Selectmen review $19 million public works capital request
Other Committee · Meeting of January 22, 2026
New Canaan selectmen pressed department heads on a $19 million public works capital plan and a $118.3 million school budget request. Public Works Director Tiger said the department's $11.9 million operating budget rises about 1.1 percent, while capital requests jumped roughly $5 million from last year, led by a $4 million Waveny House HVAC overhaul and a $360,000 door replacement that facilities director Bill Flynn admitted was "crazy." Selectmen scaled back a $1 million artificial turf request for two softball infields to a roughly $100,000 design-only line after officials said no construction could happen this year anyway. The Board of Education's $118,283,765 operating request, up 3.94 percent, is 82.8 percent salaries and benefits, with officials warning of volatile kindergarten enrollment that could require portable classrooms at East School.
No budget votes were taken.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 817 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of January 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
NEW CANAAN — January 22, 2026 — The Board of Selectmen spent a full budget-workshop session Thursday pressing town department heads on a proposed $19 million public works capital plan, a $118.3 million school operating budget and a $360,000 request to replace two sets of doors at Waveny House.
No budget votes were taken. The meeting was a review session ahead of the town's spring budget calendar, with the Board of Finance and Town Council still to weigh in. Public Works Director Tiger walked the board through department-by-department requests, while the district's superintendent of schools and business office presented the Board of Education's $118,283,765 operating request, up $4.486 million, or 3.94 percent, over the current year.
The Full Story
Public Works Director Tiger told selectmen the department's proposed $11.9 million operating budget represents roughly a 1.1 percent increase, or $120,000, over last year once an unrelated sewer-fund accounting anomaly is set aside. Within that total, the highway department budget rises $152,000, or 3.84 percent, to $4.1 million, driven largely by hiring more experienced workers who start at higher pay steps. The transfer station budget falls $171,000, or 9 percent, after longtime superintendent Donnie Smith retired and his oversight duties were folded into the highway department under existing staff, combined with lower projected garbage tonnage.
The capital request drew the most scrutiny. DPW's total capital ask is just over $19 million, up about $5 million from last year's $14 million. Big-ticket items include $6.975 million for engineering, split among a $3.5 million pavement management program, $750,000 for sidewalk replacement and $1.5 million toward a Farm Road and Route 106 intersection project that is contingent on a regional transportation grant. Facilities work totals nearly $8 million, dominated by a $4 million HVAC replacement at Waveny House and $360,000 to replace the estate's front and back entry doors, a number that startled board members.
"We didn't want to, we're not happy with that number either. Believe me, not presenting that number to us because we thought it was crazy," said Bill Flynn, the town's facilities director, who said only two manufacturers quoted comparable prices for commercial-grade, ADA-compliant aluminum doors with custom leaded glass.
Selectmen also questioned a $1 million request for artificial turf infields at two girls softball fields, sought by New Canaan Softball after the program said it loses 18 to 19 percent of its games annually to weather on clay infields. Because the project has no design plans, officials agreed to scale the line item down to roughly $100,000 for design work and push construction funding to next year's capital cycle.
On the schools side, salaries and benefits account for 82.8 percent of the operating budget and 85 percent of the year-over-year increase. District officials flagged unusually volatile kindergarten enrollment projections, up as much as 50 students at East School alone, and said they are budgeting flat kindergarten staffing while preparing contingency plans that include portable classrooms at East School and shifting pre-kindergarten sections from West School to South School.
"We just don't know until the kids are here," the superintendent of schools told the board, describing the district's approach to the enrollment uncertainty.
Public Works Director Tiger, addressing questions about a jump in highway salary costs, said the department has shifted its hiring practices. "We have been hiring experienced workers. Yeah. And they're not starting at the lowest grade possible," he said.
Near the end of the meeting, selectmen raised a procedural question that has apparently gone unanswered for years: why the Board of Selectmen historically comments only on the town's capital budget and not its operating budget. Board members said the town's attorney is researching the charter, citing a specific provision, Section C-56, and said the practice appears to date at least to 2013 with no clear origin.
Why It Matters
The requests reviewed Thursday are early markers in a budget process that will run through the spring, with the Board of Finance and Town Council still to act before any tax impact is set. The Waveny House HVAC and door replacements, part of a long-running renovation effort town officials said could total $12 million to $15 million against an original 2019-era estimate of $25 million, illustrate the scale of deferred maintenance still facing the town's signature municipal property. Meanwhile, the softball turf request and the kindergarten enrollment swings at the elementary schools point to near-term capacity and equity decisions the schools will have to revisit before the fiscal year begins July 1.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Approval of the January 22 meeting agenda Tally: Approved unanimously - Action: Public works and school department capital and operating budget requests — Reviewed, no vote taken; referred to continued budget process with the Board of Finance - Vote: Motion to adjourn Tally: Approved unanimously
Source
Town Of New Canaan: Board of Selectmen meeting, January 22, 2026