Sunderland Town Meeting Approves $11.9 Million Budget, Sends Override to Ballot

WHATELY — April 24, 2026 — Sunderland Annual Town Meeting approves $11.93 million override budget and new ADU zoning bylaw, setting up a May 2 ballot vote. The meeting, presided over by Moderator Tom Clayton Kevitz, passed the fiscal year 2027 operating budget by a two-thirds vote after Finance Committee Chair Valerie Vore and Elementary School Superintendent Darius Modesto outlined the stakes of a failed override, which would trigger cuts to arts, music, a school adjustment counselor, and library state certification. A Proposition 2 1/2 override question — asking voters to approve an additional $800,000 in property taxes — heads to the ballot Saturday, May 2, at the Sunderland Public Library. The meeting also adopted an accessory dwelling unit bylaw by two-thirds majority after defeating a resident-sponsored amendment that would have restored a state-model size cap; a citizens' petition directing the Select Board to default electricity aggregation customers to the lowest-cost rate meeting state mandates failed on a voice vote, with Energy Committee member Aaron Falville arguing the current greener default reflects a 2019 town survey in which roughly 60 percent of respondents prioritized renewable energy at or below Eversource's price.