Wilton’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) held a special meeting last night (Monday, Feb. 12) to complete its review of the FY 2025 budgets requested by all the municipal departments.

It was the second of two meetings devoted to scrutinizing the various municipal departments’ budget requests. (The latest work-in-progress BOS budget document was posted to the Town website.)

As the individual department budgets are tallied, it’s becoming clear that the BOS budget is likely to have a significant increase over the current fiscal year — possibly even as high as a 7% increase. That would be a higher increase than the preliminary budget being considered by the Board of Education (+5.6%).

Neither the BOS nor the BOE have officially adopted a proposed budget yet, but as their budget numbers are taking shape, the Board of Finance (BOF) will begin to discuss the implications at tonight‘s BOF meeting. GOOD Morning Wilton is previewing that meeting in a separate story.

Municipal Departments

At last week’s BOS special meeting, the selectmen discussed budget requests from:

  • Police Department
  • Land Use (Building, Health, Wetlands and P&Z)
  • Parks and Recreation
  • Human Resources
  • Social Services
  • Town Clerk and Registrars

Last night’s discussions included budget requests from Wilton’s Fire Department and Department of Public Works.

Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Jim Blanchfield and Deputy Chief John Plofkin attended the meeting to discuss the details and rationale for their budget, including the priority on the health and safety of firefighters; the challenges of managing staffing, training and overtime; and a number of potential risks to the budget.

Similarly, DPW Director/Town Engineer Frank Smeriglio and Assistant DPW Director/Facilities Manager Jeff Pardo spoke of the many functions of their department and the resources required, spanning roads and bridges to hiking trails and sanitary sewers, just to name a few.

Adding Up

“I’m starting to get a sense of the challenge we’re going to confront when we put it all together and look at the total,” Selectman Bas Nabulsi said.

As currently drafted, the total BOS budget request would be $36,929,202 — which represents a 7.12% increase (roughly $2.5 million) over FY‘24.

A budget overview document, marked as a draft, was posted on the Town website along with the Feb. 12 meeting agenda. It was not presented at the meeting, but it outlines the BOS’ budget goals and significant factors driving the numbers. (Note: Some incorrect numbers appear not to have been finalized.)

Budget goals were stated as follows:

  • Provide departments of public safety and first responders with adequate resources to respond to emergencies and protect the community
  • Create responsible budgets that protect the taxpayers’ investments [in] school and town facilities, maintenance and repairs
  • Provide the high quality of services Wilton residents and businesses expect at the lowest possible cost
  • Provide assistance to those in need and the recreational and cultural activities that residents deserve while staying within budget
  • Focus on cost savings opportunities, increased use of technology and maintaining appropriate staffing levels
  • Pursue grant opportunities to reduce the taxpayers’ share of the funding of infrastructure and other initiatives
  • Provide the oversight required to bring in building projects on time and within budget
  • Modernize town government functions to provide better taxpayer experience

“We have to explain the critical need to the public”

Much of the Feb. 12 meeting discussion turned to the daunting financial challenge posed by “deferred maintenance” in the Town’s schools and municipal buildings, with net costs to taxpayers estimated at over $100 million for the school buildings and $50 million for existing municipal buildings.

First Selectman Toni Boucher noted the latter figure does not factor in additional space needs to address overcrowding in Town offices.

“On the Town side, it should be noted very strongly for the record that we have space issues,” Boucher said, in both the Town Hall and the annex. “The work environment is substandard for our employees.”

Boucher has been vocal in her belief that many building maintenance needs have been deferred too long.

“We really have a serious issue with maintaining our Town-owned buildings,” she said. “We have some things we need to explain to the public [to] show them what the critical need is.”

“The one thing I can say is the previous administration at least got the ball started, at least invested in a professional study of what is needed and has been delayed or deferred,” she said. “Now that we have a better picture of that, then we have the opportunity now to address it.”

“The key is how much can we appropriate now, this year, in this difficult, difficult budget year, and over a period of 10 to 15 or even 20 years,” she continued.

It’s not yet clear which of the identified building projects will be recommended for bonding and which will be paid through operating budgets. Bonded capital requests will be discussed in the coming weeks.

Boucher believes a 2019 study of Town-owned properties — including the recommendations whether to sell or continue to maintain them — should be revisited.

“That’s a conversation we can have, given the very difficult financial constraints the Town finds itself in,” she said. “It deserves serious consideration in the next couple of years because we have so many needs.”

[Editor’s Note: This story was updated to note that the budget overview document posted on the Town website with the Feb. 12 meeting agenda appears to be a draft.]