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Woodbury selectmen approve call for annual budget meeting; set May 5 referendum after fiscal update
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Summary
At a brief April 2 special meeting, the Woodbury Board of Selectmen approved the Call of the 2026 Annual Budget Meeting and set the budget referendum for May 5, 2026, after Chief Fiscal Officer Nyree Pieck described higher actuarial costs and a projected 25.23 mill rate (a 6.8% increase).
The Woodbury Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 on April 2 to approve the Call of the 2026 Annual Budget Meeting and to set the budget referendum for Tuesday, May 5, 2026, from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Chief Fiscal Officer Nyree Pieck summarized changes to the town's proposed budget, saying collections rates were updated to reflect actual receipts, an actuarial report showed increased contributions, and there is an account from the opioid settlement that "may be able to be used for AED units." Pieck projected an anticipated mill rate of 25.23 for 2026'27, a 6.8% increase overall.
The Call approved by the board does not by itself adopt the budget; it sets the agenda and materials for the Annual Budget Meeting, which the Notice warns will be held Monday, April 20, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the Senior Community Center. The board's motion to approve the Call was entered by First Selectman Paul Zulpa and seconded by Selectman Karen Reddington-Hughes; the vote was recorded as 3-0 in favor.
Under the budget materials attached to the Notice and Warning, the Town of Woodbury's total 2026'27 budget is shown as $44,554,893. Education expenditures are listed at $29,414,220 and the amount to be raised by current property tax is estimated at $36,789,086. Revenue categories in the materials include government grants (estimated $3,646,842) and other revenues; detailed line items are provided in the Notice and Warning posted with the Call.
The board also reviewed standard boilerplate agenda items and noted planned easement matters, including an Access Easement and Right of Way Agreement related to 64 Westwood Road (Three Rivers Park) and a proposed 16-square-foot slope easement for temporary sedimentation control for work on the Hesseky Brook Bridge. No final action on those easements was recorded at the April 2 meeting.
The next procedural steps are the Regular Town Meeting on April 20 and the referendum vote by machine on May 5; voters who need accommodations were directed to contact town offices as noted in the Notice and Warning.