New Canaan First Selectman: ‘Difficult year to keep mill rate from increasing’

NEW CANAAN — After toeing the line on tax increases in previous years, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said Tuesday that an increase may be unavoidable for the 2022-23 budget.

He spoke at a Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday, prior to a budget discussion about the Department of Public Works — one that targeted a small percentage of the increased spending to add space for more child care in town.

Due to the present fiscal “environment,” the Board of Finance will not be releasing its traditional guidance, Moynihan said. The board normally suggests a percentage cap on operating budget increases of around two percent. After discussions starting in October and November, “we all know that it's going be a tough year because of inflation.”

In addition, the yearover-year budget analysis would not be appropriate, since the “COVID impact on numbers last year” makes it “hard to get a normalized comparisons,” especially on the Board of Education side, he said.

The first selectman expects an increase from the $154.5 million for the 202122 operating budget and it will be a “difficult year to try to keep the mill rate from increasing,” which would result in a “taxation increase,” Moynihan said.

Total numbers for the 2022-23 town budget are not yet available, because it is “incomplete” and since it is “a preliminary draft, we are keeping it as an internal working document,” Administrative Officer Tucker Murphy said on Wednesday.

During the selectmen meeting, town officials called the part of the budget that was discussed a “living document” and corrections were made, though not reflected in the charts shown by the Director of the Department of Public Works Tiger Mann.

Mann presented the capital and operating budgets for DPW with an overall increase of 19.3 percent over the 2021-22 budget. In his charts, the operating budget is $11.6 million, up $720,600 or 6.61 percent over last year. The capital budget represents $12.5 million compared to $9.34 million, or a 34 percent increase. The capital budget does not include $10 million expected to be spent for the police department reconstruction.

“The point of where we're at right now as far as inflation, I can't keep it at our normal two percent like I've been doing since 2007,” Mann said.

The DPW operating budget includes 58 staff who work in eight divisions with salaries making up 49.4 percent of the budget. The town worker wages are projected to make up 2.9 percent less of the overall budget for next year, according to a chart that broke out expense categories by percentage.

A large part of the operating budget increase comes from $223,415 more for upkeep of the over 50 non-school town-owned buildings, bringing the buildings expense to $1.27 million. Mann attributed most of the increases to the cost of contractors, property cleaning and utilities. The building expense includes $40,000 for the Town Hall Annex buildings, which in past budgets was listed separately.

“I took into consideration every request we get from a resident, every complaint that we get, the needs and wants and wishes of our clientele which are the residents at large,” Mann said.

The Highway Department expense would be $3.4 million, up 2.7 percent, or $88,791. The Parks Department budget would be $2.09 million, or up 10 percent, an increase of $191,342. Sewer costs are expected to rise to $1.4 million, an increase of 3.3 percent or $48,357. Finally, utilities are expected to come in at $536,295, a 2.9 percent, or $15,178 more, according to the presentation.

The capital budget includes $1.5 million to renovate the New Canaan Playhouse, which has been closed since the early days of the pandemic. Moynihan has said that, when renovated, it can help drive people to the village and help local businesses.

The capital budget includes $300,000 to help allow for more child care in town, with $200,000 for the Nature Center to update the Audubon House and $100,000 for the School House on South Avenue, which has childcare. “They are seeing a great need for care in the nursery schools and for younger children,” Mann said.

The capital expenses also include $990,000 for Waveny House for upgrades to be in keeping with the American Disabilities Act.

Additionally, $400,000 is slated for a Lapham Community Center Combined Heat and Power mini generator which is expected to reduce utility costs.

The first selectman welcomed new CFO Anne C. Kelly-Lenz at the meeting as she officially took the helm following former CFO Lunda Asmani’s departure to work as CFO for the Norwalk Public Schools. Kelly-Lenz was the former CFO for both Wilton’s Public Schools and the town.