The Andover Budget Process: A Plain-Language Overview

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This document walks through the annual budget process in the Town of Andover, Connecticut, as defined by the Town Charter (revised 2024) and the relevant Connecticut General Statutes. It covers who does what, when, and with what authority — from the first planning conversations in October through final adoption at referendum.

References to Charter sections link to the online version at charter2024.andoverct.info. State statutes link to the Connecticut General Assembly's published text.

The Key Players

Before diving into the timeline, it helps to understand the distinct roles the Charter assigns to each body:

• Board of Education (BOE) — Prepares and submits its own budget. Has sole discretion over how its appropriated funds are spent among line items (C.G.S. 10-222).

• Board of Selectmen (BOS) — Oversees general-government department budgets. Participates in joint budget review meetings with the Board of Finance.

• Town Administrator — Reviews all budget estimates and prepares a proposed budget with comments and recommendations (Section 802C).

• Board of Finance (BOF) — The central body in the budget process. Reviews all requests, holds public hearings, and prepares the final proposed budget to be presented at the Annual Town Budget Meeting. Has different levels of authority over Town department budgets versus the BOE budget (discussed in detail below).

• Town Meeting — The legislative body of the Town (Section 301). Has authority for final approval of the budget, subject to referendum. Can reduce but not increase the proposed budget (Section 803B).

• Voters at Referendum — Cast the final vote to adopt or reject the budget.

State Law and the Town Charter

Connecticut municipalities operate under a framework of home rule: the state grants towns broad authority to adopt charters that define their own governance structures, including how they prepare and adopt budgets. Andover exercises this authority through its Town Charter, which establishes the specific roles, timelines, and procedures described in this document.

But home rule has limits. The Town Charter operates within state law, not above it. Where the Connecticut General Statutes impose requirements, the Charter must conform — and where a conflict exists, state law prevails. In practice, this means:

• The Charter can customize the budget process — which boards participate, in what order, on what timeline, and with what authority. Most of the procedural detail in this document (the October planning conference, the joint March meetings, the public hearing, the Town Meeting's power to reduce but not increase) comes from the Charter, not state law.

• State law sets certain hard floors and ceilings. The most important is the Minimum Budget Requirement (MBR) for education (discussed below). The Charter cannot authorize a budget that violates the MBR. Similarly, state law governs how referenda work, what notice must be given, and how substitute budgets operate when the process stalls.

• State law protects Board of Education autonomy. Regardless of what a charter says about budget authority, C.G.S. 10-222 guarantees that "the money appropriated by any municipality for the maintenance of public schools shall be expended by and in the discretion of the board of education." No charter provision can override this. A town can decide how much the BOE receives through whatever process its charter defines, but once the appropriation is made, the BOE alone decides how to spend it.

• State law defines Board of Finance authority. C.G.S. 7-344 establishes the general powers of boards of finance, including the power to make appropriations and "recommend" budgets to the town meeting. The Charter builds on this framework but can shape how that authority is exercised — for instance, by specifying that the BOF's role regarding the BOE is limited to "comment and make recommendations" (the meaning of which is the subject of the legal dispute discussed later in this document).

• The Charter can be more restrictive than state law but generally not less. For example, the Charter requires a quorum of 25 electors at Town Meeting (Section 302B) — a local choice. But the Charter cannot waive the state's requirement that boards of education submit itemized budget estimates (C.G.S. 10-222) or that municipalities meet the Minimum Budget Requirement.

The Minimum Budget Requirement (MBR)

The MBR is a state-imposed floor on local education spending. Under C.G.S. 10-262i, each municipality must budget at least as much for education as it did the prior year, adjusted for changes in state Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant funding. Specifically, if a town's ECS grant increases, the town must maintain at least its prior-year local contribution; if the ECS grant decreases, the town may reduce its education budget by no more than the amount of the decrease.

The MBR applies regardless of what the BOF proposes, what the Town Meeting amends, or what the referendum approves. If a budget — at any stage — would result in an education appropriation below the MBR, it is not legally permissible. This is why the Charter's substitute-budget provision (Section 803G) explicitly requires compliance with the MBR: even when the normal budget process has failed and interim spending authority is in effect, the education floor holds.

