FY27 Budget Breakdown: What Wilton Town Departments Are Requesting

---

As debate continues over how much Wilton’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget should grow — including recent discussion of $400,000 in proposed reductions and calls from some selectmen to fund additional positions — town departments have outlined their specific spending requests for the year ahead.

During a marathon meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 17, the Board of Selectmen heard detailed presentations from department heads representing Fire, Finance, Human Resources, Parks & Grounds and Social Services, as well as the Town Clerk, Registrars of Voters and the Assessor’s Office.

At the time of the meeting, the proposed operating and capital budget totaled $40,198,846 — an 8.26% increase over the current year’s $37,130,471 operating budget.

The requests come amid ongoing discussion about the Board of Finance’s recommended 3.6% year-over-year budget guidance, the majority of the Selectmen have made it clear that they don’t want to skimp on some of the new operating requests, and they’ve objected to the 3.6% guidance as too restrictive. Separately, Chief Financial Officer Dawn Savo and First Selectman Toni Boucher have since identified $400,000 in potential reductions to the proposal.

Social Services, Senior Center

Social Services Director Stephanie Rowe, who stated she believed the two areas she handles — social services and the senior center — should be combined into one budget, is asking for an 11% increase in the first account, with full-time salaries going up by 15% to $265,593 for three positions, totaling $385,776.

The request for the senior center, which Rowe said services about 500 seniors per month, is a 3% increase to $126,775 and includes one full-time position at $66,625. More seniors, she said, receive services by phone, but those numbers blend into the social services budget.

Second Selectman Ross Tartell probed Rowe’s presentation, but primarily to help highlight her department’s needs.

“It’s huge,” Tartell said, calling the attendance growth at the center “enormous.”

“You went from 5,000 to 6,000,” he said of rough numbers. “It’s huge. And the difference in money — frankly it’s a pittance … and what you are faced with is scratching for every penny. You gave us some ideas, so thank you on that.”

Registrars of Voters

Registrars of Voters Annalisa Stravato and Karen Birck detailed pressures created by state-mandated election changes that have not been funded at the state level. 

“I would say that our office is one that has been hit disproportionately by underfunded mandates,” Birck said, “and the biggest unfunded mandate is early voting. We are still struggling.”

Part of the challenge, she said, is trying to gauge personnel and resource needs with regard to each separate election based on expectations of voter turnout.

“What we’ve seen is that the number of people that are actually voting has not increased significantly,” she said. “It’s about the same turnout. It’s just that they’re coming at different times.”

Overall the department is requesting a 7% increase, to $214,290, including $6,893 in additional and part-time help.

“We are an office that is so driven by statute,” Birck said. “We do not have a lot of discretion.”

Parks & Recreation/Parks & Grounds

The Department of Parks and Grounds is requesting a 12% increase to $868,516, including $512,666 in combined full-time, part-time and overtime salaries. Operating and general supplies is requested to jump by $45,000 to $120,000, tied largely to maintenance and related expenses for Guy Whitten Field.

The Parks & Recreation Department includes separate expense requests for the Comstock Community Center building ($251,025), department administration ($191,107), program administration ($15,387), Dial-A-Ride expenses ($161,237), recreation swimming ($126,210), and tennis ($3,580), for a total of $748,546.

Regarding the Guy Whitten lighting project, P&R Director Steve Pierce said weather delays have slowed progress.

“The weather came in before we could do anything … The snow has to got to be completely gone,” he said.

Regarding dredging work at the pond at Merwin Meadows, Pierce said his department still hasn’t heard back from FEMA about whether it will be reimbursing the cost. Meanwhile, he said, the Town will still proceed with a Request for Proposals on the project, which is estimated to cost between $400,000 and $600,000.

Fire and Police

The Fire Department‘s operating budget request represents a 3% increase to $4,634,914, with $3,130,084 allocated for full-time salaries (a 4% increase) and $858,532 requested for overtime.

The Fire Chief‘s request to increase firefighter headcount by two has been a focal point of separate discussion this budget season. 

The Police Department, citing overtime costs due to staffing shortages and other issues, is budgeting a 6% salary increase to a total of $5,136,099, along with $500,000 in overtime. The total requested police expense budget is $6,168,166, which represents a 6% increase over the current budget.

Both Animal Control and Central Dispatch are separately budgeted, with proposals of $111,008 and $487,344 requested, respectively.

Department of Public Works

The Department of Public Works budget request represents a 51% increase over the current year, rising from $696,315 to $1,040,615. The increase centers on an additional $347,739 in full-time salaries.

A note in the budget states this line item “includes eight full time employees excluding [a] request for two new maintenance positions ($177,561). [Full-time] staff includes [a] new Facilities Manager.”

DPW staffing and administrative structure have also been the subject of separate discussion this budget cycle. ]

Capital Requests

According to budget documents, departments submitted $3,424,479 in capital requests for a wide range of items. The proposed budget currently includes $1,800,000 in capital items, which are separate from any bonded capital items.

By comparison, the current budget for Fiscal Year ’26 included $832,333 in capital items.

The Board of Selectmen is scheduled to meet again on Thursday, Feb. 26, to continue discussions on the budget, with additional deliberations in the coming weeks before forwarding a final proposal to the Board of Finance.