In the second go-around for the 2012-2013 Clinton town spending plan, the majority supported the budget. Of 2,492 votes, 1,381 voted "Yes" and 1,111 voted in opposition, a 270-vote difference.

Following the failure of the first vote on the town's budget, the Board of Finance (BOF) met May 15 to discuss the Board of Selectmen (BOS) approved reductions to the town's budget in the amount of $150,000. The BOF maintained the final BOS figure, though it arrived at different conclusions to where the cuts should be made.

The BOS had recommended those cuts to come from $13,000 from health and life, $12,000 from electricity, $12,000 from the selectmen's stipend, $13,000 from the library, $21,000 from a Town Hall staff member (from full time to part time), $29,000 from the police budget (roughly equivalent to six months' funding for a patrol officer), and $50,000 from contingency.

The BOF removed the cut to the selectmen's stipend, increased the Police Department's cut to $32,000, reduced the library's reduction to $2,000, and added a $20,000 cut for a proposed new town vehicle.