If it’s April, then the FY 26 budget vote is right around the corner. That vote will occur on Monday, April 21. You can vote in town hall during the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentee ballots are also available from the town clerk. Securing an absentee ballot is a process, so I encourage anyone who needs one to call the town clerk at 860-844-5310.
Understanding what’s in the budget before you cast your vote is vitally important to our community, so let me point you in the direction of three new budget documents that will help you to better understand the town’s FY26 budget line by line and department by department.
All three documents are available on the town’s website by visiting: granby-ct.gov/532/FY2025-26-Budget-Reports
When you click on the link, you’ll be able to view the FY26 Budget Book, the companion Budget Workbook, and the individual departmental PowerPoint presentations.
Each high-level visual presentation details the statutory responsibilities of each department, an organization chart, departmental goals and objectives, how each department spends its budget and some news and notes from the past year. In brief, it details how your taxpayer dollars are spent.
Granby’s Budget Workbook is a companion document to the FY26 Budget Book and is the most detailed document available. Here you’ll see the expense breakdown by department, line-by-line, in great detail.
The FY26 Budget Book is a place where revenue and expenditure totals for the town and by department are compiled. Debt service on bonds, a 10-year capital improvement plan and special funds are displayed in this document.
In the Budget Book, each department is introduced by a short narrative summarizing services it performs. New this year is a position budget, so if you want to know what any town employee earns per year, that information is provided in this easily accessed report.
The transparency offered in these reports will provide all residents with a deeper understanding of how the town spends your tax dollars. These reports remove the mystery around municipal government spending, so I encourage everyone to take a few minutes and familiarize yourself with the reports in advance of your April 21 budget vote.
Like all things, please contact me at 860-844-5302 or at MWalsh@Granby-ct.gov with any budget questions as I’d be happy to have a discussion with you.