5 Things to Know About Fairfield's Proposed Budget

1. The combined town and school district proposed budget is $380.9 million, about a 3% increase from last year. 

About $230 million of that goes toward the school district with an additional $17.4 million going toward debt service related to school district projects, with the remainder of the budget going toward town-related services. 

2. The Board of Education originally requested a 6.7 increase for its budget or an additional $14.7 million.

First Selectman Bill Gerber had originally proposed cutting $3.9 million from that request, but after meeting with the Board of Selectmen, they restored $2 million to the board, leaving a $1.9 million reduction from their initial request. 

“I have never previously supported a cut to a proposed school budget increase, and I was uncomfortable with the $3.9 million in cuts we confronted,” Gerber said in a statement, while noting that there was “minimal grand list growth in town,” which made it a particularly “challenging year.”

3. Gerber emphasized that his budget continues to invest in areas such as “safe, complete streets,” flood resilience, and updated facilities for first responders. 

4. Most departments in town cut funding to help reduce the overall town side of the budget by about $1.3 million from the previous year. 

This includes a $3.3 million reduction for Public Works/Operations, $524,000 from Parks, and $579,788 from fire. 

5. Residents are invited to get involved in the process. 

The public hearing is scheduled for Saturday, March 29 at 9:30 a.m. 

See the presentation from the First Selectman or view all documents related to the budget.