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The What

The What: We’re Back; Budget Season Is Here; and More

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of March 17.

The What: We’re Back; Budget Season Is Here; and More
Happy St. Patrick's Day! We're so happy to be back. (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, March 17

Happy Monday! We’re so excited to be back. Welcome to all of our new readers—and for everyone who stayed with us during our hiatus.  

Highlights 

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

  • We just wanted to take a second to reintroduce ourselves since it’s been awhile, so hi! I’m Kelly Prinz, the founder and reporter for Coastal Connecticut Times, and together with Max, my husband and amazing editor, we run CCT. Our goal is to provide you with information about southwest Connecticut and dive into issues and topics that impact your day-to-day life. Here’s a bit more about us and our mission. 
  • Now that we’re back from hiatus—which we took to welcome a third member of our team, our son Charlie Prinz—we’re looking to continue doing that work as well as trying out a few new things. We plan to add some pieces and content about life in southwest Connecticut, branching out to areas outside of local government, and explore some new video reporting series in the coming weeks. 
  • As always, we’d love to hear from you, whether on our social media platforms—Instagram, TikTok, YouTube—or via email coastalconnecticuttimes@gmail.com if there are areas, topics, things of interest, etc. you’d like us to try out! 

Spotlight

This section features our main reporting each week.

Budget season is well underway across southwest Connecticut. City and town budgets are very important as they dictate how services are funded—schools, roads, police, fire, etc.—and affect how much you’ll pay in local taxes. We’ll have a deep dive into some local budgets in the next edition ahead of multiple public hearings, but we wanted to highlight some review meetings this week.   

In Stamford, the Board of Finance and the Fiscal Committee of the Board of Reps conduct simultaneous reviews of the budget. This week, there will be budget presentations from the city’s Operations, Transportation, Traffic, and Engineering departments to the Board of Finance on Wednesday, March 19 at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the Fiscal Committee will have two budget presentation meetings this week. On Tuesday, March 18, the committee will review the budgets of the Water Pollution Control Authority, Harbor Commission, parks and beach services, and more. On Thursday, March 20, the committee will review the budgets of many outside agencies that get funding from the city including the Boys and Girls Club, the Ferguson Library, Building One Community, and more.  

In Norwalk, the Board of Estimate and Taxation will continue its review of the city budget, reviewing the budgets of the CFO, tax assessor, IT department, and more on Tuesday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m., followed by a review of agencies that receive funding from the city including the Redevelopment Agency and Norwalk Transit District at its meeting on Wednesday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. On Thursday, March 20, the Board of Estimate and Taxation will meet at 6:30 p.m. and review the Board of Education’s budget and any other open items ahead of its public hearing next week.

In Fairfield, the Board of Finance will meet on Tuesday, March 18 to review the proposed budget for capital projects as well as the budgets for public works, and parks, culture, and recreation. On Thursday, March 20, the Board of Finance will meet at 7 p.m. and review the Board of Education’s budget request.

In Darien, there will be a Board of Finance - Budget Work Session on Tuesday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. which will include reviews of areas including land use, human services, community efforts, environment, general government, public works, and parks and recreation.

This Week at a Glance

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

  • In Bridgeport, the City Council will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 17 and vote to send resolutions related to capping rent increases and adding Housing Code Enforcement Officers to committees for further work and review. 
  • In Stamford, the Operations Committee will hold a public hearing on the future of the West Main Street Bridge at its meeting on Thursday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. The city administration has outlined 4 potential alternatives for replacing the structure, which include a pedestrian-only option, a full bridge replacement to allow for cars and pedestrians, and two other intermediate options. Note: This has been updated after we fixed some outdated information! We apologize for the mistake.  
  • Also in Stamford, the Land Use/Urban Redevelopment Committee will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19 and receive an update on the potential conversion of apartments at 1201 Washington Boulevard into dorms for UConn Stamford students as well as the future plans of the University and Research Overlay District.
  • In Norwalk, the Economic and Community Development Committee will meet on Monday, March 17 at 6 p.m. to vote on a $377,000 contract with consultant VHB for design services, and bid advertisement and analysis for the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of South Main Street, Meadow Street, Wilson Avenue, and Meadow Street Extension. The committee will also vote to amend the Plan of Conservation and Development to implement the recommendations of the city’s Affordable Housing Action Plan.
  • In Fairfield, the Board of Selectmen will meet at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19 to review and vote on an agreement with Osprey Initiative, LLC for the purchase, installation, and maintenance training for a litter interception boom system, which is a floating beam that aims to prevent garbage from moving downstream in a body of water.
  • In Greenwich, the FS Active Transportation Task Force will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 19 and review a Safe Routes to School report as well as review the activities planned for Bike Month in May. 

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

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