As Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti said during her 2026-27 budget presentation to the Legislative Council on March 11, “to understand this year, it’s important to revisit what we faced last year.”

The council was reviewing the budget following a Board of Finance review, with the 2026-27 proposed budget currently standing at a $51,630,490 town budget and $95,961,919 school budget, totaling $147,592,409. The town has a 3.54% spending increase, and the BOE is looking at a 4.6% spending increase, for a total effective tax rate increase of 2.91%.

Uberti noted the "unprecedented increase in insurance" in 2025-26 — $2.5 million for the town and schools that were paid for out of the fund balance last year — combined with contractual obligations in salaries and benefits meant that in 2025-26 a same services budget started at a 7.87% spending increase, which was decreased significantly with 30 position reductions and "deep and sometimes painful cuts" reducing the budget by $1.5 million; in the end a 4.96% increase was approved for the schools.

This year, the 2026-2027 budget, the baseline or “rollover” budget, as Uberti put it, reflects the cost of maintaining current services, and represents an increase of approximately $3.1 million, or 3.3%, driven primarily by contractual salary and benefit increases, as well as a $450,000 transfer to the medical and dental self-insurance fund to help stabilize future costs.

The proposed budget also includes strategic staffing additions totaling approximately $1.25 million, most of which support special education services due to significant growth in the district’s PAL program. Additional positions include a math interventionist at Newtown High School, a dean of students at Newtown Middle School to address chronic absenteeism, restoration of a Fine Arts Chair, and reinstatement of a reading position at Hawley Elementary School.

The total proposed 2026-2027 budget is approximately $96.1 million, representing a 4.73% increase over the current year; following a recommended reduction by the Newtown Board of Finance, the increase would be approximately 4.6%.

On the town budget, at a previous meeting First Selectman Bruce Walczak said that the budget had some changes that were favorable, such as the elimination of curbside recycling for $670,000, the restoration of tax collection to the historic norm of 99.3% which added $240,000 to the budget, and an intergovernmental increase for roads of $157,000. It also faced headwinds in the form of a three percent increase for wages and benefits of $690,000, increases for police and fire retirements of $355,000, inflation of 2.7% on operational expenses, contingency needed for unplanned expenses of $95,000, staffing needs to improve town services, aging rolling stock costing $655,000, and security and accessibility challenges.

The budget, after changes by the Board of Finance, adds four full time additions, a facilities maintenance person, a building inspector, a dispatcher, a police officer, and a senior administrative aid; plus a part time fire administrator.

The senior administrative aid was initially in the first selectman's budget as a director of operations, but the Board of Finance cut the salary and the scope of the job to a lesser position, with BOF member Jim Gaston stating that he and the BOF felt it was more desirable to have a lesser position that would not have other department heads answering to it, but would instead aid the first selectman with administrating projects and community outreach, and possibly assist Human Resources.

Several councilmen had questions regarding the changed senior administrative aid position, and Councilman Ben Ruben requested a copy of the job description. Walczak said he would make that available to them.

The council was expected to have a public hearing on the current budget on March 18 continue its review of the budget for possible changes later that evening.

Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.