Town of New Canaan Question 4 — Charter: Board of Finance members need not be real property taxpayers (Western Connecticut Planning Region)

Last updated Sat, Nov 7, 4:33 PM ET

Ballot measure · November 3, 2026 · New Canaan Township voters

What it does
Shall the current Charter be changed to no longer require Board of Finance members to be real property taxpayers?
A YES vote means
New Canaan Board of Finance members would no longer have to be real property taxpayers.
A NO vote means
Board of Finance members would still have to be real property taxpayers.
Needed to pass
A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
Left–right lean
Not a left–right issue: a procedural or local question that liberals and conservatives don't typically split on (AI read of the official ballot summary).

The YES and NO lines are SpectrumVote's plain-language reading of the official text above; the official text is what you vote on.

Official text: source

Background

The Town Council created the Charter Revision Commission by unanimous vote on October 15, 2025; the commission filed a draft report on May 4, 2026 and its final report on July 10, 2026, and the council voted on the recommendations on July 15, 2026, according to the town's commission page.

Commission chair Kathleen Corbet told Connecticut Public the property-taxpayer rule dates to 1935 and was written into the charter in 1965, on the reasoning that the Board of Finance sets the mill rate.

Voters rejected removing the requirement a decade earlier, and the Town Council's late-July 2026 vote to put it back on the ballot was not unanimous, Connecticut Public reported.

The town's attorney, Nick Bamonte of Berchem Moses, told the commission there are "some constitutional concerns if challenged" under the 14th Amendment, according to Connecticut Public.

Put on the ballot by New Canaan Town Council, July 15, 2026 (vote on Charter Revision Commission recommendations; tally not posted on the town page).

From official source.

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Quick answers

What does a YES vote on Town of New Canaan Question 4 mean?
New Canaan Board of Finance members would no longer have to be real property taxpayers.
What does a NO vote on Town of New Canaan Question 4 mean?
Board of Finance members would still have to be real property taxpayers.
How many votes does Town of New Canaan Question 4 need to pass?
A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
Should I vote yes or no on Town of New Canaan Question 4?
SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.
When is the vote?
The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.

Not sure how to decide? Read our nonpartisan guide to the Western Connecticut Planning Region ballot.

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