The Town of Essex is gearing up to host two budget engagement events this fall to gather feedback on the upcoming 2026 budget.
This is in addition to gathering feedback online through Friday Oct. 10.
The first session will be held Tuesday Sept. 23, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Essex Arena in the Shaheen Room.
The second session will be held Thursday Oct. 2, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the community room at the Harrow Arena.
Mayor Sherry Bondy said the town has a new CAO and are looking to get feedback prior to the draft budget being tabled this fall.
"We want residents to come out in person and really see how the municipal budget works, and to take time providing their feedback," Bondy said.
"There are so many competing priorities in the municipality, so having public engagement is key to getting residents to supporting the budget process."
Bondy said the municipality has a lot of challenges because of how big and spread out it is.
"We have the four wards that all have competing priorities, so do residents want to see more roads done? We've done a great job at doing roads. Maybe now they want to see more development in our parks and recreation," she said.
Bondy said it's important that the municipality listens to residents and that they get what they want out of their tax dollars.
"Tax dollars can only go so far, and it's really good to have residents understand the process, see what we're dealing with. Many residents think municipalities have a lot of money. We don't have a lot of money, so we really need to use it wisely," Bondy said.
The online interactive budget tool allows residents and business owners to create their own draft budget by allocating funds to capital initiatives they believe are important to the community's growth and prosperity.
Participants can prioritize key spending areas and submit feedback that will help guide council and administration in making informed decisions for the upcoming budget.
Bondy said the 2026 draft budget was expected to tabled late fall.