The MBR does not dictate how the BOE spends its money — only the minimum total it must receive. And the MBR is a floor, not a ceiling: the BOE can request more, and the town can appropriate more.

The Timeline

1. Early Planning: By October 15

The process begins in the fall. By October 15, the Board of Finance must meet with the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education to discuss goals and objectives for the upcoming budget (Section 802A). The BOF may suggest expenditure targets for both the general government and the BOE budgets, but these targets are explicitly not binding on the budget submissions.

"The Board of Finance may suggest a target for expenditures for both the General Government and the Board of Education budgets; however, the target shall not be binding with respect to budget submittals." — Section 802A

2. Budget Submissions: By February 15

Each department, office, and agency (except the BOE and the Regional Board of Education) must file detailed expenditure estimates with the Town Administrator at least 150 days before the end of the fiscal year (Section 802B).

The Board of Education has a separate deadline: its budget must be submitted to the Board of Finance by February 15 (Section 802B).

State law now also requires the BOE to submit its itemized estimate at least two months before the annual meeting at which appropriations are to be made (C.G.S. 10-222). For Andover's second-week-of-April Town Meeting, this aligns with the February 15 Charter deadline.

3. Town Administrator Review: By ~120 Days Before Fiscal Year End (approx. late February/early March)

The Town Administrator reviews all budget estimates and, not later than 120 days before the end of the fiscal year, presents a proposed budget to the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance. The Town Administrator "may comment and make recommendations" on all budget requests (Section 802C).

4. BOF Recommendations to BOE: Within 10 Days of BOE Submission

Under the 2024 amendment to C.G.S. 10-222, the board or authority receiving the BOE's estimate must, within ten days, "make spending recommendations and suggestions to such board of education as to how such board of education may consolidate noneducational services and realize financial efficiencies." The BOE may accept or reject these suggestions, but must provide the BOF with a written explanation for any rejection.

5. Joint Budget Review Meetings: March

The Charter requires joint meetings of the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance in March to review the budget. A quorum of at least one of the two boards is required to conduct business (Section 802D).

6. BOF Review, Public Hearing, and Final Budget: By ~85 Days Before Fiscal Year End (approx. early April)

This is where the Board of Finance exercises its core budget authority, and where the key distinction between Town departments and the BOE comes into play.

For Town departments, offices, and agencies, the BOF has broad authority: it "may add to, delete from, or eliminate requests" (Section 802E).

For the Board of Education, the Charter uses different language: "the Board may only comment and make recommendations on the budget requests of the local Board of Education" (Section 802E).

The BOF must hold at least one public hearing on the budget, open to any taxpayer or elector (Section 802F). The BOF may also review budget requests directly with the head of each department, board, agency, and commission, including the BOE.

After the hearing and review, the BOF "shall prepare a final budget that incorporates any recommended changes to be presented to the Annual Town Budget Meeting" (Section 802F).

The proposed budget must include the elements specified in Section 802E(1) through 802E(5): a budget message, itemized revenues, itemized expenditures in parallel-column format, capital project recommendations, and a five-year capital plan.

The Central Question: Can the BOF Change the BOE Budget Number?

This is the subject of competing legal opinions from the Town Attorney and the BOE's counsel. The dispute hinges on what "comment and make recommendations" means in practice, given the broader legal framework.

What the Charter Says

Section 802E draws an explicit distinction. For all other departments, the BOF may "add to, delete from, or eliminate requests." For the BOE, the BOF "may only comment and make recommendations." Section 802F then directs the BOF to prepare a "final budget that incorporates any recommended changes."

The Town Attorney's Reading

The Town Attorney (Dennis O'Brien, opinions of April 1, 2021 and February 17, 2026) concludes that the BOF can modify the bottom line of the BOE budget before sending it to the Town Meeting. His reasoning:

1. The word "recommendations" in the Charter mirrors the language used in the controlling state statutes — C.G.S. 10-222, C.G.S. 7-344, and C.G.S. 7-388 — where boards of finance routinely make "recommendations" that set the ceiling for town meeting action.

