Greenwich budget panel questions DPW on rink and bridge cost jumps
Other Committee · Meeting of February 17, 2026
Greenwich budget panel presses DPW on rising rink and bridge cost estimates. The Board of Estimate and Taxation's budget committee reviewed a Department of Public Works operating budget that rises 2.3 percent, while questioning a jump in the Hamill Rink replacement estimate to $41.2 million from a $35.26 million December figure and an Army Corps of Engineers cost increase on the Byram River Bridge project to roughly $40 million, pushing Greenwich's expected 25 percent share to $8 million to $10 million. DPW Commissioner Jim told members the town has already logged 50 inches of snow this season against a five-to-seven-year average of 20 to 40 inches, straining the overtime budget.
"About a week and a half ago I got on a call and the Army Corps said our $40 million project, and I said, excuse me," Jim told the committee. Waste disposal revenue is budgeted down $300,000 even as removal costs rise $150,000. No votes were taken; the budget decision is set for March 2.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 848 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
GREENWICH — February 17, 2026 — The Board of Estimate and Taxation's budget committee spent a full day of hearings pressing Department of Public Works leaders on a rising price tag for the planned Hamill Rink replacement, an escalating regional bridge project and mounting snow-removal overtime, as members reviewed a proposed fiscal 2027 operating budget that grows 2.3 percent over the current year.
No formal votes were taken. The session was a line-by-line budget review; the committee's budget vote is scheduled for March 2. But two capital numbers dominated the discussion: the Hamill Rink replacement, whose estimated cost has risen to $41.2 million from a $35.26 million pre-soft-cost estimate produced in December, and the Byram River Bridge replacement, where the Army Corps of Engineers' construction estimate has jumped from $32 million to roughly $40 million, pushing the town's expected 25 percent share to between $8 million and $10 million.
The Full Story
DPW Commissioner Jim, appearing with roughly a dozen division heads, told the committee the department's operating request stays close to historical spending, with the increase driven largely by contractual raises and the formal reclassification of a communications specialist position from the engineering division into DPW administration, a bookkeeping fix rather than a new hire. Administration staffing rises from five to six full-time positions; engineering remains at eight; the department's total headcount holds at 123.
Waste disposal drew sustained questioning. Committee members Doug and Harry pressed DPW accountant Bill McCormack and waste disposal division head Patrick Collins on a widening gap between revenue and disposal costs: budgeted waste-removal revenue is pegged at $2.3 million, down $300,000, while waste removal services expenses are rising $150,000. The town's tipping fee stands at $119 a ton, up from $112 several years ago, while the flat $25 annual resident hang tag has not changed since it was reduced from an originally proposed $75. McCormack told the committee monthly tonnage at the Holly Hill transfer station has stayed consistent over five years, ranging from roughly 2,300 to 2,700 tons a month, easing member Doug's concern that both trash volume and tipping-fee revenue were falling in tandem.
"Our monthly tonnage coming into the facility has remained consistent over the last five years. It ranges from roughly 2,300 tons per month to 2,700 tons per month." — Bill McCormack, DPW administration
Snow emerged as the year's biggest budget wild card. Jim told the committee the town has already logged 50 inches of snow this season, well above the 20-to-40-inch range averaged over the past five to seven years, and that crews worked a 30-hour continuous shift during one recent storm. The department has used more road salt this winter than in all of last year combined, and Jim said DPW expects to return to the committee with an interim appropriation request once it can size the overtime shortfall against remaining vacancy savings.
"We're already at 50 inches this year. So that's been a bigger amount." — DPW Commissioner Jim
On capital projects, Hamill Rink task force chairman Matt Champ and Parks and Recreation department head Joseph Leano told the committee that private philanthropic funding for the rink remains undefined until the project clears its municipal improvement review, now before the Planning and Zoning Commission after a favorable Board of Selectmen vote. Town Administrator Kate asked DPW to reconcile the jump from the December cost estimate to the current $41.2 million figure before the budget vote. Leano's staff is preparing a 12-month operating and staffing plan for the rink, targeted for delivery in early March.
On the Byram River Bridge, Jim told the committee the Army Corps' cost estimate had jumped without warning.
"About a week and a half ago I got on a call and the Army Corps said, 'our $40 million project,' and I said, 'excuse me.'" — DPW Commissioner Jim
Members including David and Harry questioned why Greenwich, rather than the state of Connecticut, is funding a quarter of bridges that sit almost entirely in New York state. Jim said 95 percent of the flood-reduction benefit accrues to Greenwich's Pemberwick neighborhood, which is why the town agreed to the 25 percent local share; U.S. Rep. Jim Himes' office separately secured full federal funding for the project's design phase.
Why It Matters
The Hamill Rink and Byram River Bridge numbers matter because both are moving targets inside a capital plan the BET is being asked to fund before all the underlying costs are settled. A $6 million swing on the rink and an $8 million-plus town obligation on the bridge, not yet fully reflected in the proposed budget, could reshape how much borrowing capacity is left for other projects. Meanwhile, residents facing this winter's snow are the reason DPW's overtime line is already strained months before the fiscal year budgeted for it ends, a pattern that could trigger a supplemental funding request as soon as this spring.
Key Motions & Votes
No formal votes taken at this meeting.
Source
Greenwich Community Television: Board of Estimate and Taxation Budget Committee meeting, February 17, 2026