A public hearing on Thomaston’s proposed 2026–2027 budget will be held Tuesday, April 14th at 6:30 p.m. in the Thomaston Center School auditorium, giving residents an opportunity to review and provide input before the budget moves forward in the process.

The proposed budget totals $31,800,042, representing a $272,536 increase, or 0.86%, over the 2025-26 fiscal year. The plan was approved by the Board of Finance following a series of revisions that reduced earlier requests with the goal of maintaining core services.

The budget includes a proposed mill rate of 27.21. While the proposed mill rate is decreasing, the change follows the town’s recent property revaluation, which generally increased overall property values. As a result, tax bills may still rise for some homeowners depending on how their property’s assessed value changed.

Education remains the largest portion of the budget, with approximately $18.5 million allocated to the Board of Education, an increase of $359,129 or 1.98% from the current year’s budget. Within town departments, several areas see modest increases. Public safety, which includes police, fire protection, and ambulance services, is budgeted to increase by 2.15%. Recreation and parks spending is proposed to increase by 1.95%, while funding for the public library is proposed to increase by 2.4%.

Town officials said the budget was developed through a collaborative process involving the Board of Finance, Board of Selectmen, and Board of Education. According to the town’s budget document, department requests were reduced by more than $600,000 to arrive at the final proposal while keeping the increase below the rate of inflation.

First Selectman Richard Sileo said the next step in the process will depend in part on public feedback.

“While we believe this is a very responsible budget, the decision concerning town meeting or referendum will be informed by the feedback we receive at the public hearing,” Sileo said.

The full proposed budget, including a frequently asked questions section addressing topics such as property revaluation and the impact on residents’ taxes, is available on the Town website.

Residents are encouraged to attend the public hearing to ask questions, share feedback, and better understand how the proposed budget may affect them.