Board of Aldermen receives $457.9M budget proposal; water rates rise and public hearing set for April 13

The Board of Aldermen on Wednesday received the mayor's proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget totaling $457.9 million and set a public hearing for Monday, April 13 at 6:00 p.m.

Sarah Geary, manager of budget development and oversight, presented the proposal and said the administration —believes that this budget responsibly funds all of the city's obligations and maintains high-quality services without overburdening our taxpayers. — Geary said departments had requested $474.7 million, producing an initial gap of about $28.1 million; the budget development committee cut $16.9 million from requests, yielding an overall increase of $11.3 million (about 2.52%) versus the current year.

Key elements of the proposal include keeping the city's contribution to education at roughly $158.3 million in the mayor's plan (the education department had requested an $11.8 million increase), a $2.0 million increase to the general fund contribution for health insurance (to $67.0 million), and a $4.7 million contingency account intended to cover emergencies and possible labor-related cost increases while multiple union contracts remain outstanding.

Public safety spending is proposed to rise by about $3.1 million overall, with the police accounting for roughly $2.1 million of that increase. Geary said a substantial portion of the police increase funds a new, approved contract with Axon for upgraded body-worn cameras, fleet cameras, interview-room cameras and related technology. The fire department budget increases by about $958,000 and includes funding for four new firefighter positions to provide a dedicated incident safety officer on each shift.

On the revenue side, Geary said the city remains heavily dependent on property taxes and state aid, which together account for roughly 93% of the general fund revenue. The proposal would lower the real estate and personal property mill rate by 1.12 mills to 43.86 (reflecting the final year of a 2022 revaluation phase-in). The motor vehicle mill rate is proposed at 32.46, which Geary said is the cap permitted by state law.

The proposal also includes a recommended increase in water user rates from $2.65 per CCF to $3.50 per CCF, and higher quarterly service charges: 5/8-inch meters would see a $12-to-$24 per quarter increase, while meters larger than 5/8 (commercial meters) would have service charges rise from $12 to $120 per quarter. Geary said the increases are intended to support water operations and investment in infrastructure renewal.

Geary told the board that the October 1, 2025 net grand list was $6.8 billion and that a sale in early March changed Waterbury Hospital's status from taxable to tax-exempt. Because the assessor signed the grand list before the sale, Geary said the administration removed the hospital's value from FY27 revenue calculations; she said a pilot payment from the state may include the property in FY28.

The proposed capital budget totals $56.2 million for FY27 with a five-year capital plan through 2031; the mayor's proposal requests $8.4 million in bond authorizations for general government projects including replacement of mobile and portable radios and a summer 2027 milling and paving program. Geary also reported the city committed $75.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds by the December 2024 deadline and is finishing remaining projects before the spending deadline in December 2026.

Alderman Mosley moved and Alderman Weaver seconded a motion to set the board's first public hearing on the budget for April 13 at 6:00 p.m. in the chambers. The motion carried on a voice vote.

Next steps outlined by the administration include scheduling department-head meetings for aldermen to question requests, monitoring the state legislative session through May 6 for potential changes to state aid formulas, and completing required charter steps for adoption of the budget by June 5.