Budget Panel Reviews Parks and Recreation's Fiscal 2027 Spending Plan

Other Committee · Meeting of February 26, 2026

Greenwich budget panel finds parks fee hikes will add $495,000 in revenue for fiscal 2027. Director Joseph Leano and Assistant Director Dan Carlson presented a 2.8 percent operating increase, driven by a rising minimum wage projected at $16.94 an hour and costs tied to roughly 300 seasonal workers. The department's full-time headcount holds at 101, down from 123 two decades ago, a reduction Leano called "20 percent of our department." Ferry repairs emerged as the session's biggest concern: inspectors found $500,000 to $600,000 in unplanned steel work needed on the Island Beach boat before engine repowering can proceed, part of a fleet that includes vessels built in 1937 and 1948.

Golf course revenue is projected to rise 14.62 percent after fee adjustments. A $300,000 ADA accessibility request targets Cos Cob Park and Montgomery Pinetum. No formal votes were taken.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 823 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

GREENWICH — February 26, 2026 — The town's budget committee spent Thursday morning combing through the Parks and Recreation Department's proposed fiscal 2027 budget, hearing that updated user fees will add $495,000 in revenue beyond what is printed in the current budget book.

Parks and Recreation Director Joseph Leano and Assistant Director Dan Carlson walked committee members through an operating budget that rose 2.8 percent, slightly above the townwide guideline of 2.75 percent, along with a capital plan covering everything from ferry boat repairs to playground replacements. The department's full-time headcount will remain at 101, unchanged from the current year.

The Full Story

Leano, who was on medical leave when the budget was assembled and credited Carlson with building it, said the operating increase is driven largely by the state's rising minimum wage, projected at $16.94 an hour, and by sick-leave costs tied to the department's roughly 300 seasonal employees. Full-time equivalent staffing will edge up slightly, from 59.66 positions this year to 59.85 proposed for fiscal 2027.

Committee member Doug pressed Leano and Carlson on long-term strategy, asking how the department decides which programs to add or cut. Carlson said participation has shifted over two decades as youth sports moved toward private travel leagues, prompting the department to shrink some in-house programs while opening town fields to those outside groups. He pointed to a tiny tumblers program at the new Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center that expanded from two classes of 12 to two sold-out classes of 24, and four new dedicated pickleball courts under construction at the center.

Leano defended a 20-position reduction in full-time staff since he became director 25 years ago, a period in which the department also absorbed additional properties without adding headcount.

"I mean, we reduced our headcount by 20 full-time employees since I've been the director. And I'm proud of that in the sense that we have a better team now. We have better management oversight. We're more productive." — Joseph Leano, Parks and Recreation Director

Much of the discussion centered on the town's aging ferry fleet, which carries residents to Great Captain's Island and Island Beach on boats built in 1937, 1948 and 1963. A 2019 study estimated an $8.5 million worst-case cost for dock and routing overhauls; the department instead chose to repower its existing boats one at a time. When crews opened the smallest boat, the Islander 2, they found unexpected steel structural work was needed before the Coast Guard would recertify it. A subsequent inspection of the larger Island Beach boat turned up an estimated $500,000 to $600,000 in required steel and deck work, shifting this year's capital request away from engine repowering toward structural repairs.

"It kind of makes Greenwich Greenwich though. I mean, it's unique. We've been running that ferry service for 100 years." — Joseph Leano, Parks and Recreation Director

Leano said a new 149-passenger ferry built out of state would cost roughly $5 million and still carry fewer passengers than the more than 200 the town's current boats can hold.

Committee member Harry asked about the spread between resident and non-resident golf fees at Griffith E. Harris Golf Course, commonly called the Griff. Carlson said membership rates were held flat while non-member guest fees were raised, contributing to a corrected 14.62 percent revenue increase for the course, including a 16.6 percent jump in rental and concession income tied to a new food-service contract. Committee member Elliot asked the cost of a replacement ferry boat, which Leano put at approximately $5 million.

On capital projects, Carlson said $300,000 requested for the ADA Master Plan in fiscal 2027 would fund accessibility work at Cos Cob Park and Montgomery Pinetum, following an earlier study of Binney Park, Bruce Park, Byram Park and Greenwich Point. A separate request would fund a full accessible loop trail and boardwalk repairs at the park previously studied under the Pomerance master plan, work partly dependent on a pending state grant and resident fundraising that has not yet materialized. A $255,000 request for electric leaf-blower equipment is intended to bring the department into compliance with the town's noise ordinance.

Why It Matters

The fee increases approved by the Board of Selectmen on December 23 will push the department's total revenue up more than 8 percent for fiscal 2027, money that offsets costs elsewhere in the town budget. More urgently, the ferry system's newly discovered steel repairs threaten the town's ability to certify its largest boat for service if the work is not funded, a risk Leano said the Coast Guard has made explicit. The committee also has yet to see a staffing and revenue model for the town's planned new ice rink, expected within the next day, before the full budget moves toward adoption later this spring.

Key Motions & Votes

No formal votes taken at this meeting.

Source

Greenwich Community Television: Other Committee meeting, February 26, 2026