The What: Budget Decisions, New Public Safety Complex, and more

Kelly Prinz -

Monday, March 31

Happy Monday and last day of March! Hope you all enjoyed the (brief) spring weather this past weekend. Let’s see what’s happening around southwest Connecticut. 

Highlights 

This section gives a brief overview of the key items in the newsletter.

  • The Board of Finance in Fairfield, Board of Estimate and Taxation in Greenwich, and Board of Finance in Westport are voting on their communities’ proposed budgets this week, while other communities are continuing review and deliberation sessions. 
  • In Westport, there’s a walkthrough of potential public safety complex site at Sherwood Island on Thursday, April 3 at 1 p.m.
  • In Darien, the Board of Education is meeting on Monday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss creating a personnel search committee that would be tasked with recommending an interim and then successor superintendent after Superintendent Alan Addley announced he would be retiring at the end of the school year.

Spotlight

This section features our main reporting each week.

ICYMI, as communities continue to debate and vote on their budgets, we explored the top five things you should know about budgets across southwest Connecticut. 

You can find the top five things to know about your community’s budget, or take a look at our overall themes and findings that have come up across the region. 

Stamford | Norwalk | Fairfield | Greenwich | Westport

And now that it’s feeling (a little) like spring, we thought it would be a good time to revisit our inside look into Fairgate Farm in Stamford. Learn more about the farm’s work—as well as the work of other community organizations—to address food insecurity in our region.

This Week at a Glance

This section aims to highlight the most important meetings and news taking place each week.

  • In Bridgeport, the Budget and Appropriations Committee of the City Council will meet on Saturday, April 5 at 10 a.m. to review the proposed five-year capital plan for 2026-2030.
  • In Stamford, there are three budget presentations this week. On Tuesday, April 1 at 7 p.m., the Board of Finance and Fiscal Committee of the Board of Representatives will review pensions and employee retirement funds; on Wednesday, April 2 at 7 p.m., the Board of Finance and Fiscal Committee of the Board of Representatives at 7 p.m. will hear from the police department and fire department; and on Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m., the Board of Finance will hear presentations from the Water Pollution Control Authority, Parks and Recreation, Ferguson Library, and more.
  • In Norwalk, on Monday, March 31 at 6 p.m., the Economic and Community Development Committee will review the proposed capital budget.
  • Also in Norwalk, the Planning and Zoning Commission will meet on Wednesday, April 2 at 6 p.m. and review an application from the Auto Collective to create a “Car Club” at 10 Norden Place.
  • In Fairfield, the Board of Finance will discuss any remaining outstanding items and do a final review of the budget on Monday, March 31 at 7 p.m. The Board of Finance will vote on approving the budget on Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. Then the budget will head to the Representative Town Meeting for the final adoption.
  • In Greenwich, the Board of Estimate and Taxation will host its budget decision day on Tuesday, April 1, starting at 9 a.m. as it reviews, debates, and eventually votes on the budget for the upcoming year. Thursday, April 3 will be a second decision day if the board needs more time. 
  • In Darien, as mentioned above the Board of Education is meeting on Monday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss creating a personnel search committee that would be tasked with recommending an interim and then successor superintendent after Superintendent Alan Addley announced he would be retiring at the end of the school year.
  • In Westport, the Board of Finance will meet on Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. to do a final review and vote on the budget, which would then go to the Representative Town Meeting for final approval. 
  • Also in Westport, as mentioned above, there’s a walkthrough of a potential public safety complex site at Sherwood Island on Thursday, April 3 at 1 p.m. Officials said this event will “provide an opportunity for community members to review site maps and tour the potential location for the complex.”

Plan Your Week

This section includes a list of meetings, events, and programming happening around southwest Connecticut each week.

Bridgeport

Stamford

Norwalk

Fairfield

Greenwich

Darien

Westport

Stay in touch!

As we continue to grow and evolve, please join us! You can do that by:

Please note: All of these agendas and information here are current as of Sunday night. Meeting times and agendas may get adjusted throughout the week.

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times