Town Council to vote Monday on 5% tax increase

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  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...
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Enfield's charter revision: What will they do?



Enfield Conn., Middle Road

On Monday, the Town Council is expected to form a Charter Revision Commission. What little screaming nightmares will this group deliver?

A direct election of mayor

There are arguments for this. It might improve elections. We could see mayoral candidate debates, each sharing a vision for Enfield. Someone would now be responsible. Manchester made that change but limited the mayor's executive authority, retaining its town manager, which is probably best.

Budget referendums 

There's a little support on the council for this, but it would be a disaster for Enfield. Our community is too big and too complex to adopt a system that could lead to dramatic increases and decreases in spending, as polarized special interest groups battle it out. Referendums of this type usually get small turnouts. They also undermine the accountability of elected officials. Hopefully, the charter commission won't push this self-destruct button.

Charter in balance

The new Charter Revision Commission has the potential to reshape the structure of Enfield’s government. There may be a temptation for radical reform, or the Commission might opt to limit changes to administrative updates to the town’s charter. However, this could become politically dangerous if partisan interests begin to influence the revision process. Some of the appointed members are frequent speakers at Town Council meetings and have strong views on a range of issues. So, it's likely that the Commission will propose some major reforms, if a consensus emerges. Whatever this Commission proposes has to get Town Council and voter approval, likely during the November 2025 town election.
Location: Enfield, CT 06082, USA

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