North Branford Sets Public Budget Hearing for March 31, Referendum May 12

North Branford to Hold 2026-2027 Budget Hearing March 31

North Branford will host a public hearing on its proposed 2026-2027 municipal budget on March 31, 2026, giving residents their first formal opportunity to weigh in on the town's spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The hearing is scheduled at the North Branford High School Cafeteria, 650 Foxon Road.

Acting Town Manager Rory Burke and Mayor Rose Marie Angeloni are overseeing the budget development process, which has included a series of departmental workshops in which town agency heads and school department administrators have presented their funding requests for the 2026-2027 year. The March 31 public hearing will be the Town Council's primary session for receiving direct resident input before the Council votes on a budget to send to referendum.

A town-wide budget referendum is scheduled for May 12, 2026. Under North Branford's budget process, voters have the final say on the annual spending plan. May 12 falls on the second Tuesday of the month, the traditional date for North Branford's budget referendum.

Town Manager Search Underway as Budget Season Advances

The March 31 hearing comes during a period of administrative transition for North Branford. The town launched a formal recruitment effort for a permanent Town Manager in January 2026, according to municipal documents. Burke has served as Acting Town Manager during the search, taking on budget oversight responsibilities alongside Mayor Angeloni and the Town Council as the 2026-2027 fiscal plan advances toward the public stage.

No timeline for selecting a permanent Town Manager has been publicly announced as of publication.

Blueprint Committee Cancels February Meeting, Raising Participation Questions

Efforts to incorporate community voices into the town's long-term planning discussions hit a setback in February. The Blueprint Committee — a civic advisory group established to involve North Branford residents in planning and governance decisions — was forced to cancel its February 26 meeting after it failed to achieve quorum, according to town agenda records.

The Blueprint Committee's work runs parallel to the annual budget process, providing a forum for community members to weigh in on capital planning, town priorities, and long-range fiscal strategy. The failure to meet in February, during a period when department heads were actively presenting budget requests to town administrators, left a gap in that advisory record for the current budget cycle.

The February quorum failure is not the committee's first missed meeting in recent months, according to town records. North Branford officials have not publicly addressed the attendance challenges.

How North Branford's Budget Process Works

North Branford's annual budget process follows a structured, multi-stage timeline. The process begins with budget workshops in late winter and early spring, during which each town and school department head presents proposed spending levels to the Town Manager and Town Council. These workshops give officials a department-by-department picture of what services cost and where spending increases or reductions are being proposed.

Following the workshops, the Town Council is required to hold at least one public hearing on the proposed budget — which is what the March 31 session represents. After the hearing, the Council can revise the budget before finalizing a recommendation. That recommendation then goes to a public referendum, where all registered voters in North Branford vote to approve or reject the overall spending plan.

If voters reject the budget at referendum, the Town Council must revise and resubmit it. North Branford has in past years required multiple referendum rounds before reaching an approved budget.

Attending the March 31 Hearing

The March 31 hearing at the North Branford High School Cafeteria is open to all town residents. Public comment is typically a formal component of budget hearings under town charter, allowing residents to address specific line items or overall spending priorities on the record.

No detailed proposed budget figures for 2026-2027 had been publicly released ahead of publication. Additional information is available through the town's website at northbranfordct.gov or by contacting the Town Clerk's office at 203-484-6015.

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