Norwalk BET reviews revised city and school budgets; mayor backs 4.9% school increase

Chair Terry Abrams convened the Board of Estimate and Taxation on April 15 for a special session to review revised operating-budget proposals from Norwalk City staff and the Board of Education. The mayor and city finance staff outlined reductions that lower the city-side increase and explained how last year’s one-time additions affect year-to-year comparisons.

The mayor said the city initially faced an over-10% increase driven by higher health-care costs, six collective-bargaining agreements and revaluation effects, and that staff and departments worked to reduce the city’s proposal to roughly an 8.5% increase. "We were able to get the city budget much lower down to 8.5% ... and an overall increase between the city and the board of education to 6.54%," the mayor said. She told BET members she would "support what the city council approved, which is the 4.9% increase for the Board of Education."

City finance presenter Jared walked the board through line-item adjustments: an actuarial assumption adjustment (recommended discount-rate move toward 6.75%), a plan to fund the pension ADEC at about 90%, modest restructuring and hiring pauses, and across-the-board reductions (advertising 25%, business expense 25%, seminars 50%, office supplies 10%). Jared reported the city-side trimming from the original 10.72% to 8.5% saved roughly $4.5 million and that the combined city and BOE package reduces the overall increase from about 7.4% to 6.54% (net savings ~ $2.3 million). "We're able to get that down to 8.5% which is a savings of over $4,500,000," Jared said.

Linda, presenting for the Board of Education, said major BOE cost drivers are special education growth, rising provider costs, expanding early-childhood programming (partially funded by a Smart Start grant), school meals and transportation. "We spend about $12,000,000 a year just on busing our students," Linda said, noting transportation contracts rose about 8% year over year. The BOE had requested a 6.5% increase (about $263.1 million), but a county/city reconciliation and a city-council-approved allowance let staff recommend a 4.9% appropriation that Linda said would preserve school‑based budgets while taking approximately $3.4 million in reductions from non‑school accounts and capturing roughly $1.2 million in rightsizing savings from lower enrollment.

Members pressed staff on technical points: whether last year’s $4.5 million in one-time additions should be treated as part of the base (affecting the percent-change calculation), and whether actuarial changes or ADEC underfunding might endanger the city’s AAA rating. The mayor said she was "not willing to risk our AAA bond rating," and Jared and advisors said a modest, single-year ADEC adjustment tied to revised actuarial assumptions would be defensible but that repeated underfunding could prompt concern.

The chair asked BET members to bring specific amendment proposals to the April 20 meeting rather than propose an undifferentiated percentage cut; each amendment will be considered and voted individually. City and BOE presenters were asked to circulate the materials shown tonight by noon the following day so members can prepare.

Next steps: BET members will submit specific recommended amendments and the board will vote on individual changes during the April 20 meeting. The city and BOE will return requested backup materials in advance of that session.