Board of Finance adopts 16.967 mill rate for fiscal 2027

Board of Finance · Meeting of June 9, 2026

New Canaan Board of Finance sets the lowest projected tax increase among area towns at 2.48 percent. Meeting June 9, the board voted unanimously to adopt a mill rate of 16.967 on a taxable base of $168,118,990, opting to draw $5.8 million from the town's unassigned fund balance rather than the originally budgeted $5 million, which would have produced a 2.97 percent increase. Finance staff reported a roughly $6 million fiscal 2026 surplus, driven by conveyance fees beating budget by about $650,000 and interest income by about $366,000.

One member warned the larger drawdown is "like a drug that we've never used," while another argued the town should "help the taxpayer" in an inflationary year. The board separately approved $48,647.81 in budget transfers, including funds to cover tax-bill postage and retroactive police salary increases.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,772 words

Source: the Board of Finance meeting of June 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

Roll Call and Minutes

The Board of Finance convened its regular June meeting with eleven members on the roll: Daniel Carlson, Tom McCarthy, Michael Chan, Victor Alvarez, Maria Weingarten, Robert Hammel, James Yiao, Nicholas Metrakas, Jan Schaefer, Steve Doka and Alan Bednarz. Doka was recorded absent; the other ten members were present. A person identified in the transcript only as "Miss Labriola" was also noted as present at the start of the meeting, though her role was not specified. The board approved the minutes of its May 12 meeting on a motion, seconded by member Maria Weingarten, with one member abstaining.

May Financial Results

Background and stakes: Each June, the Board of Finance reviews year-to-date revenue and expense performance and uses it, along with projections for the balance of the fiscal year, to decide how much of the town's unassigned fund balance to apply toward reducing the coming year's tax rate. This year's review carried particular weight because town finance staff reported unusually strong results across several revenue categories.

The question before the body: How much surplus had fiscal 2026 generated through May, and what did staff project for the full year.

Substantive content: Town finance staff members identified in the discussion as Ann and Ryan presented the numbers. Year-to-date revenue through May totaled $179.1 million, 102.2 percent of the fiscal 2026 budget. Current tax collections reached $165.9 million, up 3.6 percent from the prior year and 101.1 percent of budget. Building permit revenue reached $1.1 million, 125.9 percent of budget, boosted by a large permit on Farm Road that staff estimated at $170,000 to $180,000. Conveyance fees, the tax on real estate transactions, stood near $2 million through May, 126.8 percent of the year's budget. Parking permit revenue was at $1 million, already reflecting an expected $100,000 transfer out. Interest on investments reached $2.1 million, 115.4 percent of budget. Transfer station tipping fees lagged at $252,000, 60.7 percent of budget, and were expected to stay low. The town's excess-cost special education reimbursement grant from the state came in at $733,000, which staff described as "a legitimate miss" against expectations, with no further state payment expected. Total expenses through May were $155.9 million, 85.9 percent of the year's budget.

For June, staff projected additional tax collections of $39,000, building permits of $50,000, conveyance fees of $223,000 (pushing the full-year conveyance total to roughly $2.25 million against a budgeted $1.6 million, a beat of about $650,000) and interest income of $90,000 (pushing the full-year interest beat to roughly $366,000). Combined, staff projected total revenue would finish about $4.6 million to $4.65 million, or 2.7 percent, over budget. Expenses were projected to finish $1.87 million to $1.9 million under budget, a figure that already reflects a $500,000 supplemental request from the Board of Education, reduced to $360,000 after the district secured a state capital-improvement grant.

The deliberation: A board member asked pointedly about the size of the projected conveyance and interest beats. "That is a big beat, everybody. We forecasted and expected budgeted 1.6 million," one member said upon hearing the $2.25 million projection. Board members also pressed staff on why the state excess-cost grant came in lower than an earlier email had suggested; staff said they would follow up with the state contact, identified in discussion as Brian, to determine the reason. One member noted the town has now run a pattern for years of collecting roughly 2 percent more in revenue than budgeted while spending about 1 percent less, calling it "a pretty reliable number to have in the back of our mind as we start budget season." Chris LaBrie, a town finance official who also handled roll call, discussed the town's delinquent tax collection process, noting the town waits three years and generally sets a threshold of $20,000 to $25,000 before pursuing legal action against a delinquent property, and now mails quarterly reminder statements. He said delinquent balances, largely tied to real estate rather than vehicles, have stayed roughly stable even through the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Procedural steps and outcome: No formal vote was required on the financial update itself; it set up the drawdown and mill-rate decision that followed.

Implications and what is next: The favorable results, roughly $6 million in combined revenue and expense favorability for fiscal 2026, gave the board room to consider a larger-than-budgeted drawdown of the unassigned fund balance heading into the mill-rate vote.

The Fund Balance Drawdown and Mill Rate Decision

Background and stakes: New Canaan's original fiscal 2027 budget assumed a $5 million drawdown of the town's unassigned general fund balance to offset taxes, which staff calculated would produce a mill rate of 17.048 and a 2.97 percent increase in the amount to be raised by taxation. Given the stronger-than-expected fiscal 2026 results, staff prepared an alternative scenario using a larger, $5.8 million drawdown.

