By Elizabeth Barhydt
At the March 4, 2025, New Canaan Board of Finance public hearing, board members reviewed the proposed 2026 fiscal year budget, detailing reductions in taxation and bonded capital requests while reaffirming the town’s strong financial standing. The hearing, intended to gather public input, saw no residents come forward to comment. Chairman Todd Lavieri acknowledged this, stating, “We could simply move on in our agenda, and I suppose if someone joined, we could call an audible, let them speak. Keep us posted.”
The meeting can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yOs3aUsEL8
Lavieri began by explaining the budget process, then outlined three primary goals: “First is to fund all the necessary school needs, police, fire, EMS needs, health and human services, fund the town infrastructure, fund the town buildings, registrar voting, and all the other services that we have. Secondly, manage the debt—and that was a big topic this year—and any other longer-term financial guidelines and objectives. And then thirdly, challenge really and discuss the operating and capital requests that we get in order to represent the taxpayers’ desire for services with an eye on the impact of those costs on taxes.”
He emphasized the town’s financial health, stating, “As we’ve discussed over the past few years, our town financials remain in very good shape.” He noted the school district’s continued success: “Our school district was ranked number one after a steady decade-plus-long process of climbing up the ladder to reach the top spot. This has been a focus of this town for many years, and together with our great administration, terrific teachers, motivated and engaged parents and students, and the support of our taxpayers, we continue to have a great school district.” He added that the school budget accounts for 70% of the town’s total budget.
Other highlights included the town’s investment in infrastructure and facilities: “Our playhouse movie theater won an award for the best refurbished theater in the country. If we want a theater, we need to go to the theater.” He pointed to the town’s pension funding, stating, “Our pensions remain overfunded, reflecting the ethical responsibility we have always believed as a town to ensure that our commitments are met and that the can is not kicked down the road, penalizing future residents and taxpayers.” He also remarked on the quality of public assets and emergency services, saying, “Our other assets—parks, roads, and facilities—continue to meet the high usage and demand that our residents require, and our downtown has never looked better.” Additionally, “Our emergency services, including fire, police, and EMS, have collectively responded to thousands of calls and incidents over the past year.”
Lavieri reflected on the cuts to capital spending, remarking, “I’m not sure we’ve ever cut that much capital before. Could be a record.”
Budget reductions were a focal point, with Lavieri reporting, “We’ve reduced the amount of taxation by $4 million from the budget that we received a month ago. We’ve also reduced the bonded capital request by $4.8 million.” He underscored the primary driver of tax increases, stating, “Interesting fact—and again, we’ll clarify this on Thursday—but 94% of the increase in the amount raised by taxation is driven by salary and benefit cost increases. 94%.”
The board also discussed the impact of declining car tax revenues. Lavieri noted, “With the change in the state legislation around car taxes, we lost $26 million in assessed value of cars, which translates into about a half a million dollar reduction in taxes coming into the town.”
[THIS PARAGRAPH WAS UPDATED 3/10/2025] Finance Director Anne Kelly-Lenz provided an update on the town’s borrowing, stating, “We bonded just about $35 million. The total interest cost was 3.34%. The bond premium was 1.912 million, and the net interest cost was 11.6 percent.”
Board members reviewed the town’s debt, noting a total outstanding debt of approximately $139 million, with $7 million scheduled for repayment this year.
Members addressed the Dunning Stadium scoreboard project. The proposed resolution reads: “Resolution authorizing an appropriation of $201,000 for the Dunning Stadium 2026 project and the financing of said appropriation by the issuance of general obligation bonds of the town and notes in anticipation of such bonds in an amount not to exceed $201,000.”
Board members reviewed cost estimates and potential fundraising efforts to cover a $14,000 funding gap, with expected contributions from the All Sports Booster Club and the PFA.
With no additional public comments, the board adjourned and will vote on the final budget on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
