Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.
budget

Kent budget plan calls for tax increase; vote set for May 29

Kent budget plan calls for tax increase; vote set for May 29
Kent Town Hall
Leila Hawken

KENT —Voters will decide Kent’s proposed municipal and education budgets for fiscal year 2027 at a town hall meeting on May 29. Residents must attend in person to weigh in and cast their votes on the spending plans.

The vote will follow a May 15 public hearing, when the Board of Finance will consider public input before advancing the budgets to the May 29 meeting.

The proposed budgets carry an anticipated mill rate of 17.45, an increase of 0.58, or 3.44%, from the current year. For homeowners, that would mean a modest increase in property taxes if approved. A home assessed at $350,000, for example, would carry an annual tax bill of $6,107, an increase of about $203.

The Board of Selectmen’s municipal operating budget totals $5,277,965, up just over 5% from this year.

Total education spending is projected at $8,090,829, a 3.61% increase, combining the local elementary school budget and the town’s required contribution to the Region One school district.

The Kent Center School budget stands at $5,307,470, a 2.12% increase, after the Board of Finance directed a $30,000 reduction ahead of the public hearing. Rising costs, including employee benefits, continue to drive the local school budget.

Kent’s share of the Region One budget is projected at $2,783,359, an increase of about $170,000, or 6.57%, driven largely by high school tuition and shared services. Regional costs account for a significant portion of the overall increase, outpacing growth on the local school side.

To help balance the budget, the Board of Finance voted April 14 to allocate $250,000 from the town’s unassigned fund balance.

The Region One budget process is handled separately. The proposed $19.5 million regional budget, a 5.67% increase, will go to referendum in all six district towns on May 5.

Budget documents are available for public review on the town’s website.

Town Hall meeting

Friday, May 29, 6 p.m.

Kent Town Hall

41 Kent Green Blvd.

Alec Linden
budget

Latest News

Slow fashion takes the runway at Stone Ridge Orchard

Slow fashion takes the runway at Stone Ridge Orchard

The organic runway at HVSFW puts sustainable style among the apple trees at Stone Ridge Orchard.

Jay Ballesteros

Fast fashion has made it possible to buy the latest trend almost as quickly as it appears on social media. The environmental cost, however, is anything but fleeting. Fashion production accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions, consumes enormous quantities of water and energy, and an estimated 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year. Synthetic fabrics also shed microplastics when washed.

So what would happen if we slowed things down?

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

Susan Schneider and the magic of marbling

Susan Schneider and the magic of marbling
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
It’s a joyful process. —Susan Schneider

A beautiful September morning found Susan Schneider of Shandell’s working in her Ashley Falls home studio, while linen cocktail napkins she had marbled the day before hung on a line outside her back door. Her helpers, dogs Daisy and Stubbs, are never far from her.

“Marbling,” Schneider explained, “the art of floating paint on a liquid and printing it on a medium, has been around for hundreds of years.”

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Through the lens of war

Through the lens of war

“Omaha Beach Rescue, D-Day +1, Normandy, June 7, 1944.” one of the best-known photographs of D-Day.

Walter Rosenblum

Longtime Norfolk resident Nina Rosenblum will present her award-winning documentary, “They Fight With Cameras,” on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the Norfolk Library.

The film tells the story of her father, decorated U.S. Army Signal Corps combat cameraman Walter Rosenblum.

Keep ReadingShow less
film
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Brian Gersten finds the story in the overlooked

Brian Gersten finds the story in the overlooked

Filmmaker Brian Gersten

D.H. Callahan

At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, award-winning filmmaker Brian Gersten will screen four short documentaries at the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village, exploring obscure topics such as a lingering territorial dispute between the United States and Canada, a nationwide toilet paper panic sparked by a late-night joke, the infamous “Balloon Boy” saga and the history of bowling in America.

The Chicago-raised, Millerton-based filmmaker has worked as an editor on feature-length documentaries like the cycling film “Enter the Slipstream” and Netflix’s profile on author Tom Wolfe, “Radical Wolfe.” In 2025, “Why We Dream,” a film he edited about bringing D-Day veterans back to the beaches of Normandy, premiered aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York City. When it comes to directing, Gersten’s own interests focus more on the underappreciated and unremembered, as the four short films he directed will demonstrate.

Keep ReadingShow less
film

Sharon artist takes top prize at Lime Rock art show

Sharon artist takes top prize at Lime Rock art show
Muriel Stockdale, left, and judge Roger McKee during the awards announcement at the juried art show at Trinity Episcopal Church. Stockdale\u2019s \u201cKevin\u201d was the second place winner.
Patrick L. Sullivan

The annual juried art show at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock was won by Mi-Kyung Hwang of Sharon for “Wild Hazelnut from Eggleston.”

The winners were announced at the show’s opening reception at the church Friday evening, Sept. 18.

Keep ReadingShow less
art show

From Woodstock to the Warner, Graham Nash is still singing for peace

From Woodstock to the Warner, Graham Nash is still singing for peace

Graham Nash brings a career-spanning retrospective to the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Sept. 30, joined by Todd Caldwell, Adam Minkoff and Zack Djanikian.

Misti Layne

Imagine stepping out onto a stage in front of hundreds of thousands of tired, wet and weary strangers with a lineup of songs they’ve never heard before. If you’re Graham Nash, who will perform with his current band at the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Sept. 30, you don’t have to imagine. You only have to remember.

The legendary Woodstock music festival was only the second concert Nash played with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Nash had already formed Crosby, Stills & Nash, releasing their debut album earlier that year. Theirs was a sound both new and nostalgic when it hit the scene in the late 1960s, and, thanks in part to the success all three members had had with previous bands, they instantly found a wide and willing audience.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.