Greenwich RTM adopts $522 million budget, keeps Hamill Rink funding
Town Meeting · Meeting of May 11, 2026
Greenwich Representative Town Meeting adopts $522 million budget, rejects $38.5 million cut to Hamill Rink. Members voted 170-13 to approve the fiscal 2026-27 budget after rejecting a District 9 and 10 motion, led by John Hopley, to strip construction funding from the $41.2 million Dorothy Hamill Rink and Morlock Park project, 54-144. A separate District 8 motion to cut $2.4 million from the Greenwich High School pool replacement failed 34-162.
BET Chairman David Weisbrod said the board approved the budget unanimously, 12-0, with operating costs up 3.6 percent and the capital tax levy rising $5 million. Members did cut $100,000 from the Roger Sherman Baldwin Park redevelopment, 136-61, and rewrote a resolution governing speed-camera revenue after officials acknowledged a required public hearing had not been held. The RTM also approved $69,813,000 in capital bonds and $1,225,000 in sewer bonds.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 968 words
Source: the Town Meeting meeting of May 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
GREENWICH — May 11, 2026 — The Representative Town Meeting approved a $522 million municipal budget for fiscal year 2026-27 late Monday night, rejecting a bid to strip $38.5 million in construction funding from the long-debated Dorothy Hamill Rink rebuild while trimming $100,000 from a separate park redevelopment project.
The RTM voted 170-13, with one abstention, to adopt the budget as amended shortly before 11 p.m., following more than three hours of debate dominated by the $41.2 million Hamill Rink and Morlock Park project in Byram. Members also approved $69,813,000 in general obligation bonds for the capital plan, 177-15 with one abstention, and $1,225,000 in sewer bonds, 186-1.
Moderator Alexis Voulgaris presided over the meeting at Central Middle School and via Zoom, where 208 of the RTM's 230 members were recorded present. Board of Estimate and Taxation Chairman David Weisbrod told members the BET had approved the underlying budget unanimously, 12-0, describing an operating increase of 3.6 percent alongside a $5 million jump in the capital tax levy to address years of deferred capital funding.
The Full Story
The centerpiece of the evening was a joint motion from Districts 9 and 10, introduced by John Hopley, to cut $38.5 million from the Hamill Rink account, leaving only $2.7 million for architectural and engineering work and stripping out construction funding entirely. Hopley argued the full $41.2 million appropriation would eliminate the RTM's ability to review the project once final costs, engineering and site plans were complete. After roughly 40 minutes of debate featuring dozens of speakers, including youth hockey players, coaches and Byram neighbors on both sides, the motion failed 54-144, with five abstentions.
First Selectman Fred Camilo and Department of Public Works Commissioner Jim Michael urged members to fund the project in full, saying the rink, built in 1972, has been debated for 51 years and was vetted by a task force that held more than 30 public meetings. "We respectfully ask for full funding tonight with no cuts to this important investment in our community," said Stephanie Cowie, an RTM District 8 member and Hamill Rink Task Force participant.
Members separately voted 136-61, with four abstentions, to approve a Budget Overview Committee motion, offered by committee Chairman James Waters, cutting $100,000 in design funding for the Roger Sherman Baldwin Park redevelopment. Waters said the cut was needed because the project's scope excluded the former teen center building, the largest structure on the site, and that planning should wait for a separate town task force studying that building's future.
A District 8 motion from Chairwoman Cheryl Moss to cut $2.4 million in architectural and engineering funding for the Greenwich High School pool replacement failed 34-162, with four abstentions, after school officials and student swimmers testified that the current pool's drainage and mechanical systems were failing and could shut down without warning.
The RTM also revised a budget resolution governing revenue from the town's new automated traffic enforcement, or speed camera, program after Legislative and Rules Committee Chairman Francis "Kip" Burgweger Jr. said the town had not held a required public hearing on its state-mandated safety plan. Members adopted the committee's rewritten resolution 174-6, with seven abstentions. A subsequent motion from District 1 Chairman Frederick Lee Jr. to strike the resolution entirely, sending future appropriations of that revenue back through the RTM, failed 79-107, with eight abstentions.
"Separating final design from construction authorization preserves the RTM's traditional review and oversight function," Hopley said in presenting the Hamill Rink reduction.
"If the RTM fails to adopt a budget by May 15th, the operating budget as recommended by the BET will take effect," Voulgaris told members earlier in the meeting, outlining the charter deadline that shaped the evening's procedure.
Why It Matters
The vote locks in a $522,018,569 general fund and a $92.2 million capital plan for the year beginning July 1, including $41.2 million for the Hamill Rink and Morlock Park rebuild, $4 million toward a planned $59 million Greenwich High School pool replacement, and $150,000 for continued planning at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park. Budget Overview Committee Chairman James Waters told members the BET raised the capital tax levy by $5 million, to $66 million, as a first step toward addressing pressure on the town's debt limits from projects including the Central Middle School replacement.
The rejected Hamill Rink cut means design and construction can proceed together, with bidding targeted for early 2027; DPW officials said any cost overrun would require a separate return to the BET and RTM. The pool project's design funding, two-thirds of it conditioned on securing municipal improvement approval from Planning and Zoning, keeps that project moving toward a construction vote expected within roughly a year.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: District 9 and 10 motion to cut $38,500,000 from Hamill Rink construction funding Tally: For: 54, Against: 144, Abstain: 5, Total: 203
- Vote: Budget Overview Committee motion to cut $100,000 from Roger Sherman Baldwin Park redevelopment Tally: For: 136, Against: 61, Abstain: 4, Total: 201
- Vote: District 8 motion to cut $2,400,000 from Greenwich High School pool replacement design funding Tally: For: 34, Against: 162, Abstain: 4, Total: 200
- Vote: Legislative and Rules Committee motion to amend budget resolution 30 on automated traffic enforcement proceeds Tally: For: 174, Against: 6, Abstain: 7, Total: 187
- Vote: District 1 motion to delete budget resolution 30 entirely Tally: For: 79, Against: 107, Abstain: 8, Total: 194
- Vote: FY2026-27 budget as amended Tally: For: 170, Against: 13, Abstain: 1, Total: 184
- Vote: Capital bonding resolution, $69,813,000 Tally: For: 177, Against: 15, Abstain: 1, Total: 193
- Vote: Sewer bonding resolution, $1,225,000 Tally: For: 186, Against: 1, Abstain: 0, Total: 187
Source
Greenwich Community Television: Representative Town Meeting, May 11, 2026