The question before the body: Whether to adopt the larger drawdown, and by extension a lower mill rate and smaller tax increase, or to hold to the more conservative $5 million figure.

Substantive content: Under the $5.8 million drawdown scenario, the mill rate would be 16.967 and the increase in the amount to be raised by taxation would be 2.48 percent. The town's unassigned fund balance, expressed as a percentage of the operating budget, was projected to rise from 12.57 percent to 13.65 percent under the $5 million option, or to 13.21 percent under the $5.8 million option, still above the board's 10 percent policy floor. One member recalled the fund balance percentage had dipped as low as roughly 10.8 to 10.9 percent in past years before climbing back into the mid-teens. Total fund balance, combining assigned and unassigned amounts, was projected at roughly $31.2 million under the more conservative scenario, about $1.5 million higher than the prior year.

Staff also separately noted the fiscal 2026 budgeted drawdown, originally $5.75 million, had already been revised upward to $6.11 million after the Board of Education requested a $500,000 supplemental appropriation, later reduced to $360,000 once a state capital-improvement grant became available to help cover the same need.

The deliberation: The larger drawdown drew a substantive back-and-forth. One member argued for caution, warning that relying on the fuller $5.8 million drawdown this year would effectively raise the baseline the town needs to match next year just to keep the percentage increase level, and that if the town ever failed to outperform its budget, it could face a much larger mill rate jump the following year. "It's like a drug that we've never used," the member said, adding that if the town ever had to actually draw down that much because of a budget miss, "you have to tell the citizens, look, we got hit with a bad year, and taxes are going up this year." Another member pushed back that the practical difference between the two options was only $800,000, arguing the town has consistently beaten its budget for years, actively monitors spending monthly, and would identify a developing problem by October or January, long before the annual pattern would repeat. That member also argued for using strong years to give money back to taxpayers: "In an inflationary environment, if we can help the taxpayer by making their property taxes a little bit lower, I think that's a good thing to do." Board member Victor Alvarez was described by another member as favoring an even larger drawdown, up to $7.5 million, an option the board did not pursue. Asked directly to rate her comfort with the $5.8 million figure on a scale of one to 10, town finance staff member Ann said, "I'm okay with 5.8."

Board members also reviewed a town-to-town comparison document showing New Canaan's projected 2.48 percent tax increase was the lowest among six comparable towns: Darien (4.57 percent), Fairfield (4.28 percent), Ridgefield (about 4 percent), Westport (about 6 percent) and Wilton (about 3.8 percent). One member put the figure in the context of inflation, noting trailing CPI stood at 3.8 percent with expectations it would rise to about 4.2 percent in a report due the next day. A separate seven-year comparison chart showed New Canaan's combined town and Board of Education spending grew at a compound annual rate of about 3 percent, compared with 3.8 percent in Darien, and that last year specifically, New Canaan's combined increase was 1.91 percent against figures of 4.02 percent, 4.49 percent and 5.36 percent in unnamed comparison towns on the same chart.

Procedural steps and outcome: The board's presiding member proposed a motion setting the mill rate at 16.967, representing a 2.48 percent increase in the amount to be raised by taxation, on a total taxable base of $168,118,990. Board member Michael Chan seconded the motion. The board approved it by unanimous show of hands with no opposition recorded.

Implications and what is next: The adopted mill rate sets the tax bill New Canaan property owners will see for fiscal 2027, which begins July 1. Because the town has historically drawn down far less of its budgeted unassigned fund balance than authorized, members said they do not expect the full $5.8 million to actually be spent down, though the adopted rate assumes it as a ceiling for planning purposes.

School Capacity and Long-Term Risk

Background and stakes: Board members periodically use the June meeting to discuss risks on the horizon beyond the immediate budget year.

The question before the body: What financial or operational risks the town should be watching.

Substantive content: One long-tenured member, who said he has served on the board for 30 years, said the renovation and expansion of the town's existing schools is a manageable, recurring cost the town bonds over 20 to 30 years and does not consider a major risk. He identified rising residential density and its effect on school enrollment as the town's most significant unresolved risk. Members discussed a recent presentation, attributed to a district official identified as Brian, indicating West School, not East School as some members had assumed, is now the more capacity-constrained building because of turnover in housing stock and an influx of young families; part of the district's preschool program is expected to relocate there as a result. East School was described as already at or near capacity.

The deliberation: Members agreed the issue would require a joint discussion with the Board of Education, tentatively expected next year, and noted that redistricting could address some of the imbalance, though a full solution had not been identified. One member also cautioned the town should preserve the integrity and resources of each individual school rather than let density growth overburden a single building.

Procedural steps and outcome: No action was taken; the discussion was informational.

Implications and what is next: Members indicated they expect a more detailed conversation with the Board of Education on school capacity and possible redistricting in the coming year.

