Board of Finance Reviews Fiscal 2027 Parks, Public Works Budgets
Board of Finance · Meeting of February 12, 2026
New Canaan Board of Finance reviews parks and public works budgets, takes no votes. Parks and Recreation Director John How pitched a 2.95 percent operating increase, set to shrink further after the town stops chlorinating the Kiwanis Park pond in favor of more frequent water testing. The Steve Beno Pool enterprise fund is requesting $593,324 in expenses against $630,700 in projected revenue, a 7.5 percent increase.
Public works, led by a director known as "Tiger," reported capital requests falling from an initial $18 million, a 29.28 percent jump, to roughly a 1 percent increase after deferring a $4 million HVAC overhaul at Waveny House. Board member Michael Chen cautioned against letting recreation fees turn the department into a "profit center." The department also flagged a $5.3 million sidewalk repair backlog and a possible switch to all-way stop signs at two town-owned intersections.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 871 words
Source: the Board of Finance meeting of February 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
NEW CANAAN — February 12, 2026 — The Board of Finance spent Thursday's meeting reviewing fiscal 2027 budget requests from the parks and recreation and public works departments, with members warning that this year's combined capital wish list was shaping up to be, in the words of one member, "a terrible year for capital" unless trimmed.
No votes were taken. Board members said they would vote on the budgets at a later meeting once final numbers, including outstanding questions about roughly $315,000 in discrepancies between the recreation department's summary slides and its underlying budget book, are reconciled.
The Full Story
Parks and Recreation Director John How told the board his department's initial operating budget request represented a 2.95 percent increase, a figure he said would fall further once adjusted numbers for Kiwanis Park are incorporated. The town plans to stop adding chlorine to the Kiwanis Park pond for environmental reasons, relying instead on more frequent water testing after rain events, which allowed How to zero out a chemicals line item for next year. A related assessment of the Kiwanis Park dam has been put on hold while the town gathers water-quality data.
How, joined by parks superintendent Ryan Restiva and assistant recreation director Zach Philippus, said the department considered raising tennis and pickleball membership and guest fees to offset court resurfacing costs at Mead Park but recommended against it, fearing it would push other programs toward similar fee hikes. He also outlined a possible shift toward "enterprise fund" accounting, similar to the Board of Education's cafeteria fund, that would let specific programs' revenue be tracked and reinvested in their own capital needs rather than pooled into a general recreation account. Board member Michael Chen cautioned against letting that flexibility turn recreation into a "profit center." The Steve Beno Pool, an enterprise fund, is requesting a 7.5 percent increase, with $630,700 in projected revenue against $593,324 in expenses. Waveny House wedding rentals are projected to bring in about $200,000 again this year, on roughly 34 bookings.
Public works, led by the department's director, known throughout the meeting only by the nickname "Tiger" and joining by videoconference while recovering from an illness, reported an overall operating budget decrease of 1.11 percent, which becomes an increase of about 0.88 percent when an accounting anomaly in the sewer budget is excluded. He was joined at the table by town engineer Maria Cople and senior project manager Joan Agarinsky, with highway superintendent Lou and wastewater staff joining by phone. The transfer station budget fell 9 percent after longtime superintendent Don Smith retired following more than 40 years with the town; Lou has since taken over management of both the highway department and the transfer station. The wastewater treatment plant budget was essentially flat, up about $2,629, or 0.15 percent, once one-time contingency and transfer lines are excluded.
On capital spending, Tiger said the department's initial ask of $18 million represented a 29.28 percent increase but pledged to cut it substantially. By meeting's end, after deferring a $4 million HVAC replacement at Waveny House and eliminating a second phase of Waveny House exterior repairs, he said the effective capital increase would fall to roughly 1 percent. He also told the board that current-year capital projects are running about $1.6 million under budget with $1 million in unused contingency funds.
"We started off at four or five and then by the time we got done we were 10 to $13 million, and we also had space constraints down at the plant," Tiger said, describing a years-old permit crisis over zinc and phosphorus discharge that the town has managed since through roughly $20,000 a year in consulting work with AECOM, avoiding a forced plant upgrade.
"So, at this point in time, we don't recommend doing that, because if we start doing that, we see it happening to all our programs. Do we start charging for using the field?" — John How, director of parks and recreation
"I just want to caution. I think it's a good idea to have flexibility, but I caution against, if you give it too much flexibility, all of a sudden is a rec department a profit center." — Michael Chen, Board of Finance member
Why It Matters
The public works capital plan includes a years-long backlog of roughly $5.3 million in sidewalk repairs, with $750,000 requested for next year alone, plus $350,000 in ADA-mandated walkway upgrades near Dunning Stadium and Lapham Community Center. The department is also weighing whether to convert the town-owned traffic signals at Park and Pine and Park and Elm to all-way stop signs, a possibility raised by consultant Jeff Speck's walkability study, though money budgeted for signal replacement would only be spent if that approach fails. Separately, a $1.5 million intersection project at Farm Road and Route 106 depends entirely on a still-uncertain state grant commitment. On the recreation side, residents should expect no fee increases at town tennis, paddle and pickleball courts for now, and the pool at Kiwanis Park will stop using chlorine this season.
Key Motions & Votes
No formal votes taken at this meeting.
Source
Town Of New Canaan: Board of Finance meeting, February 12, 2026