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New Canaan Parks & Recreation outlines FY27 budget, recommends modest program fee stability
Summary
Parks & Recreation director John Howe presented FY27 operating and capital requests, recommending limited fee changes, in-house fertilization to curb costs, and capital priorities including irrigation, field maintenance equipment and technology upgrades at Lapham and Waveny House.
John Howe, director of Parks & Recreation, told the Board of Selectmen on Feb. 14 that the department’s FY27 operating budget reflects staff reorganizations and modest cost pressures but that staff do not recommend sweeping program fee increases.
Howe said recent staffing shifts include Jeff Manila joining parks maintenance from the highway department and Marcy Rand overseeing the Lapham Community Center. He told the board that salary and overtime costs are up roughly 3.2% overall and that pricing for grass seed and fertilizer has increased; the department is proposing a 7% budget allowance for turf products by bringing small-area fertilization in-house “We think we can do a better job in house, and we can save some money,” Howe said.
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