Norwalk staff outline FY2026 budget pressures; departments request targeted staffing and cuts

Norwalk department heads presented their FY2026 budget proposals during a dedicated work session, giving council a line-by-line view of staffing requests, recommended reductions and assumptions tied to state-level property tax changes.

Economic Development director Holly (last name in record: Holly) said her department reduced its FY2026 budget by about 2% but requested that an existing part-time technician be converted to a full-time position to retain institutional knowledge and capacity. Holly told council her department helped generate approximately $20 million in new commercial and industrial valuation in the last year, producing an estimated $744,000 per year in new property taxes, and that since 2017 commercial values increased substantially. To balance tighter revenues, Holly said staff recommended cuts including reducing meetings/conferences from $10,000 to $6,000, eliminating an off-site building/maintenance expense, and trimming payment-for-service contracts: WCDC funding from $25,000 to $20,000, the Chamber from $21,000 to $19,000, and fourth-of-July activities from $15,000 to $13,000.

Fire Chief Porter presented the Fire/EMS budget and reiterated ongoing staffing…