Norwalk BET approves about $172,000 in transfers to cover severance; one member objects

The Norwalk Board of Estimate and Taxation on Aug. 3 approved transfers totaling about $172,000 to pay severance‑related obligations from the prior administration. Acting Chair Troy Jelerat moved the item and finance staff described the transfers as fiscal‑year 2026 bookkeeping to cover collective‑bargaining entitlements, not new FY27 spending.

Tom (finance staff) told the board, "our series of transfers totaling $172,000 none of this is a surprise," and said the transfers are intended to clean up the books before the audit. Staff said the largest single source was a mayor's office item (about $90,000), with additional amounts attributed to chief‑of‑staff entries (about $38,000 total), a city clerk office item (about $41,000), and roughly $10,000 in communications. Jared and Tom emphasized these are driven by collective bargaining agreement terms such as payout for unused vacation and sick time and per‑year separation calculations, not discretionary severance.

Several members asked for more detail. Anne objected to approving the transfers without an anonymized breakout of the five positions (counts and the components of each payout) and the pages of the collective bargaining agreement that authorize the payments; she said she wanted those materials before signing off. Staff said they will check with legal about whether a position‑level breakout would make individuals identifiable and offered to provide aggregate numbers and the relevant agreement pages if counsel agrees.

The board voted to approve the transfers; multiple members said "aye" and Anne recorded her opposition on the record. Staff committed to follow up by email with anonymized backup and the requested collective bargaining citations if counsel permits.