Bridgeport

What’s in the 2026-27 Budgets for Fairfield County Communities?

Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and beyond are putting together their budgets for 2026-27. We give you an inside look at the ongoing work.

A look at the breakdown of Norwalk's proposed operating budget for 2026-27. (Courtesy of Norwalk)

Across southwest Connecticut, each year our communities spend more than $3 billion on schools, roads, police, fire, community services, and so much more. And this money comes from you—it’s your tax dollars at work. That’s why we’re putting together this article to help you understand what’s in your community’s budget, what the challenges are, why your taxes are (probably) going up, and more.

We’ll be releasing a few communities each week and updating as we can to keep you informed about all the budgets across southwest Connecticut. We have the highlights below or you can click on your community to learn more details. We’ll be updating this page—and the individual city/town pages—each week.

Bridgeport

Coming in March

Stamford

Coming early March

Norwalk

“This is a challenging budget year for Norwalk,” Mayor Barbara Smyth told the Board of Estimate and Taxation on February 9.

For residents of Norwalk, that’s a phrase they’ve heard for years, even though this was Smyth’s first budget as mayor—although she had been part of many as a City Council member.

Her proposed $483.9 million budget would be an overall 7% increase from last year’s approved budget. It includes a 10% increase for the city’s side of the budget, going from $204.9 to $226.9 million and a 4% increase on the Board of Education’s side, going from $247.2 million to $257.1 million.

But even with the increases, the budget still doesn’t fully fund the Board of Education’s request. The board approved a budget with a 6.5% increase, while Smyth’s proposal only includes a 4% raise for the schools. Last year, the city and schools faced a prolonged budget fight as deep cuts to programs like music were proposed to close the budget gap. Ultimately, the city allocated additional funding—as did the state—to stave off the most drastic cuts.

So far, residents have spoken out about fully funding the schools, while members of the council and Board of Estimate and Taxation have raised concerns about the large increases.

“I’ve been on this board for a number of year—the city side has always been the cost of inflation or lower. It is alarming to me seeing this for the first time,” said Troy Jellerette, a member of the BET.

Dive deeper into Norwalk’s 2026-27 budget.

Fairfield

Coming late February

Greenwich

Greenwich officials are proposing a $543 million budget, up 4.33% from the year before. On the town side, First Selectman Fred Camillo is proposing a $144 million operating budget, with an additional $127 million set aside for fixed costs, which include items like health care and insurance.

Also, Greenwich, unlike a lot of other communities, has a capital tax levy baked into its budget, which this year is proposed to increase to $64 million. On the school side, Superintendent Toni Jones is proposing a $207.2 million budget, up about 4.4% from the previous year.

Camillo, who presented his budget to the Board of Estimate and Taxation in late January, focused on the capital budget items that he said the town needed to invest in.

“When you defer these projects, all you’re doing is passing along the obligations to future residents and future officials to deal with,” he said.

One of the biggest projects Camillo highlighted was the Hamill Rink Replacement project, which he included $41.2 million for in this year’s capital budget.

On the school side, Jones and Mike Mercarni-Anthony, chair of the Board of Education, said that they were “proud of this budget.”

“We feel that it very much represents our fundamental responsibility of the achievement of potential of every individual student in Greenwich Public Schools,” Mercarni-Anthony said.

Still, the budget, while going up 4.4%, does cut 11.5 full-time positions, including six teaching positions and an administrator at Greenwich High School.

Many residents voiced their support for the Dorothy Hamill Rink project, while others raised concerns about the school district cutting staff.

Charles Guliner, a sophomore at Greenwich High School, said that reducing teachers doesn’t just affect academics, but it also impacts the social and emotional wellbeing of students.

“When you reduce teachers at GHS the impact is immediate—classes get larger, teachers have less time to help students individually,” he said. “Without enough teachers students may not get the support they need to manage stress, navigate difficult circumstances and prepare for college and careers.”

Dive deeper into Greenwich’s 2026-27 budget.