What would you do with an extra $12,000,000? What would you do with even $1,000,000? I have a very long wish list if ever my bank account holds that amount of money, but what if I had it today, to help my family? I would put it to good use, and I would splurge a bit too. Recently, Mayor Chess released his proposed town budget with an increase of $12 million, and comments abound around town, especially on social media.
Managing any budget, whether our personal one or a town budget, it must be done with care, with an understanding of our needs, wants, and values, no?
What is for sure is that $12,000,000 is a lot of money. And the fact is that many of us (myself included) now own homes that have increased over $100,000 in value (which translates into a higher tax rate, though lower mill rate in the mayor’s proposed budget). There are so many numbers to consider. I sat down with Mayor Chess last Wednesday to try to understand his values and the goals of his proposed budget for fiscal year 2027.
What will the mayor’s proposed Town Budget feel like if approved at its current $278,054,170?
Our fiscal year runs from July 1st – June 30th, and we are currently operating on the approved 2025-2026 budget under Mayor Hoydick’s leadership. That budget is $266,046,134, and of that budgeted amount, as reported in the mayor’s email update, the town has to date used $254,291,692.
In the Mayor’s Updates email, and during last week’s Town Council meeting, a Town Budget of $278,054,170 was proposed. When I met with Mayor Chess, my aim was to learn why the $12 million increase, what it really means for our community, and how his priorities as mayor align with the proposed budget.
Mayor Chess said of his proposed budget, “This is a responsible, thoughtful budget that tries to build a foundation that is healthy for growth.” The mayor’s 2027 budget proposal goes in depth, and adds a bit of color to the millions of dollars.
The completion of the revaluation this past October proved that taxes were not equitable among residential and commercial properties alike, with an unequal tax burden placed on families, like yours and mine – Sikorsky pays less for their property and land, than I do for my 1,200 sq. ft. 1920’s house.
In the mayor’s recent email, he provided updates on the Army Engine Plant, train station, and other developments. In our discussion, he went a bit deeper and said, “On the sewage tax side, I decreased that to $525 from $569 and I increased the commercial tax by 20%. By doing that, we are actually able to put aside money rather than going to bond. I am able to put aside $2.5 million dollars a year, then we can self fund repairs, and in 3 or 4 years, we will have $10,000,000.”
It’s math, really, no? Money comes in (by way of tax dollars, state funds, etc.) and money goes out (salaries, light bills, town repairs, public school system’s budget, public works, etc.). And then there are those lingering debts, which for us may be credit cards or car payments. But for the town, it’s like paying back $300,000,000, but to whom? According to Mayor Chess, he said, “These are bonds that we have borrowed through lending agencies over the last 20 years.”
When we look at the numbers on the page, the math does math, and in the Mayor’s proposed budget, the numbers make sense.
“You have to build a foundation that is sustainable. You will not attract major corporations here. You will not attract high tech manufacturing here if the average child in town – if only 29% of them pass math to grade level,” said the mayor.
In the 2024 census report, over 20% of Stratford residents (about 11,000 of our then total population of 53,610) were 65 years of age or older. While those 11,000 people may not be caring for kids who are in school, the quality of our education system matters for us all – why? I will explore this question in my article next week.
But what does the mayor’s budget proposal say about where he stands on education? The proposed budget for the Board of Education is more than half of the mayor’s overall budget proposal.
Let’s ask ourselves – what do we truly want for our Stratford?
We hope you will leave your comments here to this question.
