News from the First Selectman’s Office — March 2026: All About the Budget

The following is an update from First Selectman Toni Boucher.  

Hello, Wilton and happy spring. Hopefully the wild swings in temperature haven’t discouraged anyone. It is always heartening to see the Daffodil shoots poking out of the ground, heralding warm days ahead. The promise of spring is especially strong at Town Hall this year, as long-term projects come to fruition, and plans begin to take shape on how to fiscally manage our $130 million worth of school and Town building needs over the next decade. New committees and new board members have brought fresh ideas and impressive diligence to their work of guiding and advising Wilton. Some practical process improvements have already been implemented, and the spirit of creative problem solving overall has been welcome.

This is particularly true when it comes to the Town’s long bond list of needed improvements that should be considered for the long-term benefit of Wilton. The challenge is to find ways to incorporate these expenses without affecting our debt service. As a reminder, debt service is the total amount the Town pays on items it has bonded in the past, including the cost of the item itself, service fees and interest.

There is good news this year that helps offset the significant building costs we face as a community. Completing the approximately $16 million Police Station through Phase 1 (Phase 1 was to construct the new headquarters; Phase 2 will be to tear the old headquarters down) and rehabilitating Miller-Driscoll School has created room on our bond list for other essential priorities. In addition, our Grand List valuation has gone up substantially for the second year in a row. As has been reported, this year’s assessment, which calculates the total value of all real estate in Wilton, was 1.81% higher than last year. This means that the Town can expect greater tax revenues.

We are also moving forward with a feasibility study by the Historic District and Historic Properties Commission on the Gilbert and Bennett School, an antique building of unique design whose structural issues have not been addressed for many years. A special Board of Selectmen meeting was held in February to discuss Gilbert and Bennett’s future, and the outpouring of public support and valuable feedback made it clear how meaningful this historic property is to the people of Wilton.

Wilton is at an interesting crossroads. We have multiple large construction projects that should be undertaken soon, and a larger capacity to bond for these improvements without raising taxes because old bonding debt has been paid, and our revenue has increased. Voters have several options to consider under this scenario. Is it wise to put excess funds into a reserve account where it can act as a financial safeguard against possible future adversity? Or is it better to immediately include the money in next year’s budget and keep taxes lower? Or is now the time to invest this money in Town infrastructure, in which case the excess revenue should be put into the new Capital Fund for building projects?

The Fiscal Year 2027 Budget

Town leaders hope that Wilton residents will share their thoughts and opinions about next year’s budget by filling out the Board of Finance annual survey (Editor’s note: the deadline for completing the survey has passed.) and by attending the Board of Finance Public Hearing on the Board of Selectmen budget on Monday, Mar. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Middlebrook School Auditorium. This hearing will be an open forum for public comment before the Board of Finance holds [its] vote on the budget at [its] meeting the following night, Tuesday, Mar. 31.

Ultimately, approval of the budgets is up to the people of Wilton who will cast their ballots at the Annual Town Meeting in May. To help voters prepare for the Public Hearing next Monday, we have included the formal Board of Selectmen Budget Presentation that was sent to the Board of Finance:

The following budget as approved at the Mar. 4, 2025 Board of Selectmen meeting:

• FY2027 BOS detailed operating expense and operating capital budget requests
• FY2027 recommended revenue budgets
• Proposed FY2027 5-year operating capital plan

FY2027 of the 5-year bonded capital plan was discussed at the March 16 Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting. Once approved, it will be provided to the Board of Finance (BOF).

The budget requests reflect the work of department heads and their staffs, the Board of Selectmen, and the support of the Finance Department. We appreciate their continued efforts to control the growth of expenses while maintaining services.

FY2027 Budget Request

The total FY2027 operating and operating capital budget request is $38,821,769, a 4.56% increase over last year’s approved budget. However, the BOS voted to allocate $330,000 of Charter Reserve to increase FY26 operating capital. If approved by the BOF, this adjustment would reduce the FY2027 increase to 3.63%. Below are the major budget categories compared to the current FY26 budget.

