Camillo Unveils $505.1 Million Budget With Focus On Safety

GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo and school officials presented their proposed spending plans for 2024-2025 to the Board of Estimate and Taxation Budget Committee on Tuesday night, officially kicking off this year's budget process.

Camillo presented a town budget that weighed in at $505.1 million, a $22.9 million or 4.76 percent increase over the current year's spending plan. The BET's nonbinding guidelines asked for town operating costs to be capped at a 3 percent increase, and school operating costs capped at 4.3 percent.

Camillo noted that the proposed budget would have a mill rate increase from the current figure of 11.76 to 11.88.

The mill rate is used to calculate property taxes. Therefore, as an example, a taxpayer with a $1 million assessed home value would have a $488 increase in property taxes, Camillo said.

Camillo's proposed capital budget sits at $98.1 million, of which $63.5 million is from the Greenwich Board of Education. The BET had asked for no more than $140 million on capital in its guidelines.

Throughout his presentation and especially when highlighting proposed capital projects, Camillo stressed a theme of improving infrastructure and addressing pedestrian and public safety, top priorities for residents in the 2023 resident satisfaction survey.

Shore Road Sidewalk Project

Camillo noted that $250,000 is being proposed for feasibility and design work of a new sidewalk between Sound Beach Avenue and Greenwich Point.

In 2023, a new sidewalk along the east side of Shore Road, from Tomac Avenue to Sound Beach Avenue, was constructed.

Residents have long complained about the dangers on Shore Road and the need for a sidewalk to protect pedestrians and bicyclists.

CMAQ Route 1 Signal Timing

Similar to the adaptive signal control technology installed at the traffic light on Arch Street near I-95 Exit 3 in 2022, Camillo is proposing $3.7 million to add the equipment on the Post Road from the Stamford border to the Port Chester, N.Y., border in Byram.

Special cameras collect and analyze traffic data on directional traffic flow, vehicle delay and lane queue length. It can also determine the kind of vehicle traveling through the intersection, and if a pedestrian or bicyclist is moving through.

Software then receives the current traffic information from the cameras and automatically optimizes the traffic signal timing.

Camillo explained that the town "will be made whole" and get reimbursed through grant money, but the appropriation must be included in the budget.

Traffic Safety Action Plan

Camillo has proposed $500,000 to create a safety action plan to identify locations in town that residents want to be improved for pedestrian and traffic safety.

"We really want people out there exercising, we want them walking around, but we want them doing it safely," Camillo said.

Similarly, the town will be reimbursed for 80 percent of the cost through the federal Safe Street For All grant program.

Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Improvement

From fiscal year 2025 through fiscal year 2030, $100,000 is being proposed annually to install speed limit display signs and rectangular rapid flashing beacon crosswalk signs at carious high-volume crosswalks around town.

Old Greenwich School Renovation

Camillo reiterated that he is not responsible for crafting a budget for the Greenwich Board of Education, but he highlighted a crucial BOE project that's primed to finally move forward this year after the town said it couldn't afford it in 2023.

Old Greenwich School was built in 1902, and there have been additions to the building in 1950, 1957, and 1995, with some renovations in 1993.

The building has suffered from poor ventilation, sewage problems, flooding issues, a lack of a secure entryway and fire protection, and notably ADA noncompliance over the years.

The BOE submitted a $43 million request for renovations.

"We couldn't afford it last year with Central [Middle School], but now is the time to get it done. We don't want any more delays with this," Camillo said.

Camillo's budget also includes the addition of two new positions: someone who can work on code enforcement and noise-related issues, and someone to oversee sustainability and energy management matters.

School Budget

Greenwich Board of Education Chair Karen Kowalski, Superintendent of Greenwich Public Schools Dr. Toni Jones, and GPS Chief Operating Officer Blaize Levitan presented a $192.6 million operating budget, with a $63.5 million capital budget.

The proposed spending plan represents a 5.64 percent increase from the current year's budget of $182.3 million.

Levitan said budget pressures come from special education services, the cost of day substitutes, the churn on retirement savings, the cost of utilities and the per pupil allocation at Greenwich High School.

Of note on the capital side, along with the OGS renovations, proposed projects include $3.2 million for renovation work at Julian Curtiss School; $631,000 for cell service improvement at GHS in fiscal year 2025; $150,000 for feasibility and educational specification work on renovations at Riverside School; and $3.8 million to make ADA enhancements at the entrance of Western Middle School, and a placeholder for funds to address ADA issues district-wide.

Following the budget presentations, a public hearing lasted over an hour.

Many residents urged the BET Budget Committee to fund the proposed school capital projects, especially OGS. Others asked the committee to address pedestrian and public safety, especially through the Shore Road project, and some asked for funding for more pickleball courts in town.

In the coming weeks, the BET Budget Committee will do its departmental reviews as part of its consideration of the budget.

The first review will be on Jan. 30 with the Office of the First Selectman. The budget committee will continue its reviews throughout February, culminating in a "decision day" on Feb. 27.

The Representative Town Meeting will then consider the budget in May. The RTM can only make budget cuts, not additions.

Budget documents for 2024-2025 can be viewed here.