Lamont’s latest executive order affects more than two-thirds of Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns. In these communities it gives the board of selectmen — and not a town meeting or a referendum — final authority to approve spending levels and local mill rates. The governor’s order also directs local leaders to make options available for the public to inspect and comment on the budget remotely. This would involve posting the budget on town websites and allowing residents to submit comments on these fiscal plans by email. Local leaders have been wary since the COVID-19 crisis intensified two weeks ago that municipalities — most of which adopt budgets between late April and mid-May — would be facing fiscal chaos if they entered the new fiscal year on July 1 with no budget in place and no clear path toward approving one without jeopardizing public health. In an earlier order, Lamont gave local leaders an additional 30 days to adopt their budgets.
https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Lamont-Town-leaders-can-adopt-budgets-without-15148982.php