• Operating Expense is $37,967,255 an increase of 4.60% from 2026 budget
• Operating Capital is $854,514, an increase of 2.66% from 2026 budget.
• Revenues as recommended at $7,379,383 are $425,560 over FY26 budget.
• Education Revenue is $455,928. ($455,928 ECS plus $286 adult Education) a decrease of $6,163 from FY26 budget.

The FY2027 budget includes:

• Addition of two firefighters to maintain the high level of public safety Wilton residents expect. The Fire Chief’s long-term staffing plan calls for adding two additional firefighters over a three-year period to build out each shift to seven firefighters. Calls for service have increased significantly, rising more than 80% since 1999. These calls include residential and commercial fire events, first response to medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, smoke and carbon monoxide detection, automatic alarms, mutual aid to neighboring communities, and more. With continued growth in the Grand List driven by new developments and increasing commercial activity, these staffing additions are critical.
• Medical benefits are projected to increase 15% to 16%, based on guidance from the State health plan.
• Hiring of a Facilities Manager, [at the Department of Public Works] funded at $80,000 for half-year salary, to oversee maintenance of Town facilities and coordinate implementation and planning of upcoming bond-funded capital projects. The position will also be responsible for managing the Town’s real estate holdings. Given the number of potential planned facility and infrastructure projects over the next several years, filling this position is necessary to ensure proper coordination and oversight.
• Funding for a Town Administrator, with $85,000 budgeted for half-year salary. The Board of Selectmen continues the search to fill this currently vacant position and anticipates the position will be filled partway through FY2027.
• Adds $8,000 for the Senior Center to expand programming and offer additional classes such as Tai Chi and Cardio Dance.

In addition to funding for town departments and properties, the budget includes approximately $809,623 for public and private school nurses, $434,943 for our share of the Wilton/Weston paramedic services, $12,000 for our share of the Norwalk/Wilton probate court, $625,000 for our share of the Georgetown Volunteer Fire District estimated tax billings, and grants to the Wilton Library of $3,212,577 ($3,119,007 in 2026), Ambler Farm of $66,750 and Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corp of $154,351.

FY2027 Recommended Revenue Budget

The recommended 2027 revenue budget of $7,379,383 is approximately $425,560 more than the FY2026 budget. Please see the Comparative Revenue Summary for the major components of the change. Recommended revenue budgets can be reconsidered during your deliberations.

The consensus of the BOS on [the] Mar. 4 meeting was to recommend a flat $1,110,000 budget for the Elderly and Individual with Disability Tax Relief program for 2027.

We look forward to your collaboration for the betterment of our community.

— End of Board of Selectmen Budget Presentation

Notes on FY27 Board of Selectmen Budget

Town Safety

The following statistics illustrate why the question of public safety in the year’s budget is so critical. Wilton continues to be a highly valued community with many new apartment complexes, some of which have been completed and others that are in development. When considering these numbers, the inevitable uptick in demand on Town services is obvious:

• 141 Danbury Rd.: 173 units completed and fully occupied
• 131 Danbury Rd.: 208 units under construction, occupancy early 2027
• 64 Danbury Rd.: 93 units under construction, occupancy starting late spring 2026
• 15-21 River Rd. (Kimco): 168 units approved, no permits issued to date
• 15 Old Danbury Rd. (Commonfund): 208 units approved, construction early summer 2026
• 77 Danbury Rd. (ASML) : Construction underway on 167,000 SF MICC building addition
• 20 Westport Rd. (ASML): Completing major elevated driveway replacement, continuing fit out of office floors
• 12 Godfrey Pl.: 40 units completed and occupancy underway
• 118 Old Ridgefield Rd.: 20 units approved, construction expected summer 2026
• 345 Belden Hill Rd. (School Sisters): 280 Senior Living Community — review with Inland Wetlands underway, P&Z review starting late spring.
• 20 Old Ridgefield Rd.: 5 townhouse units — application expected summer 2026
• 254 Danbury Rd.: 10 units ([four] apartments in existing church, [six] new townhouse units) — application received, decision expected spring 2026

1,205 potential units

Building Projects

This graph charts the recent history of all three categories of projects in Wilton (School Facilities, Town Facilities and DPW/Grants). Between FY 2018 and FY 2023, it shows that very little Facility infrastructure projects were undertaken. And from FY 2009 until FY 2018, school construction took up the bulk of Wilton’s budget, materials and staff hours, until the new Police Station broke ground in 2023. From FY 2023, the plateau of lines in all three categories makes clear that Wilton has been climbing out of a period of stagnation, brought on by a global recession, and then a global pandemic. It also explains how the number of capital projects under consideration today was created after a decade and a half of inactivity.

