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New Milford proposes $128.35 million FY2026–27 budget; mill rate set to fall as revaluation shifts tax burden
Summary
Mayor Pete Bass presented a $128.35 million town budget for FY2026–27 that would lower the mill rate from 30.96 to 23.78 while shifting more of the tax burden onto residential property after a revaluation. Officials outlined rising personnel, healthcare and public-safety costs alongside one-time revenue gains.
Mayor Pete Bass presented the Town of New Milford's proposed fiscal year 2026–27 budget on Feb. 10, saying the total request is $128,354,894 and that the mill rate would fall from 30.96 to 23.78 following a property revaluation that shifts a larger share of taxes to residential properties. The proposal breaks down to a town-side budget of $49,581,236 and a Board of Education request of $78,773,658.
The mayor framed the package as a response to several fiscal pressures. "This past year the Town overcame fiscal challenges including the change in the motor vehicle taxes and the settlement of two lawsuits," Bass said, and he emphasized current drivers such as the revaluation, increases in healthcare and IT costs, higher first-responder operations and targeted staffing needs. Finance Director Olga Melnikov told the hearing the Finance Department had identified one-time revenues — including a federal tax refund of $1,038,453.85 and short-term investment income of $159,236 over six months — that helped the town's near-term picture.
Why this matters: the lower mill rate reflects the tax base changes from the revaluation, but council members and staff cautioned that underlying operating costs continue to grow. On the town side, officials flagged a proposed 3.2% increase driven by personnel and service lines: healthcare, IT licensing and first-responder operations (the latter was cited as about $292,000 higher in the proposed budget). In presenting departmental requests, officials repeatedly referenced equipment and staffing pressures that carry forward into future budgets.
Supporting details: department-by-department hearings over February highlighted capital strains (fire apparatus and SCBA replacement needs; public works road and bridge projects), service shortfalls (ambulance reimbursement gaps and police recruiting pressures) and programmatic growth (library circulation and Youth Agency services). Mayor Bass said he has sought to be conservative in revenue forecasts despite higher-than-expected permit and recording receipts; for example, the building department reported year-to-date permit revenue that exceeded the prior year's figures, but Bass told the council he prefers conservative budgeting given interest-rate sensitivity in real estate.
The next steps: the joint hearings continued through late February with department-level presentations and public comment. Several procedural recesses were moved to allow further review; the board and council will incorporate deliberations and votes in subsequent meetings before any final adoption or referendum-related steps.
