BET Budget Committee cuts mill rate hike to 4.70 percent
Other Committee · Meeting of March 3, 2026
Greenwich budget panel slashes proposed tax hike nearly in half on decision day. The Board of Estimate and Taxation Budget Committee, chaired by Laura Ericson with members Harry Fischer, Doug Fenton and Joe Kelly, cut the mill rate increase from 6.01 percent to 4.70 percent through operating, capital and revenue changes. A push by Fischer to raise the capital tax levy by $2 million failed 2-2, keeping that question open for the full 12-member BET on March 31.
The committee voted 3-1, over Ericson's dissent, to strip $48,328 for a part-time health educator position, with Ericson saying she wanted "the RTM to opine on" the issue. Capital actions included $1.1 million for a Round Hill fire tanker, $296,657 for a police boat, and a $3.5 million cut to a shelved Greenwich-to-Stamford trail.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,109 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of March 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
GREENWICH — March 3, 2026 — The Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation Budget Committee spent a full day of votes Tuesday trimming the first selectman's proposed budget, driving the town's projected mill rate increase down from 6.01 percent to 4.70 percent through a combination of spending cuts and higher revenue projections.
The four-member committee, chaired by Laura Ericson, worked through operating, capital and revenue line items before a separate motion to increase the town's capital tax levy by $2 million failed on a 2-2 tie. The committee also voted 3-1, over Ericson's objection, to cut $48,328 in temporary salary funding tied to a proposed part-time health educator position.
The Full Story
The committee, which also includes members Harry Fischer, Doug Fenton and Joe Kelly, opened the session by adopting the first selectman's operating and capital budgets as a starting point "subject to changes throughout the day," in Fischer's words, then spent roughly six and a half hours moving through hundreds of line items. Comptroller Joan Lynch and finance staff member Agnes tracked the changes on a live voting sheet.
On operating expenses, the committee cut $12,000 from the law department after the town attorney's office dropped a paper subscription, reduced fire department water service costs by $100,000 to reflect actual usage, and added $124,640 to the police department to fund an additional Freedom of Information clerk and convert a property and evidence clerk to full-time, both previously approved 3-0-1 by the BET's HR committee. The most contested operating vote came on a $48,328 reduction to a proposed part-time health educator position in the health department. Ericson said the position had support from both the health director and the Board of Health but had not gone through the HR committee or appeared in the first selectman's budget book. She was the lone vote against the cut.
On capital spending, the committee approved $1.1 million for a new water-supply tanker truck for the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Company and $300,000 for a support vehicle and equipment for the Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Company, along with $296,657 for a replacement police boat after the current backup vessel was sold for scrap for $7,500. Members voted to strip $3.5 million from the fiscal 2028 capital plan for a since-abandoned Greenwich-to-Stamford multi-use trail, and removed $400,000 budgeted for Grigg Street sidewalk work after public works staff said a temporary fix was holding up. The committee deferred a $250,000 resiliency infrastructure study by a year and cut $420,000 for demolition of the Horseneck building, citing continued demand for the space as swing facilities.
The committee also reworked funding tied to the long-discussed Roger Sherman Baldwin Park redevelopment, cutting $1 million in design money down to $250,000 after debate, while adding $650,000 to accelerate a Holly Hill master plan meant to resolve where the town's parks and public works crews would relocate. Members flagged, but did not yet vote on, conditions for the roughly $42.1 million Hamill Rink project and the Greenwich High School pool and aquatics project, pending further municipal-improvement approval and community input.
"I recognize and appreciate that the process for going to the HR committee wasn't followed in this particular case, but I do think this is something that I would really like to see the RTM opine on," — Laura Ericson, Budget Committee Chair.
"We know that we're going to have to spend more to fund our capital needs. That's a known known. It's time to do it," — Harry Fischer, Budget Committee member.
"It feels premature to make adjustments at this stage when that process is still in place and they haven't gotten through that process to the conclusions where you will have a clear path," — Doug Fenton, Budget Committee member.
Why It Matters
The committee's actions set the baseline the full 12-member BET will vote on at its decision day March 31, when the board formally adopts the budget and, in May, sets the actual tax rate. The failed 2-2 vote to raise the capital tax levy from $3 million to $5 million a year means that question stays open for the full board, with members citing an ongoing debt and fund balance policy committee review due to report by March 11. Residents can weigh in at a public hearing March 26 in the town hall meeting room before the BET's final vote.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Reduce law department budget by $12,000 Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Reduce fire department water service line by $100,000 Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Add $124,640 to police department for FOIA and property/evidence clerk positions Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Reduce health administration temporary salaries by $48,328 (health educator position) Tally: For: 3, Against: 1, Abstain: 0, Total: 4 - Action: Employee health premium contribution adjustment of $1.5 million — Withdrawn by Doug Fenton pending full BET review - Vote: Approve $1.1 million for Round Hill Volunteer Fire Company tanker truck Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approve $300,000 for Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Company vehicle and equipment Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approve $296,657 for replacement police boat Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Remove $3.5 million from fiscal 2028 capital plan for multi-use trail Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Remove $400,000 for Grigg Street sidewalk project Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Defer $250,000 resiliency infrastructure improvement study by one year Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Reduce Horseneck building demolition budget by $420,000 Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Reduce Roger Sherman Baldwin Park design funding by $750,000, as amended, leaving $250,000 Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Add $650,000 for Holly Hill master plan in fiscal 2027 Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Remove duplicative $1.5 million (GHS secondary egress) and $8 million (tennis courts) from fiscal 2030 capital plan Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Increase capital tax levy by $2 million, from $3 million to $5 million Tally: For: 2, Against: 2, Abstain: 0, Total: 4 (motion failed) - Vote: Approve general fund operating budget as amended, a net reduction of $1,955,660 from the original proposal Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approve general fund capital budget as amended, a net reduction of $777,000 from the original proposal Tally: Approved unanimously
Numerous additional rounding and revenue-line adjustments — including a $1 million increase to projected investment income, a $215,000 increase in planning and zoning filing fees, a $100,000 increase in fire department plan-review revenue, and a combined $712,501 increase in parks and recreation revenue — were also approved unanimously as part of the day's line-item review.
Source
Greenwich Community Television: Board of Estimate and Taxation Budget Committee meeting, March 3, 2026