What’s in the Stamford 2026-2027 Proposed Budget?

Mayor Caroline Simmons proposed a $747.4 million operating budget for the city and Board of Education, which is a 6.32% increase from the previous year. The total city-side of the budget is $365.2 million, or an increase of 5.6%, while the Board of Education budget is $372.1 million.

“The increases we’re seeing on the city and Board of Education side are higher than we’ve seen in years,” Simmons said at a joint meeting of the Board of Finance and Fiscal Committee of the Board of Representatives. 

She said that the budget “responsibly funds long-term obligations,” adds an additional $10 million to the school construction fund, and “reflects our values of delivering high quality services.” 

What’s in the proposed budget?

Stamford, like many other communities, is facing large increases due to higher healthcare premiums and insurance costs. In addition, Simmons noted that the school district is proposed to get a $25 million increase. 

“The superintendent and I have been working closely to advocate to the state for additional ECS funding,” and special education reimbursements, Simmons told the boards, adding that she was “up at the state capitol yesterday” where she and many other mayors and school district leaders were advocating for more school funding.

“All districts are strained right now,” she said. 

The city is also experiencing a spike in healthcare premiums, however, Simmons said that she believed staying in the state partnership health insurance plan has saved the city money overall. 

She also highlighted Fund 57, a “really innovative idea that came from the Board of Finance,” to set aside some funding for the school construction projects going on in the city.

“We simply would not be able to fund and support these projects without it,” she said, advocating for the proposed additional $10 million going into it in this budget. 

Simmons mostly highlighted items from the city’s proposed capital budget of $73 million, of which about $40 million would be funded with bonds. 

This budget “prioritizes investments in the critical services that our community depends on every day,” Simmons said, particularly public safety, schools, parks, roads & sidewalks, and affordable housing. 

She did note that the city has seen a large reduction in federal funding that had covered many capital projects over the past few years. 

“This is the first year there’s no federal funding for the capital budget,” Simmons said. “We really are reliant on state and local dollars to fund our capital budget in the absence of major federal grants that we were getting up until two years ago.”

Next Steps

Over the next few weeks the Board of Finance and the Fiscal Committee will review each of the proposed department budgets. On Wednesday, April 8 at 7 p.m., there will be a public hearing where members of the community are invited to share their thoughts on the proposed budget. 

You can see the full budget schedule online or explore the full proposed budget.