2. The BOF's "recommendation" is formidable because the Town Meeting can only reduce, never increase, the proposed budget (Section 803B). A BOF recommendation therefore effectively sets the maximum the BOE can receive.

3. The "may only comment" language may be an imprecise attempt to reflect the C.G.S. 10-222 principle that the BOF has no control over BOE line items — only the bottom-line total. The BOE retains sole discretion over how to spend its appropriation internally.

4. Treating the BOE budget as untouchable by the BOF while the Town budget can be freely adjusted creates an uneven playing field. Both budgets compete for the same limited local funds.

5. The BOF itself has, in practice, voted to reduce the BOE budget after a budget failure (e.g., a 6-1 vote in May 2025 cutting the BOE increase from 8% to 5%). The Town Attorney argues there is no legal basis for allowing this after a failure but prohibiting it before the first Town Meeting.

The BOE Attorney's Reading

The BOE's counsel (Shipman & Goodwin LLP, memo of February 19, 2026) concludes that the BOF cannot add to, delete from, or eliminate BOE budget requests — it can only comment and recommend. Their reasoning:

1. The Charter's plain text in Section 802E creates an explicit exception for the BOE: the BOF "may add to, delete from, or eliminate requests made by the various departments, offices, and agencies except that the Board may only comment and make recommendations on the budget requests of the local Board of Education."

2. The word "only" further limits the BOF's authority over the BOE budget to comments and recommendations, not binding changes.

3. The "appropriating authority" under C.G.S. 10-222 in Andover is the Town Meeting, not the BOF. The BOE submits its estimate to the authority making appropriations, and in Andover that authority is the Town Meeting acting under Section 803.

4. Section 803B reinforces BOE autonomy by providing that "the Town Meeting may not alter any specific items contained in the budget proposed by the local Board of Education."

What the Reader Can Observe

The Charter text, read in conjunction with the state statutes, creates genuine ambiguity. Several things are clear, however:

• The BOF cannot change BOE line items. Both sides agree on this, as does C.G.S. 10-222: "The money appropriated by any municipality for the maintenance of public schools shall be expended by and in the discretion of the board of education."

• The Town Meeting cannot increase the budget. Whatever number appears in the proposed budget is the ceiling at that stage (Section 803B).

• The Town Meeting also cannot alter BOE line items (Section 803B).

• The BOF must prepare a "final budget" for the Town Meeting (Section 802F). That budget must incorporate "any recommended changes." The question is whether a "recommended change" to the BOE bottom line can be a binding reduction rather than merely advisory commentary.

• After a budget fails at referendum, the budget returns to the BOF, which "shall review the rejected budget and present the same or a revised budget" (Section 803D). The Charter does not distinguish between the BOE and Town portions at this stage — the BOF clearly has authority to revise the numbers.

The Annual Town Budget Meeting and Referendum

7. Town Meeting: Second Week of April

The Annual Town Budget Meeting is held in the second week of April (Section 803A, Section 303). The proposed budget is the only substantive matter on the agenda. The Charter explicitly excludes the general town-meeting procedures of C.G.S. 7-7 from this meeting.

A quorum of at least 25 electors must be present (Section 302B). All budget votes at Town Meeting are by paper ballot.

If a quorum is present, the meeting may proceed. The Town Meeting has the power to reduce or modify the proposed budget, but may not increase any part of it (Section 803B). Additionally, the Town Meeting may not alter any specific items in the BOE budget.

An important point about what the Town Meeting does and does not decide: Under the current Charter, the Town Meeting does not take a final up-or-down vote to approve or reject the budget. Instead, after any amendments are made, the Town Meeting adjourns to a referendum (Section 803B). The actual decision to adopt or reject the budget is made by voters at the referendum, not at the Town Meeting itself.

