Southington Council OK's Budgets; Rejects Restoration Of Firefighter, Animal Control Positions

SOUTHINGTON, CT — The Southington Town Council approved most components of the town’s proposed 2026-27 budget last week.

It did so after rejecting efforts to restore funding for three firefighters and a second full-time animal control officer.

The council adopted town spending during a regular meeting on May 11 that followed a lengthy public hearing earlier in the evening focusing on education, public safety, and animal control funding.

In all, the council approved a $193.5 million total budget for the 2026–2027 fiscal year, a 3.77% overall spending increase.

Due to the town's recent property revaluation, which dramatically increased residential property values, specific mill rates and tax bill impacts are currently being finalized by the Southington Board of Finance.

How the new budget will impact individual taxpayers depends on their new valuations.

Overall, the approved a $193,510,798 spending plan represents a $5 million increase over the current fiscal year.

It is comprised of:

• Board of Education: $125,708,344 (a 3.78% increase)

• Town Government: $55,085,403 (a 6.35% increase)

• Debt Service: $12,717,051 (a 4.06% decrease)

The pathway to the final vote featured myriad debates, with items cut, items restored, and several other votes associated with budget deliberations.

Added firefighters cut

Council Vice Chair Jennifer Clock proposed restoring $195,000 to fund three additional firefighters with a six-month hiring delay beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Councilor Joshua Serafino seconded the motion.

The proposal failed in a 4-5 vote.

Councilors Tony Morrison, Jim Morelli, David Zoni, Kristen Guida, and Christopher Palmieri voted against the restoration. Clock, Serafino, Michael Del Santo, and Chair Paul Chaplinsky supported it.

Opponents cited tax pressures and previous investments in the fire department.

Morrison said the town had spent millions in recent years on staffing, equipment and station upgrades and argued officials should “pause” additional spending during a difficult fiscal period.

He noted the department’s public protection classification recently improved to Class 3, placing Southington among the top-rated departments in Connecticut.

Morelli said the council had consistently supported the department through equipment purchases and staffing additions and suggested the town pursue another SAFER grant application.

Supporters of the restoration pointed to previous council support for the staffing increase and concerns about emergency response levels.

Del Santo said the council previously commissioned a staffing study that recommended adding firefighters and said he remained concerned about staffing levels.

“We know that people’s lives could be in danger if they are not staffed properly,” Del Santo said.

Chaplinsky noted the council had unanimously supported a SAFER grant application last year to fund the positions and suggested reducing the local share to match what the town would have paid under the grant structure, but no amendment was offered.

Assistant Animal Control Officer Cut

The council also rejected a proposal to restore $126,800 for an assistant animal control officer position.

The motion failed 4-5 along the same voting lines as the firefighter proposal.

Council members opposing the restoration said Southington Police Chief John Daly told them the department could absorb the workload internally while prioritizing patrol staffing.

“I also had a conversation with the chief of police, who assured me that there was a way he’d be able to cover this in a more efficient way,” Zoni said.

Palmieri said Daly told him the department needed “boots on the ground” more urgently than another animal control officer.

Serafino countered that the council had already approved additional police officers and argued eliminating the animal control position would divert officers away from patrol duties.

The council later approved the full animal control budget unanimously.

General government budget

Council members approved the broader general government budget 8-0-1 after negotiations over several reductions and restorations.

Chaplinsky abstained from the final vote.

The adopted town government budget totaled $54.77 million and included reductions to self-insurance costs, two proposed part-time library positions, a fire department administrative position, fire department overtime, an economic development secretary position, and a delayed hiring timeline for a youth services counselor position.

Palmieri, Guida, and Zoni proposed additional targeted cuts during deliberations, including reductions to medical services, probate subsidies, and legal fees.

Southington Town Manager Alex Ricciardone opposed some of the proposals but agreed to limited reductions in certain areas.

Board of Education Budget

The council approved the Board of Education budget in a 5-4 vote after extensive debate over how to use $833,934 in new state supplemental education aid.

Clock’s motion applied the full state allocation to offset reductions in the education budget while also incorporating updated self-insurance estimates.

Palmieri proposed returning $250,000 of the state funding to the school budget while using the remainder for tax relief, but the council did not adopt the change.

Supporters of the adopted plan argued the school system has received significant annual increases in recent years despite fiscal challenges facing residents.

