Board of Finance Sets 28.40 Mill Rate

Board of Finance · Meeting of June 18, 2026

Guilford's Board of Finance approved a 28.40 mill rate for fiscal year 2026-27, a 2.73 percent increase over last year, at a brief special meeting Thursday. Chair Michael Ayles moved the rate change, which was seconded and passed by unanimous voice vote with no members opposed or abstaining. Four of seven board members were confirmed on the call: Ayles, Elias Kabeche, Robert Hartmann and Meghan Scanlon.

Members noted they had not heard from Amy Earls, while Jeffrey Beatty was described only as "aware" of the meeting, and Todd Fanciullo went unmentioned. Ayles thanked colleagues for "hard work this year," calling the budget season "challenging." The entire session, including the motion to adjourn, lasted only a few minutes.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 1,060 words

Source: the Board of Finance meeting of June 18, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

The Full Article

Setting the Fiscal Year 2026-27 Mill Rate

Background and stakes: Guilford's municipal budget cycle requires the Board of Finance to formally set a mill rate once the town's fiscal year 2026-27 budget has moved through the earlier stages of review. The special meeting held Thursday, June 18, 2026, carried a single agenda item: to consider and take appropriate action on the fiscal year 2026-27 budget. Board of Finance Chair Michael Ayles told colleagues at the opening of the meeting that "this is the meeting where the budget is passed and we would set the mill rate for 26-27," framing the session as the final procedural step of a budget process that had already run its substantive course in prior meetings.

The question before the body: whether to adopt a mill rate of 28.40 for fiscal year 2026-27, finalizing the tax rate tied to the budget the board had already been reviewing.

Substantive content: Ayles stated the mill rate would be set at 28.40, which he said represented a 2.73 percent increase over the prior year's mill rate. He tied that figure explicitly to "all of our" prior discussion and "what we've been seeing in all our meetings," indicating the number was not new to the board at the time of the vote. Before the meeting was formally called to order, one member noted that "122 emails" had circulated among board members in the run-up to the meeting to confirm the figure, underscoring that most of the substantive negotiation over the rate occurred outside the recorded session. Ayles also remarked, informally, that he had "the tax collector and tax assessor on speed dial for the second this meeting finishes," saying he was "99.9 percent sure" of how those offices would respond once the rate was adopted, and noting that any change from the agreed figure would be "a lot of work to undo."

The deliberation: Discussion on the floor was brief. When Ayles formally moved to adopt the 28.40 mill rate, a member seconded immediately. Ayles asked whether there was further discussion, and one member responded, "There's been plenty of discussion. I think we're good, right?" No member raised a substantive objection or asked a clarifying question about the figure itself during the recorded portion of the meeting. Before calling the vote, Ayles added a note of appreciation for the board's work over the preceding months: "Thanks everybody for your hard work this year. It was challenging, but we got through finally."

Procedural steps and outcome: Ayles made the motion to accept the mill rate change to 28.40. A member seconded. Ayles called the question and asked, "All in favor?" One or more members replied "Aye." Ayles then asked whether anyone was opposed or wished to abstain; none responded in either category. The board therefore adopted the fiscal year 2026-27 mill rate of 28.40 by unanimous voice vote, with no recorded opposition and no abstentions. Individual member votes were not separately polled in a roll call; the transcript indicates a single collective voice vote.

Implications and what is next: With the mill rate adopted, Guilford's fiscal year 2026-27 property tax bills will be calculated against the 28.40 figure, a 2.73 percent rise from the prior year. No further Board of Finance vote on the fiscal year 2026-27 budget was scheduled or discussed at this meeting; the adoption of the mill rate functioned as the closing action of this year's budget cycle.

Attendance, Quorum and Adjournment

Background and stakes: Because this was a special meeting with a single binding vote, establishing quorum mattered procedurally even though the outcome was not contested.

Substantive content and deliberation: Before the meeting opened, members discussed attendance informally. One member said, "I don't think I ever heard from Amy, but I think I do expect Jeff," to which another replied, "Jeff's aware," without confirming Jeffrey Beatty had joined the call. The first member added, "I don't think I ever heard from Amy. Hopefully she got the 122 emails that went back and forth for this meeting," referring to Amy Earls. A member then noted, "We have a quorum, so," confirming enough members were present to proceed. The transcript records voices and direct address consistent with four members participating: Ayles, Elias Kabeche, Robert Hartmann and Meghan Scanlon. Member Todd Fanciullo was not mentioned at any point.

A staff member, heard taking notes, confirmed to the board, "Taking notes for Brendan, so we're all set," when asked if anyone besides board members was on the call.

Outcome: The meeting proceeded with a confirmed quorum. Immediately after the mill rate vote, a member moved to adjourn, a second member seconded, and the board adjourned by unanimous voice vote, closing out the session within minutes of its start.

Implications: No further business was pending; this was the board's final recorded action for the fiscal year 2026-27 budget cycle as reflected in this meeting.

WHO WAS THERE

Michael Ayles, Chair, presided over the meeting, made the motion to adopt the mill rate, and called the vote. Elias Kabeche, member, participated in pre-meeting discussion about the mill rate figure and tax office coordination. Robert Hartmann, member, referred to in the transcript alternately as "Bob" and "Rob," noted a nonfunctioning camera during the call. Meghan Scanlon, member, confirmed audio connectivity before the meeting began. Amy Earls, member, attendance unconfirmed; other members stated they had not heard from her ahead of the meeting. Jeffrey Beatty, member, attendance unconfirmed; described by another member as "aware" of the meeting. Todd Fanciullo, member, not referenced in the transcript; attendance unknown. A staff member referred to in the transcript as "Mary Jane" early in the recording and as "Marjorie" at its close took notes on behalf of a person identified only as "Brendan." No surname was given for either person in the transcript, agenda, or roster.

ORGANIZATIONS AND DOCUMENTS REFERENCED

Guilford Tax Collector's Office — referenced informally by Chair Ayles as a department that would act on the adopted mill rate immediately after the meeting. Guilford Tax Assessor's Office — referenced alongside the Tax Collector's Office in the same context. Fiscal year 2026-27 municipal budget — the subject of the meeting's sole agenda item; the mill rate vote finalized the tax rate associated with this budget, though the budget's substantive terms were not debated during this session.