This means the Town Meeting's role is deliberative and amendatory: residents can discuss the budget, ask questions, and vote to reduce specific amounts. But the budget is not "passed" or "failed" at Town Meeting — it proceeds to referendum in whatever form it has after amendments. The Town Meeting is, in effect, the last opportunity to lower the numbers before the referendum.

"The Town Meeting shall adjourn to a referendum to be held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in May." — Section 803B

If no quorum is present (fewer than 25 electors), the meeting is recessed one week. If there is still no quorum at the second meeting, the budget goes directly to referendum without any opportunity for amendment (Section 803C).

8. Referendum: First Tuesday After the First Monday in May

The budget goes to a referendum vote. Absentee voting is permitted (Section 803B).

• If a majority votes "yes" — the budget is adopted.
• If a majority votes "no" — the budget is defeated and returns to the Board of Finance.

9. If the Budget Fails

When a budget is rejected, the BOF reviews it and presents "the same or a revised budget" to a new Town Meeting the following Tuesday (Section 803C, Section 803D).

Bifurcation: If the budget is defeated at the first referendum or for a second time at Town Meeting, the budget is split into two separate votes — one for the Town budget and one for the BOE budget — and each proceeds through the Town Meeting/referendum cycle independently until adopted (Section 803D). If one of the two bifurcated budgets passes, it is final and may be implemented; the cycle continues only for the budget that failed.

The cycle of BOF review, Town Meeting, and referendum repeats until both budgets are adopted. Each round follows a fixed schedule: Town Meeting one week after the referendum defeat, next referendum two weeks after that (Section 803D).

10. Mill Rate

After the budget is finally adopted at referendum, the Board of Finance meets "as soon as possible" to set the mill rate for the upcoming fiscal year, taking into account the adopted budget, state appropriations, and the Region 8 Board of Education budget (Section 803E).

Notice Requirements

The Charter requires that notices of the Annual Town Budget Meeting — including the date, location, agenda, and the date and location of the subsequent referendum — be mailed to eligible voters by US mail at least five days before the meeting (Section 803F, Section 302A).

If No Budget Is Adopted by July 1

If the budget cycle is not complete by the start of the new fiscal year (July 1), the Board of Finance may authorize expenditures under the prior year's budget, pursuant to C.G.S. 7-405 (Section 804). In the case of the BOE, the Minimum Budget Requirement (MBR) under C.G.S. 10-262i also applies (Section 803G): even under interim spending authority, the education appropriation cannot fall below the statutory floor. If the Board of Selectmen is legally required to set a mill rate under these circumstances, it may do so only after considering the advice of the Board of Finance.

Supplemental Appropriations (Mid-Year Changes)

After a budget is adopted, departments (other than the BOE) may request supplemental appropriations through the Board of Selectmen, which forwards them with recommendations to the Board of Finance (Section 805A). The BOE submits supplemental requests directly to the BOF.

The BOF may approve supplemental appropriations up to a cumulative total of 0.5% of the current budget (excluding the Regional School District amount). Anything above that threshold must go to a Special Town Meeting and referendum (Section 805B).

Summary of Authority at Each Stage

Key State Statutes Referenced

• C.G.S. 10-222 — Appropriations and budget for boards of education. Governs BOE budget submission, the 10-day recommendation window, and BOE discretion over spending its appropriation.

• C.G.S. 7-344 — Town boards of finance; appropriations. Establishes the general framework for BOF authority over municipal budgets.

• C.G.S. 7-388 — Annual budget meetings.

• C.G.S. 10-262i — Minimum Budget Requirement (MBR) for education. Sets a floor on local education spending tied to prior-year appropriations and ECS grant changes.

• C.G.S. 7-7 — General town meeting procedures (explicitly excluded from the Annual Town Budget Meeting by Section 803A).

• C.G.S. 7-405 — Interim appropriations when a budget has not been adopted.

• C.G.S. 12-123 — Referenced in Section 803G regarding substitute budgets.

This document is intended as an informational overview for residents and officials. It was written by Scott Sauyet. I am not a lawyer; this is not legal advice. The authoritative sources are the Andover Town Charter and the Connecticut General Statutes.