Norwalk committee reviews proposed 7% increase to Community Services budget; city to absorb Community Resource Hub

NORWALK, Conn. — At its January 2025 Community Services Committee meeting, Chief Lamond Daniels presented a proposed FY2026 operating budget that would raise the Community Services Department’s operating request from roughly $9.6 million to about $10.2 million — an increase of nearly $700,000, or about 7% — and seek to fold the privately funded Community Resource Hub into the city’s operating budget.

The change would shift the hub from grant support into a permanent city budget line that the department estimates will cost $226,680 to fund three full-time navigators and operating needs. "This represents 3 navigators and all of the things that it takes to have the Community Resource Hub function," Anna Vivian Estrella, director of human services, said during the presentation.

Why it matters: Department leaders told the committee the Hub — established during the COVID response and recognized with a municipal award — served more than 1,000 households last year and provides centralized intake, case navigation and referrals to food, housing and other services. Chief Lamond Daniels said the department serves Norwalk’s roughly 92,000 residents and described the budget as an effort to balance fiscal restraint with service needs. "We take the responsibility of managing taxpayer dollars seriously," Daniels said.

What the budget would fund: The packet presented department-level drivers and priorities: - Human services: a roughly 21%…