Library Borrowing Vote Fails By 77 Ballots

Town Meeting · Meeting of June 1, 2026

Clinton's Annual Town Meeting rejected a $24,854,052.45 borrowing order for a new library, falling 77 votes short of the two-thirds needed. The June 1 vote came in at 306 "yes" to 269 "no," with 383 required out of 575 cast, after Finance Committee member Robert Epstein warned that rejecting the plan would forfeit an $11,316,281 state construction grant, saying "our next opportunity to apply will be in eight years." Opponent Dan Silvestri argued the project would add to an already roughly $5,500 average tax bill. Voters separately approved $1 million in borrowing for a new fire engine, 204-47, after Fire Chief Michael Lutz said delivery delays could push the cost to $1.1 million if deferred a year.

The $66,439,105 fiscal 2027 budget passed unanimously, and two citizen's petitions on Personnel Board representation were tabled.

In the full story:

• Opening and Officer Recognitions
• Fiscal 2027 Budget (Article 3)
• Routine Appropriations and Revolving Funds (Articles 4-17)
• Library Construction Borrowing and Debt Exclusion (Article 18)
• Union Contract Retroactive Wage Funding (Articles 19-24)
• Fire Department Civil Service Removal (Article 25)
• Capital and Equipment Spending (Articles 27-32)
• Rail Trail and Other Easements (Articles 33-35)
• EMT Leave, Revolving Fund and Zoning Articles (Articles 36-39)
• Personnel Board Citizen's Petitions (Articles 40-41)
• Fire Engine Purchase (Article 26)
• Meeting Dissolution
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,524 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of June 1, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.