Finance Board Approves Transfers, Opens FY27 Budget Review
Board of Finance · Meeting of February 10, 2026
New Canaan finance board approves $78,488 in transfers, digs into a costly radio contract. The Board of Finance signed off on transfers covering a flooded movie-theater HVAC system and fire equipment repairs, then heard emergency management director Russ describe Motorola's initial 31 percent hike on the town's public safety radio maintenance contract, since negotiated down to about 21 percent, or $169,813 to $179,268 annually depending on term length. The fire department asked to move up a $1.5 million pumper replacement to fiscal 2027, while police requested $8.4 million in operating funds and $549,000 in capital, including three new patrol vehicles and a full taser overhaul.
EMS president Barb Clayton reported the volunteer service logged 28,633 hours last year and grew from 26 to 54 members in six years. "We consider it an honor," Clayton said. "It's a gift to us to have this responsibility."
In the full story:
- The complete report — 856 words
Source: the Board of Finance meeting of February 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
NEW CANAAN — February 10, 2026 — The Board of Finance approved $78,488 in mid-year budget transfers Tuesday and opened its review of more than $14 million in proposed fiscal 2027 public safety spending, including a public safety radio maintenance contract that Motorola initially tried to raise by 31 percent.
Board members also heard a financial update showing New Canaan has collected $168.8 million in revenue through seven months of fiscal 2026, or 96.3 percent of its budgeted estimate, putting the town ahead of pace with just over 58 percent of the fiscal year elapsed.
The Full Story
Ryan, a town finance official who presented the update remotely, told the board that current tax collections stood at $160.2 million, 4.5 percent ahead of last year and 97.6 percent of this year's budget, with the town still projecting to hit or exceed 100 percent of its tax levy for the year. Building permit revenue, at $669,000, was down 20.2 percent from the prior year, a drop Ryan attributed to unusually large developments in November and December of 2024 that inflated last year's comparison. The only revenue line running behind expectations was transfer station tipping fees, at $165,000, or 39.8 percent of budget.
The board then approved three budget transfers without objection: $17,488 moved within the sewer capital fund to a motor control electrical rehabilitation project, $25,000 from contingency to cover an HVAC coil failure that flooded the movie theater building, and $36,000 from general fund contingency for fire department mobile equipment repairs. Nicholas Petraus moved to approve the February 3 meeting minutes, Victor Alvarez seconded, and both that motion and the transfers passed unanimously.
Representatives of New Canaan's volunteer emergency medical service, president Barb Clayton and treasurer John Knight, reported the organization responded to 1,734 calls last year and logged 28,633 volunteer hours, growing from 26 members six years ago to 54 today. Its paramedic contract with Norwalk Hospital remains fixed at $465,000 annually through 2028, but the group is proposing a 5 percent increase, to $61,260, for medical supplies after the hospital began billing separately for paramedic supplies in 2024.
The town's emergency management director, Russ, told the board Motorola had proposed a 31 percent increase on the five-year contract that sustains New Canaan's public safety radio system, which expires in June 2026. After pushback and state pressure, the increase has come down to roughly 21 percent. A one-year contract option would cost $179,267.50; a four-year deal would bring the annual cost to $169,813. Russ said early analysis of switching to the state radio system found it would require at least three new repeater sites, at roughly $1 million apiece, making the move impractical for now.
The fire department requested a $4.8 million operating budget, a 1.1 percent increase, and asked to move up replacement of a 30-year-old pumper to fiscal 2027 at a cost of $1.5 million, pushing a planned tanker refurbishment back to fiscal 2028. The department reported 44 "coded fires" last year, up from 27 the year before, though only 12 involved structures, down from 18, with property loss falling to $394,000 from $600,000. The police department requested an $8.4 million operating budget and $549,000 in capital spending, including $300,000 for three patrol vehicles and a full taser replacement program after the current models were discontinued by the manufacturer. Police reported growing from 47 to 50 sworn officers in fiscal 2025 and said a deep pool of applicants, roughly 20 for the department's latest opening, has kept hiring competitive.
"We consider it an honor. It's a gift to us to have this responsibility." — Barb Clayton, president, New Canaan Emergency Medical Service
"We were shocked when Motorola came back at us with a 31 percent contract-over-contract increase in the price, which needless to say we balked at and said was completely unacceptable." — Russ, New Canaan emergency management director
"The next ladder New Canaan buys is not going to fit in the firehouse that we have now." — New Canaan Fire Chief
Why It Matters
None of Tuesday's budget requests were finalized; the board is scheduled to vote on department budgets in the coming weeks. But the numbers on the table are substantial: a $1.5 million fire pumper, a police taser replacement program, and a radio maintenance contract that could cost the town between $169,813 and $179,268 a year depending on contract length, with a potential multimillion-dollar decision looming over whether to eventually migrate to the state's radio network.
The emergency medical service's growth from 26 to 54 volunteer members over six years, meanwhile, continues to save the town the cost of a paid ambulance staff, board member Bob Hamill noted, a point he said should factor into how residents view the group's capital requests.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Approve minutes of the February 3, 2026 meeting Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approve three FY26 budget transfers ($17,488 sewer capital, $25,000 movie theater fund, $36,000 fire mobile equipment) Tally: Approved unanimously - Action: Adjourn meeting Tally: Approved unanimously
Source
Town Of New Canaan: Board of Finance meeting, February 10, 2026