Selectmen Recommend $153.61M Budget For New Canaan In 2020-21

From the Town of New Canaan: NEW CANAAN, CT — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, January 28, approved a Total Expenditure Budget of $153.61 million for fiscal year 2020-21, representing an increase of 1.10 percent over the current fiscal year’s Total Expenditure Budget (revised) of $151.94 million.

The Selectmen’s budget recommendation now goes to the Board of Finance for review in February (where it may be adjusted) and a Board of Finance budget recommendation then will go to the Town Council for review, where it may be accepted, reduced or rejected by April 2nd.

The Total Expenditure Budget includes Board of Education operating and healthcare expenses of $92.77 (up 1.47 percent), Town operating and health care expenses of $38.42 million (up 0.25 percent), debt service of $16.98 million (up 0.84 percent), and tax-funded capital projects of $1.72 million (down 0.64 percent).

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said “The Board of Selectmen’s 2021 Budget includes an extremely lean Town operations budget that conforms to Board of Finance Budget Guidance that Town operations (excluding healthcare expense) should decline 2 percent from the current fiscal year’s revised budget amount. The reduction in Town operations expense of minus 2 percent is the first negative Town Department’s operations budget in more than a decade and recognizes that reductions for some Town services and personnel expense are necessary to achieve a lower level of annual taxation of residents and a lower mill rate.”

Moynihan further stated: “The proposed Board of Education’s operations budget (excluding healthcare expense) increases by 4.23 percent over the current fiscal year budget. However, the BOE’s total operating budget benefited from a $2 million reduction in health benefits reserves due to favorable claims experience and related plan savings.”

The First Selectman also noted that the Town Assessor has reported that the town’s 2019 Grand List increased by 0.74 percent to $7.76 billion from the 2018 Grand List of $7.70 billion.

The full Recommended Operating and Capital Budgets for FY 2020-21 can be found at the Finance Department homepage at www.newcanaan.info/Departments/Finance.