Norwalk Board Approves $3.5 Million Transfer to Support School Budget

NORWALK, Conn. — The Norwalk Board of Estimate and Taxation unanimously approved a $3.5 million transfer Tuesday to help close a budget gap in the Norwalk Public Schools, following months of concern from parents and school officials.

The transfer, pulled from surplus accounts across various city departments, will help prevent cuts to student-facing staff and preserve music programs and other services that had been on the chopping block.

Mayor Harry Rilling praised city staff for responsible budgeting that made the transfer possible. “This will not increase the budget cap,” Rilling said. “It will increase the MBR, but that’s not really an issue because next year, with pay raises, etc., we’ll easily go over our current MBR.”

City officials clarified that this funding is separate from a $3 million allocation expected later this year from the state. That money, still undergoing approval processes with the state Office of Policy and Management, will come with specific stipulations negotiated earlier this year.

“I strongly support this,” Rilling said. “We saw 600 to 700 parents come out [to protest the cuts]. Something I haven’t seen since I’ve been mayor. This action saves music programs, student-facing jobs, and more.”

The board also approved two additional transfer items:

• A consolidation of $49,000 in typing services funding from multiple departments into the City Clerk’s office to support a new in-house system for preparing meeting minutes, which officials said will improve turnaround and cut costs.
• A reallocation within the IT and GIS departments to streamline budgeting, with no change in total budgeted funds.

In other updates, Director of Management and Budgets Tom Ellis reported improved projections for Social Security expenses and announced the city still has $2 million in its contingency fund. A $10,000 savings was also noted on a diesel engine bid for a fire department vehicle, lowering the original quote of $32,000 to approximately $23,000.

Ellis introduced Kim Kinsella as the city’s new assistant budget director. Kinsella, who previously held finance roles in Bridgeport, Stratford, and West Haven, said she looks forward to helping Norwalk meet its fiscal goals.

The meeting also included an update from Oak Hills Park Authority Chair Alan Dutton, who reported strong revenue and operating income for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The golf course generated $2.7 million in revenue, $292,000 above budget, and concluded the year with $866,000 in reserves after settling debts and investing in capital improvements.

“We had a very successful year,” Dutton said.

The next Board of Estimate and Taxation meeting is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 8.