Stamford Board Of Representatives Budget Vote Rundown

STAMFORD, CT — The Board of Representatives last week voted on the fiscal year 2022-2023 city budget after a marathon meeting that lasted nearly six hours.

An operating budget of $626 million, including general fund support to the Board of Education, was approved by a vote of 30-1.

The city's capital budget weighs-in at $55.5 million, and the Board of Education's budget was approved at $301.8 million.

Overall the Board of Reps. cut about $820,000 from Mayor Caroline Simmons' proposed spending plan.

Of note, the board deleted $2 million from the Board of Ed. budget after a motion was put forward by Rep. Virgil de la Cruz (D-2) late in the meeting. The motion to cut passed by a vote of 19 in favor, 13 opposed with two abstentions.

"I'm a great supporter of our school system and education in general, but I'm also a believer in budgeting discipline," he said while explaining the rationale for his motion.

De la Cruz said the board of education is projected to get a surplus of about $3.5 million in the current fiscal year. He said his motion to cut $2 million "won't have really any effect on the operations of the district."

Rep. Megan Cottrell (D-4, chair of the Board of Reps. Education Committee, argued against the cut, and recounted the struggles students have faced during the pandemic the last two years.

"We also have issues with the buildings needing repair. There's so much the Board of Education needs to take care of, that I think they need this money and I do not support this cut," she said.

Rep. Ramya Shaw (D-12) echoed Cottrell and said the money was needed. She said at BOE meetings, parents primarily say the district doesn't have enough staff and resources as it is.

Rep. Nina Sherwood (D-8), said positions are funded year after year but they never get filled.

"What does get filled on a continual basis is additional administrators, more assistant principals, more assistant superintendents. We have a very, very, very high cost of administration, and unfortunately somehow the department doesn't seem to find a way to fill the positions that actually are hands on the ground with the kids," she said. "I think cutting $2 million in this budget does not hurt the Board of Education, it does not hurt the children. What it does is give some tax relief to residents of the city."

Other notable actions by the board:

• De la Cruz made a motion to restore $65,000 that was cut by the Board of Finance from the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, which passed by a vote of 28 in favor, seven opposed and four abstentions.
• Cottrell made a motion to restore $132,540 that was cut from the Mayor's Office for a special assistant to the mayor on economic development. The motion was approved 27 in favor, 11 opposed, one abstention.
• A motion to restore $175,000 cut from the Mill River Collaborative failed by a vote of 16-20 with three abstentions.
• Shaw motioned to restore $266,419 to the Stamford Police Department failed 17-18 with three abstentions.
• Rep. Jeffrey Stella (D-9) motioned to cut $50,000 from the Stamford Downtown Special Services District. The motion passed 18-17 with three abstentions.
• Sherwood made a motion to cut $25,000 from the Stamford Partnership, which passed 17-16 with four abstentions.

You can watch last week's full budget meeting here.