Wilton is now facing a rush of Board of Education and Town facility projects. A Wilton Capital Planning Committee (WCPC) was created to help prioritize them, and the extent of all the work listed by the WCPC underlines the urgency of shoring up our Department of Public Works with an additional staff person. The DPW has explained their needs and are now asking for a Facilities Manager to begin planning and designing future projects, while the existing DPW staff continues to manage the construction aspect of facility projects. This potential position will relieve our Town Engineer and DPW Director, who is already managing the 14 bond items Wilton voters have passed in the last two years. He is also responsible for all of the roads and bridges in town and oversees any work that comes out of the Water Pollution Control Authority, like maintaining and repairing our sewers and waterflow systems. The pictures below are just a few of the new bond items under review for replacement or repair:[photos not included]

Annex Backdoor

Annex bathroom

The Annex Old Entrance

Town Hall Kitchen and no Staff Break Room

The Information Technology closet at Town Hall

Wilton is on the cusp of making major investments in its facility infrastructure. The Department of Public Works wants to be prepared to manage the large influx of potential projects listed and ranked by the Wilton Capital Planning Committee. It is imperative that our tax dollars be spent wisely with the necessary staff to provide careful oversight of all new bonding and building work.

This second graph shows the debt that Wilton has finished paying on past projects. We include it here to show why it’s possible for us to borrow new funds for other much needed repairs and not increase property taxes or raise our debt service. While we do face major expenditures, Wilton has the capacity to fix our Town infrastructure and our schools.

Town Hall Campus Possibilities

This link takes you to a plan that was presented to the Board of Selectmen that lays out a possible future Town Hall complex for Wilton. The study was created by the architectural firm of KG+D and displays different options for how a Town Hall campus of tomorrow might look and function. Of course, any decision to proceed with a plan will be decided upon by the Board of Selectmen and the voters of Wilton after careful review, which will take some time.

School Road Cell Tower

The School Road Cell Tower, a construction project whose ups and downs and setbacks and promises were followed by all with the intensity of a World Cup Final, has finally gone live! The site must first be launched and tested by Verizon’s system performance team to ensure it operates properly. They expect calls and cell usage in downtown Wilton to be available very soon. In addition, more branches will be installed on the lower part of the pole, which will conceal the antennas, cables and other hardware which will limit the environmental impact and improve aesthetics.

New Police Station Is Now Open

The Wilton Police Department, after some delay, is proudly occupying their new headquarters, located directly in front of the old police building, which will soon be torn down.

All public services are now being provided for from the new facility. This is a huge achievement for all of Wilton and we are excited to invite everyone to the grand opening ceremony on Apr. 21st at 1 p.m., where a donated ice cream truck will be on hand to mark this grand occasion (at no cost to the taxpayer). Please join us and take a tour inside your new Police headquarters.

So many champions went into making this state-of-the-art headquarters possible, not least the dedicated staff at the Department of Public Works who oversaw the project. Loading in, installing and testing all of the technology a 21st Century police station needs was particularly daunting. The good news is, not a single call was dropped and no emergencies went unanswered thanks to our Information Systems Director, Nick Cataldo, who worked tirelessly, for many months, with our Police Force to make sure the lines of communication remained open.

The Vernal Equinox

On Mar. 20, the sun passed over the equator, ushering us into a season when there are equal parts day and night in one 24-hour period. Spring is not only a time of great varietal beauty, it is one of perfect balance. Wilton is undergoing its own Equinox, with many ideas and plans to make our town even more beautiful, but it does so with careful forethought and sober fiscal responsibility. As a community, we have been patient and cautious, laying the groundwork for the bright future that begins building today.

Toni Boucher
First Selectman
Town of Wilton