“We all value our educators and our schools,” Clock said. “The village has to be able to afford to pay for everything.”

The education budget motion ultimately passed 5-4, with Palmieri, Zoni, Guida, and Morelli opposed.

Capital budget

The council also approved a revised five-year capital improvement plan in an 8-1 vote.

The plan reallocates savings from the Southington High School safety project to fund several cash capital projects, including a bridge replacement, office renovations, information technology upgrades, fire department breathing apparatus equipment, and East Street reconstruction.

Town officials said value engineering reduced the projected cost of the high school parking lot and tennis court project from about $793,000 to roughly $259,500 in contingency funding needs, freeing more than $533,000 for other projects.

Morelli unsuccessfully pushed to restore an additional $780,000 in capital items previously removed by the Southington Board of Finance, including highway equipment, paving and HVAC projects.

The council unanimously approved the sewer fund and debt service budgets before taking a short recess and continuing with the remainder of the meeting.

Impassioned Hearing Testimony

Before the council's vote, residents urged members during the continued public hearing to restore proposed cuts to the board of education budget and preserve funding for two full-time animal control officers.

They argued the reductions would harm public safety, student services, and quality of life in town.

The hearing, continued from April 27, focused on the proposed fiscal year 2026-27 town/school budget..

Much of the public comment centered on a proposed $1.6 million reduction to the school budget and the possible elimination of one of the town’s two animal control officer positions, which ultimately was approved.

Linda Holian, a volunteer with Southington Animal Rescue for 20 years, told council members that animal control officers perform critical public safety functions beyond handling stray animals.

“Animal control officers are public safety officers,” Holian said, citing investigations into cruelty cases, dangerous animal calls and emergency responses.

She described incidents involving cruelty investigations and after-hours rescues, arguing that maintaining two officers allows for extended daily coverage and improves adoption opportunities during evenings and weekends.

Several speakers echoed concerns about reducing animal control staffing.

Ryan St. Pierre of Woodruff Street said animal cruelty cases in Connecticut have risen while overall crime has declined, arguing the town should not reduce specialized positions during that trend.

Kim Reiman of Blatchley Avenue called the proposal “awful” and said even two officers are not enough to address growing concerns involving abandoned pets and wildlife.

Ruth Stanley-Cyr, director of the nonprofit Wolf Central, said trained animal control officers are essential for wildlife-related incidents and public education.

She recounted a past encounter in which a raccoon was shot by police after she called for assistance, later learning the animal did not have rabies.

“Situations involving wildlife can often be misunderstood, and the outcome for both animals and residents depends heavily on specialized training and experience,” Stanley-Cyr said.

Supporters of the school budget argued the proposed reductions would disproportionately affect intervention services, literacy programs, and special education staffing.

Jan Galati, a longtime resident and former teacher, urged council members to restore the education funding and described how intervention programs helped her first-grade granddaughter overcome reading difficulties.

“I’m very sad if any of the students coming up at Southington will be denied that because of decisions that may be made tonight,” Galati said.

Former special education student Heidi Henaire told council members the district’s support services helped her earn a master’s degree in social work and warned that reducing special education staff could expose the district to costly legal disputes and out-of-district placements.

“You cannot cut special education staff and still meet your legal obligation to students with disabilities,” Henaire said.

Patty Pettit, who oversees the district’s multilingual learning department and spoke as a parent, said literacy intervention staff play a key role in helping struggling students succeed academically.

“These are the teachers that are getting those kids to be able to survive in those core classes,” Pettit said.

Zaya Oshana, chairman of the Southington Board of Education, also urged the council to restore the funding, saying the discussion was about educating children rather than protecting a department budget.

“We need to decide as leaders in this community how we value education,” Oshana said.

Not all speakers supported restoring the proposed cuts.

Susan Zabohonski of Werking Street argued the town must consider the tax burden facing residents, particularly seniors and single-income households.

She noted the education budget has increased significantly over the past several years and said residents are struggling with rising assessments and taxes.

“We have to think as a whole for every member of this town who has to pay taxes,” Zabohonski said.

Sean Grindle of Rethal Street said the repeated turnout at budget hearings reflected broader concerns about maintaining town services.

“Budgets are a moral document,” Grindle said. “They reveal what we value.”

The council later closed the public hearing before taking action that evening.

For the minutes of the May 11 Southington Town Council meeting, click on this link.