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Annual Meeting & Budget Overview

The City and EWSD Annual Meeting (election) is Tuesday, April 8, 2025, from 7 am to 7 pm at the Champlain Valley Exposition in the Blue Ribbon Pavilion, 105 Pearl Street, Essex Junction.

The budget preparation cycle kicked off in September when the Finance Department and City Manager began working closely with Department Heads to develop their respective budgets. The culmination of this effort took place on December 3, 2024, during the City Council’s annual Budget Day, where the proposed FY 26 General Fund and Enterprise Fund budgets were presented to the Council. The City Manager and Department Heads outlined key elements of the budgets during the meeting. Links to the Budget Day meeting packet and the recording of the meeting can be found on the Annual Meeting & Budget Timeline page. This page will be updated with meeting packets and recordings of the meeting following each City Council meeting until the Annual Meeting. 

The City Council has scheduled a series of upcoming events designed to foster discussion and gather feedback from residents. Throughout January and February, residents will have opportunities to attend Coffee Chats and Saturdays in the Park, along with appearances at Brownell Library events. Specific dates and times for these gatherings are available on the Annual Meeting & Budget Timeline page.

City Annual Meeting 2025

The City and EWSD Annual election is Tuesday, April 8, 2025, from 7 am to 7 pm at the Champlain Valley Exposition in the Blue Ribbon Pavilion, 105 Pearl Street, Essex Junction. Register to vote online at https://olvr.vermont.gov/ or stop by the City Offices at 2 Lincoln Street. 

Voters will not automatically receive a ballot for the City and School District elections. If you would like an early/mailed/absentee ballot, please choose one of the options below to make that request.

  1. Log into your My Voter Page, https://mvp.vermont.gov/, and request your ballot online.
  2. Email or call the Clerk's Office: clerks@essexjunction.org (802-878-6944 option 7).

For those who prefer to cast their ballots ahead of election day, early voting will be available at the City Clerk's office starting March 20.

Nominating Petitions for Annual City Election

Nominating petitions for the 2025 Annual Meeting are now available at the City Office, 2 Lincoln Street. Officers to be elected include: 

  • City Council – One 3-year term, 
  • Champlain Water District Commissioner – One 3-year term, and 
  • Library Trustee – One 5-year term.

To have a name placed on the ballot, candidates are required to submit a petition containing at least 30 valid signatures and a consent of candidate form to the City Clerk. Both forms are available at the City Offices or by contacting the City Clerk at (802) 878-6944, option #7, or by email at clerks@essexjunction.org. The deadline for submittal of both forms is March 3, 2025 (the sixth Monday preceding the date of election 17 VSA §2681(a)(1)(A).

Voter-Backed Petitions

February 20, 2025, is the last day for voters to file a petition with the City Clerk for Articles to be included in the City Meeting Warning. 17 V.S.A. 2642(a)(3)(A) (47 days prior to annual meeting). A petition must contain signatures from at least 5% of registered voters in the municipality.

Call the City Clerk’s office at 802-878-6944, option 7, for questions about the nominating and voter-backed petitions.

Proposed FY 26 General Fund Budget

As of January 25, 2025, the proposed FY26 City General Fund (GF) budget is a 3% or $400,068 increase from FY25 $12,004,124 to FY26 $12,405,692. This increase is supported mostly with an increase to the City tax levy of $282,036.

The proposed budget would result in an estimated City General Fund tax rate, plus the tax agreement rate and economic development rate, of $1.0108, compared to $0.9861 in FY25, which is a 2.5% increase. The projected City tax cost for a $280k home in FY26 is an increase of $69 per year over FY25.

Ready to dive into this year’s proposed budget? Check out the City Department Heads discussing their general fund budgets as of 12/3/2024, or check out the Junction City News episode from 1/27/2025. 

Ask a Question About the Budget

Thank you for your interest in the City’s budget! City staff and the City Council are currently working on the proposed FY26 General Fund Budget.

Please use the space below to leave comments or ask the City Council and City Manager questions about the FY26 General Fund Budget. Comments and questions received here will be periodically compiled and categorized for review by the City Manager and City Council.