Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo Unveils Proposed $480.9M Town Budget

GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo and school officials presented their proposed spending plans for 2023-2024 to the Board of Estimate and Taxation Budget Committee on Tuesday night, effectively kicking-off this year's budget process in earnest.

Camillo's proposed town budget weighs-in at $480.9 million, a $15.9 million or 3.42 percent increase over the current year's spending plan. The BET's nonbinding guidelines asked for a budget of $478.6 million.

The proposed budget would come with a mill rate of 11.614, which falls under the BET's guidelines of a 2.99 percent increase.

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 $334 increase in property taxes, Camillo said.

Camillo's proposed capital budget sits at $124.1 million, of which $94.9 million is from the Greenwich Board of Education. The BET had asked for no more than $100 million to be spent on capital in its guidelines.

Notable Town Capital Projects

Camillo said his town capital plan includes annual investments into town infrastructure, such as $3.75 million for paving, $2 million for highway maintenance, and $750,000 for stormwater drainage. The budget continues funding ($1.89 million) for a new Eastern Greenwich Civic Center, which is under construction, and money ($3.5 million) for soil remediation at Greenwich High School.

Roger Sherman Baldwin Park

Camillo has visions of enhancing Roger Sherman Baldwin Park and giving residents views of the water that haven't been seen in 70 years. Parks and Recreation operations have been at the park for decades, and trucks are routinely parked on the waterfront property, which Camillo said is probably one of the most expensive pieces of real estate on the east coast.

There is $400,000 earmarked in the budget for 30 percent of design work to improve the park.

A little over $10 million is expected from 2025-2027 to relocate Parks and Rec., and make park improvements, which Camilo said is a price tag that's expected to come down significantly through public/private partnerships and naming rights deals.

A major holdup for the project is finding a new location for Parks and Rec. Camillo said the Holly Hill Resource Recovery Facility is an option, so $450,000 is included in the budget for design work there, with $12.12 million anticipated from 2025 to 2027.

Dorothy Hamill Rink Facility

Camillo said there is $950,000 slated in the budget for design and construction plans on a new rink, with $21 milion anticipated for construction in fiscal year 2025. He noted that Parks and Rec., issued an RFP seeking new ice skating and rink operations management.

Should an entity take over operations, they may have plans to renovate the existing rink themselves, in which case the price tag would decrease, Camillo said.

Should the town ultimately choose to build a new rink, the cost would still come down through public/private partnerships, Camillo said.

"We are actively looking at other sites for a second permanent rink that would really help alleviate the stress on our services. Hockey time is very valuable and there's a huge demand," he said.

Western Middle School Field Remediation

Camillo stressed the importance of remediating the WMS fields, which have been closed for six years due to contaminated soil. A Remedial Action Plan was approved last April, and a public hearing on the project was held earlier this month.

A bid for remediation is expected to go out by May 2023, and a contract is anticipated to be secured by June 2023, at which point remediation can begin. Camillo said there's $10 million included in the proposed budget to make sure the project finally gets done.

"Two whole classes went through their three years there having to be bussed around the town, never being able to play on their home field," Camillo said. "It's critical we get those kids back onto the field and help the rest of the town by adding more playing services."

Greenwich Public Schools

Superintendent of Greenwich Public Schools Dr. Toni Jones, Board of Education Vice Chair Christina Downey and the school district's Chief Operating Officer Blaize Levitan presented their proposed $182.1 million operating budget, which was approved by the BOE last month, and their $121.7 million capital spending plan, which was approved last October.

The operating budget is a a 2.9 percent, or $5.2 million increase over this year's budget. The two primary increases to the proposed budget are contractual salaries and utilities, most notably electric service.

The proposed budget calls for the reduction of eight full-time equivalent positions and 5.1 non-certified positions. As part of its guidelines, the BET asked for a reduction in headcount.

Capital Budget

The school district's capital budget figures to get the most scrutiny over the next couple months.

Levitan explained that 90 percent of the proposed spending plan is on two projects: Central Middle School Replacement, and major renovations to bring Old Greenwich School up to ADA compliance.

In his presentation, Camillo explained there were several Board of Education capital adjustments, and that Old Greenwich School would be pushed to fiscal year 2025.

"We support all of the projects, but we've pushed them out a year. We only do one project at a time. Right now it's Central; Old Greenwich School would be next. These are all worthwhile projects that need to be done," Camillo said.

While the BOE had submitted a request of $85.5 million for CMS for fiscal year 2024, $75.2 million is reflected in the budget. BET guidelines asked for $67.5 million.

"We want to give a little bit of a cushion, but we also want to make sure we keep our eye on the ball there and get a brand new state-of-the-art school that's needed," Camillo said.

More information on the cost of CMS is expected to be found out over the next few weeks, Levitan said.

Camillo said $24.5 million would be slated for OGS in fiscal year 2025.

Elsewhere for fiscal year 2024, $850,000 is included to create a new ADA compliant and secure front entrance and a new cafeteria design at Julian Curtiss School.

At Riverside School, $150,000 is proposed to get the process started on a major renovation there.

"We worked really hard. The board basically is trying to have a collaborative approach and really work with the town," Levitan said in coming up with the capital budget. "This will be an ongoing conversation. We really right now are focusing on the fact that we have significantly aging infrastructure... We have a lot of noncompliance in buildings that aren't accessible, and it's time to really work together to fix those."

Following the budget presentations, a public hearing was held to give residents a chance to speak on the spending plans. The majority of comments urged the BET to keep the Board of Education's budget as is, and get the school renovation projects done without delay.

The BET Budget Committee will begin its review into the proposed budgets next week.

View the town's proposed capital budget and operating budget.

Camillo's slideshow presentation from Tuesday night can be found on the town website, along with the Board of Education's presentation. Tuesday's presentations and public hearing are expected to be posted to the Greenwich Community TV YouTube Page.