Fund Balance Policy and Rating Agency Considerations

Background and stakes: New Canaan's growing fund balance has drawn attention both from municipal bond rating agencies and from board members who question whether the town needs to hold as much reserve cash as it currently does.

Substantive content: A member noted the town recently completed a lien sale that recovered delinquent balances on properties that had gone unpaid for years, and that the town's fund balance had also been affected by a prior $35 million borrowing that was later reimbursed through a $10 million permanent bond issuance. Staff said rating agencies, including Moody's, apply a different analytical framework to Connecticut municipalities because of the state's tax structure, but are generally reassured by a fund balance that continues to grow in absolute terms.

The deliberation: One member pushed back on the premise that the town needs a larger reserve to satisfy bankers and rating agencies, saying the town has "proven for decades we don't need to hold" $30 million to $40 million of residents' money, noting the town's tax base exceeds a $10 billion grand list and did not face a cash shortfall even during the 2008 financial crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic. Another member estimated the town's practical annual revenue risk, from ticket, conveyance and interest income volatility, at roughly $1 million, while noting expense-side risk is harder to bound and would typically require the town to return for a special appropriation, citing a hypothetical hurricane as an example of an unbudgeted event.

Implications and what is next: The exchange did not produce a policy change but reflects an ongoing internal debate among members over how much fund balance is prudent to hold versus return to taxpayers, a debate that directly informed the drawdown decision made later in the meeting.

Budget Transfers and Reviews

Background and stakes: The board's monthly consent items include staff-level transfers requiring board approval and lower-dollar transfers staff may approve directly under a $10,000 threshold.

The question before the body: Whether to approve four line-item budget transfers identified by finance staff.

Substantive content: Staff presented four transfers totaling $48,647.81: $9,000 from contingency to the tax collector's postage line, to cover mailing costs for tax bills and delinquent notices after more mailings than budgeted; $7,500 from salary contingency to the police department's educational/incentive salary line, to cover retroactive pay increases tied to a newly renewed union contract; an internal Board of Education transfer of $11,795.14 from a stop-loss insurance premium line, where the district had realized savings, into its administrative fees line, to cover a higher-than-expected year-end Cigna bill; and $20,352.67 from contingency into the town's health and welfare account, which reimburses nursing and health care costs for private schools in town under state statute, after the actual bill came in at $270,352.67 against a $250,000 budget. Staff separately flagged, as a review item not requiring a vote, a $10,000 transfer already approved administratively for fire department equipment maintenance.

Procedural steps and outcome: The board approved all four transfers in a single motion, seconded, with members Victor Alvarez and Nicholas Metrakas both confirming votes in favor and no opposition recorded.

Implications and what is next: Staff reported the town's general contingency account has roughly $118,000 remaining for the fiscal year, and that salary contingency is expected to remain largely untouched, though roughly $60,000 may be needed to cover Highway Department overtime tied to recent storm cleanup.

Meeting Schedule

The board's presiding member proposed skipping the board's regular August meeting, noting it had already been removed from the calendar, with a formal vote to be taken at the July meeting. No vote was taken Tuesday night. The board then adjourned by unanimous vote.

Board of Finance members present: Daniel Carlson, Tom McCarthy, Michael Chan, Victor Alvarez, Maria Weingarten, Robert Hammel, James Yiao, Nicholas Metrakas, Jan Schaefer, Alan Bednarz.

Absent: Steve Doka.

Town finance staff in attendance: Chris LaBrie, a town finance official who assisted with roll call and answered questions on tax collection and delinquency trends; Ann, a town finance department staff member who presented revenue and expense projections and was polled on the fund balance drawdown; Ryan, a town finance department staff member who presented expense figures; Frank, a town staff member who supplied the exact taxation dollar figure used in the mill-rate motion.

Also referenced but not present: A district official identified as Brian, cited by board members regarding a Board of Education presentation on school capacity and the state excess-cost grant.

A person identified only as "Miss Labriola" was noted present at the meeting's opening; her role in the meeting was not specified in the transcript.

State of Connecticut — source of the town's excess-cost special education reimbursement grant, which came in at $733,000 for fiscal 2026, and of a separate capital-improvement grant available to school districts statewide that the Board of Education applied toward its supplemental budget request.

Board of Education — requested a $500,000 supplemental appropriation, later reduced to $360,000, discussed in connection with the fiscal 2026 revised drawdown figure and later in connection with an internal Cigna-related budget transfer.

Moody's — municipal bond rating agency cited by staff as applying a different analytical framework to Connecticut towns because of the state's tax structure, referenced in the fund-balance policy discussion.

Cigna — the Board of Education's health insurance administrator, referenced in connection with the $11,795.14 internal budget transfer between stop-loss premium and administrative fee lines.

Town comparison report — an internal document comparing projected fiscal 2027 tax increases and multi-year spending growth across Darien, Fairfield, Ridgefield, Westport and Wilton, used by the board to benchmark New Canaan's 2.48 percent proposed increase.