Stratford Mayor Proposes $278M Budget For 2026-27

STRATFORD, CT — Stratford Mayor David Chess is proposing a $278 million operating budget for fiscal year 2027 that represents an increase of 4.51 percent, around $12 million, over last year’s approved budget.

The proposed budget carries a mill rate of 28.27 mills — a decrease of 11.93 mills or 29.67 percent – compared to 40.2 mills in fiscal year 2026. The mill rate decrease follows the town’s revaluation that was completed last October in which property values significantly increased.

Chess said his budget focuses on three priorities: “1 - Growing our economy so we can ease the tax burden on property owners; 2 - Investing in our children’s education, and 3 - Rebuilding the sense of community that makes Stratford home.”

In his letter to the Town Council presenting his proposed budget, Chess said he “directed every department to be conservative in their requests, and this budget reflects that discipline while making important investments in our future and working to build a solid financial foundation.”

Chess noted in the letter that the town’s sources of revenue other than property taxes, including state aid, grants, departmental fees, etc., is projected to be $58 million – a decrease of around $837,200, or 1.44 percent, from the previous year.

The 2025 Grand List was “significantly impacted by the Revaluation that was completed this past October,” according to Chess.

Following last year’s revaluation, Chess said Stratford’s Net Grand List — the total taxable assessed value of property in town — stands at $8,044,562,549 as of October 1, 2025, an increase of 50 percent from the prior 2024.

“It is important to note that residential values increased, on average, by almost 80%, since Stratford’s last revaluation in 2019, while commercial property values increased by only 22%,” Chess wrote. “This shifts more of the tax burden to our residential property owners, which is why my administration is laser-focused on business development and growing our commercial Grand List. Whether residents see their property values increase or not, the bottom line is that we need to expand our commercial tax base to reduce homeowners’ tax burden. This is why economic development is not just an economic issue, but also a vital quality-of-life priority for my administration.”

Given the shift in the tax burden to residential property owners, Chess said he is “proposing a fiscally responsible budget to the Town Council while making important investments in our future and working to build a solid financial foundation.”

“Together with our department heads, we are working to find savings and grow revenue wherever we can, being mindful that we need to balance residents’ needs and services without jeopardizing anyone’s ability to continue to afford to live in our great town,” Chess wrote. “Before we can ask for new investments, we must show we are managing our budget wisely. We are.

“And we are doing so transparently, sharing everything we’re working on and using as many communication platforms as possible to reach residents. We hired skilled professionals with real-world experience in finance, human resources, economic development, communications, government operations, and community engagement. We cut redundant positions, created new roles based on what residents said they actually need, and are redesigning how our team collaborates. The result: a leaner, more capable Town Hall.”

The budget includes, according to Chess:

• A decrease in the sewer tax for residential property owners from $569 to $525 that shifts a larger share to commercial owners,
• Expanded tax relief programs for veterans, seniors, and residents with disabilities,
• Have funded increased staffing, allowing us to reduce overtime in multiple departments,
• Dedicating two full-time staff to grant writing, which further reduces the tax burden on residents. Our talented grants staff have secured millions of dollars to support infrastructure, flood resilience, brownfields remediation, economic development and artistic initiatives, environmental and recreational programs, and much more, and
• Investments in new technology to help our teams work more efficiently. This includes developing performance metrics and tracking data to enable us to make better-informed decisions and investments.
• A new approach to our EMS team that will, this year for the first time, enable them to become self-funded.

“Our long-term plan must reduce Stratford’s reliance on bonding and borrowing money for our capital improvements,” Chess wrote. “To that end, we have developed a capital investment fund and have budgeted $2 Million for it.

“To responsibly meet the needs of our WPCA sewage facility, which requires significant upgrades, we have developed a funding strategy that reduces sewer costs for residents while increasing our WPCA fund balance by over $2.5 Million.

“This is how we build an economically sound foundation for the future of Stratford.

“This is what modern, efficient, fiscally responsible government looks like.”

Read Chess’s full budget proposal and presentation here.