the tax bill of a $300,000 home assessed at 70%. The biggest point of contention was a Republican proposal to reduce the Board of Education increase by about $1.9 million and instead use school reserve...

Town Council to vote Monday on 5% tax increase

May 09, 2026

The Town Council will meet on Monday to adopt a budget that would raise the tax rate by 5.1%, setting up a debate over school reserves, deferred infrastructure spending, and the town’s long-term fiscal pressures. For a house with a $300,000 market value — and assessed value of $210,000 (70%) — the taxes would increase by $338 to $6,953. Expect a vigorous debate and possibly some last-minute changes if deadlocks emerge. The proposed budget would increase the mill rate by 1.61 mills, from 31.5 to 33.11 mills. There are several fundamental tensions running through the budget debate. The special meeting is at 6 p.m. and will be on Enfield Television channel on YouTube. Special meetings typically do not include time for public comment. The Democrats hold a supermajority on the council, with eight of the 11 seats. Theoretically, that should allow them to adopt a budget easily, but Democrats do not necessarily move in lockstep and disagreements could emerge. School f...

Enfield's five best things? No Kings protest makes the list

March 29, 2026

Someone was telling me yesterday about a group effort to list the five best things about Enfield. The first was Costco. Everyone struggled after that. Then there was a suggestion to add Raising Cane's. Enfield doesn't have a movie theater, much in the way of parks, a mall, or a downtown. Our main library hasn't been renovated in decades and has more videos than Blockbuster. Too many of our restaurants are fast food. The fastest-growing occupation in town may be takeout delivery drivers. You need your car for everything. But the town does have a civic spirit. Saturday's No King’s protest was my third one. Similar to the others, it attracted a good number of people. Perhaps not as many as the first one, but a lively turnout. It was a chance to strike up random conversations and meet new people, something that is hard to do in Enfield. One fellow I met turned out to be an EHS grad from my era. I graduated in 1972, and my newfound friend in 1973. He had a rally-free...

Editorial: Enfield’s Revised Blight Ordinance Isn’t Ready for a Public Hearing

January 20, 2026

AI generated art via ChatGPT The Enfield Town Council tonight may set a public hearing date for a revised blight ordinance. In its current form, this proposal is not ready for public hearing and needs significant changes before moving forward. Anonymous Complaints While the ordinance itself still requires signed complaints, Enfield’s revised blight complaint form explicitly accepts anonymous complaints and signals that they may still be investigated. That represents a clear shift from the town’s prior policy, which discouraged anonymous filings and stated that the town was not required to investigate them. Historically, Enfield’s practice has been to reject anonymous complaints. For example, on SeeClickFix — the town’s reporting platform — a town official wrote in response to one blight complaint: “All complaints require a signature. Currently this complaint is showing anonymous. Please add your full name and contact information to this complaint.” That was the standard approach...

News Analysis: What Happens When ICE Comes to Enfield?

January 16, 2026

Freshwater Pond, Enfield CT Concern is high, generally, about what happens when ICE makes a concerted push in our community. Would we see something similar to Minnesota? That operation involved a saturation surge -- of more than 2,000 agents into the Twin Cities -- that overwhelmed local police capability. The question becomes do all communities face a similar risk, especially from agents that don't seem well-trained in de-escalation techniques. Enfield is too small of a town to get a massive ICE response. But it is the practice of ICE to operate independently from local police departments, which creates its own set of risks. Connecticut has a law, the Connecticut Trust Act, that sets some restrictions on what local police can do to help federal immigration enforcement. The Trust Act explicitly forbids local police from assisting federal agents unless specific serious criteria are met. But does the Trust Act protect residents, or does it just keep local police from helping in ce...

Residents Push Back on High-Density Housing in Thompsonville

January 13, 2026

South River Street, Thompsonville CT Doubt is creeping into the Planning and Zoning Commission about high-density housing development in Thompsonville. An impassioned defense by South River Street residents is triggering this reassessment. They live near a proposed 160-unit apartment complex on South River near the boat launch at the intersection of Main Street. This hearing, held last week, became a battle over preserving the neighborhood's character versus building apartments near the train station. But the neighborhood opposition was so strong that the PZC debated whether this housing would benefit Thompsonville. South River Street is a narrow street, tucked between the train tracks and the Connecticut River. It's not a through street, with barely room for two cars to pass, and most people in town are likely unfamiliar with it. About a dozen residents spoke in opposition at a PZC hearing, worried about how the project would change the character of their neighborhood. S...

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