The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut

Kelly Prinz -

March 21

Happy first week of spring!

Across our region, municipalities are continuing their budget review process, with several public hearings and meetings scheduled for this week.

Norwalk is slated to receive the results of an efficiency study which aims to help determine if there are any functions between the city and school district that could be performed better.

Darien and Greenwich are moving ahead with allocating their American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Let’s dive in and take a closer look.

Stamford

The Public Safety and Health Committee of the Board of Representatives is continuing its examination into what caused the patio collapse at the Allure apartment building in Harbor Point, as well as looking into the city’s procedures for conducting inspections of new buildings on Wednesday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m. Check out our previous coverage to learn more about what’s been done so far.

The city’s budget process continues to move forward with department reviews and meetings planned for this week. The Board of Finance will review the Board of Education’s budget request on Monday, March 21 at 7 p.m. and hear from legal, human resources, the Water Pollution Control Authority, IT, health, and more at its meeting on Tuesday, March 22 at 7 p.m. The Fiscal Committee of the Board of Representatives will budget presentations on facilities and park maintenance; park and beach enforcement; parking management; traffic; the Water Pollution Control Authority; Bartlett Arboretum; and the Mill River Collaborative on Thursday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. Check out our coverage of the mayor’s proposed budget.

Other meetings this week include:

Norwalk

The Common Council will learn the results of an efficiency study that aimed to examine if there were areas of the city and school district that could operate more effectively on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. Mayor Harry Rilling has said that the city would look to “see if there is anything it can do within those guidelines to reduce the budget.” At the time of the study’s approval, Councilman Greg Burnett said that the “contract is another example as to how we strive to manage our spending and continue to be good stewards of our taxpayer dollars,” according to a story from NancyonNorwalk.

The Board of Estimate and Taxation will hold a public hearing on the proposed city budget on Wednesday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m. Members of the public have a chance to weigh in on what they feel the city should be spending its money on. Check our coverage of the Norwalk budget to understand what the current proposal is.

Other meetings this week include:

Fairfield

This week is the public’s chance to weigh in on the town’s proposed budget before the Board of Finance conducts its deliberations next week. There will be a special public comment session on Saturday, March 26 at 9:30 a.m. at the Fairfield Ludlowe High School Auditorium. The Board of Finance will also hold two more review sessions during the week. The first will be on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. and include public safety departments, such as police and fire, as well as the information technology department. The second will take place on Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. and include the town’s pension obligations and human resources-related items.

Other meetings this week include:

Greenwich

First Selectman Fred Camillo will host a public hearing on Monday, March 21 at 10:30 a.m. to allow the community to weigh in on how the town plans to spend $31.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds. Check our previous coverage on how the town planned to allocate its federal funds. On Tuesday, March 22 at 1 p.m., the Board of Estimate and Taxation’s Budget Committee will review those plans and decide if they will recommend the proposal to the full board.

Other meetings this week include:

Darien

After the Board of Finance gave its approval to the town’s plans for spending $6.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds last week, the Representative Town Meeting will take up the plans on Monday, March 21 at 8 p.m. The RTM vote is the last approval needed to get the projects underway.

Some of the town’s proposals include:

  • $250,000 on mental health support, through offering a grant or grants to local agencies to address the need for additional resources due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • $220,000 for health department needs including vaccination clinic reimbursement and replenishing items, such as masks, tests, etc.
  • $3.75 million on infrastructure investments including bridge repairs, sanitary sewer needs, and drainage upgrades.
  • $100,000 for food insecurity support
  • $75,000 for emergency assistance
  • $30,000 for new picnic tables and water fountains in parks

The Board of Finance will continue its budget discussions on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. The board plans to review the budgets for general government, land use, human services, and more.

Other meetings this week include:

  • Tuesday, March 22: Housing Authority at 6:30 p.m. | Board of Education at 7:30 p.m. | Planning & Zoning Commission at 7:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday, March 23: Pear Tree Point Working Group at 6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, March 24: Five Mile River Commission at 6 p.m. | HHR Building Committee at 6 p.m.

Westport

First Selectwoman Jen Tooker’s community traffic and safety meetings continue this week on Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m. This week’s meeting will focus on District 4. (See this town map to find your district.) Each meeting will feature Tooker and members of the public works, planning and zoning, and public safety departments and residents have a chance to voice their concerns about traffic, pedestrian, and bicycle safety. Town officials will also share their plans to address these issues, some of which are a part of Tooker’s proposed budget for the town.

Other meetings this week include:

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

Thank you for reading!

With spring and summer here, Coastal Connecticut Times is looking to get out on the road and meet with community members. If there’s an event, meeting, group, or fair you think we should be at, shoot us an email at coastalconnecticuttimes@gmail.com. We’d love to start meeting many of you in person.

Hope you all have a safe and healthy week, and as always, feel free to leave us some feedback using this short survey, which will help inform our work.

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times