Norwalk finance chief recommends $412M budget for next fiscal year – Thehour.com
NORWALK — The city’s chief financial officers recommended a $412 million combined Board of Education and city operating budget, a $14.8 million bump from last year.
In a presentation given to the Board of Estimate and Taxation on Monday, CFO Henry Dachowitz outlined the recommended budget for each city department.
Dachowitz recommended city operations amount to $196.2 million, an increase of $7 million, or about 3.69%, from the current fiscal year. For the BOE, Dachowitz recommended an operating budget of $216.3 million, an increase of $7.8 million, or 2.75%.
While the increase in the BOE budget, particularly in comparison to the city budget, seems minimal, Dachowitz said the schools are receiving significantly more than the city.
“But please note the percentage split is really 40% for the city and 60% for the schools, and that’s been consistent for the last eight years,” he said.
Additionally, the schools and city received significant federal COVID-19 recovery funds from 2020 to 2022.
The city received $39 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, along with several millions from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Coronavirus Relief Fund, amounting to a total of about $43 million in COVID-related funds, Dachowitz outlined.
For the BOE, about $24 million came from ARPA, while another $7 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund and about $13 million in the COVID Elementary and Secondary School Relief Fund, totaling $45.5 million in COVID funding for schools.
Among the largest department increases was Dachowitz’s own finance department, with a recommended budget increase of 15.8%. The 2021-22 finance department budget was $7,252,892, but Dachowitz recommended a budget increase of about $1.5 million.
“I have seven departments reporting to me. Each of them needs some support. It added up to 15.8%,” Dachowitz said. “The tax assessor is doing a five-year revaluation in October 2023. It’s beyond this coming year’s budget, but he has to have expenses in this year’s budget in order to get that revaluation done.”
He said the finance department is also hiring outside assessment firms, which costs about $650,000.
The department with the next highest recommended increase was employee benefits, largely because of an 11.5% hike in the cost of health insurance.
Mayor Harry Rilling reminded BET members that the budget was not complete and was subject to more tweaks.
“We put together a budget that right now is a work in progress. It’s the first iteration you’re seeing, and we have a lot more work to do,” Rilling said. “The budget will look different when we’re coming out on the other side with the final budget recommended for approval.”
Rilling said the city will do everything it can to maintain the AAA bond rating.
“We are still looking at areas where we can make savings, where we can cut expenses because we recognize the fact that we can’t keep taxing our residents to the point where they can’t afford to stay in their own homes,” the mayor said.
On Feb. 17, the operating budget will be subject to public hearing at the Common Council’s Finance Committee.
abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com
