Fiscal Committee Meeting of the 32nd Board of Representatives – February 24, 2026
Fiscal Committee Meeting of the 32nd Board of Representatives – February 24, 2026
The Fiscal Committee met on Monday, February 23, 2026 at 7:01 PM (note: the provided meeting date is February 24, 2026, but the transcript indicates February 23; this discrepancy is unresolved). The committee considered ten items, including appropriations for law department wage settlements, snow removal salt, the West Hill High School replacement project, and several grants. All items were approved unanimously except the first item, which was recommitted to the Steering Committee.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 (F32.043) – Additional appropriation for law department wage settlements ($50,945) – Recommended to recommit; see discussion.
- Item 2 (F32.044) – Additional appropriation for snow removal salt ($650,000) – Approved unanimously.
- Items 3-10 – All approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were recorded.
Discussion Items
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Item 1: Law Department Wage Settlement Appropriation – Representative Dela Cruz questioned whether this was the same tentative agreement rejected by the Personnel Committee due to a negative opinion from the Board of Finance. Chair Morrison noted the Board of Finance had issued a negative opinion but passed the financing 4-2-0. Dela Cruz expressed concern about passing the appropriation before the exact settlement amount was known. After discussion, a motion to recommit the item to the Steering Committee was made, seconded, and passed unanimously. The committee acknowledged that if the full board later approves the settlement, the appropriation would stand but could not be spent until arbitration determined the final amount.
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Item 2: Snow Removal Salt Appropriation – Road Maintenance Division Manager Tom Turk testified that the winter has been exceptionally severe, with plow crews working 31 hours straight. He stated that all salt funds had been spent and the $650,000 is needed to maintain safe salt levels for the remainder of the season. Representatives thanked Turk and his crew. Director Kinonis urged maintaining the salt budget in future years. The item was approved unanimously.
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Items 3 & 4: West Hill High School Replacement Project – Director of School Construction Catherine Labalbo presented the project history, noting that the total project budget increased from $301 million to $446 million due to post-COVID escalation. The state authorized 80% reimbursement, leaving the city’s share at 20%. The additional appropriation of $144,686,112 is needed to match the state authorization. Item 4 authorized $36,171,528 in general obligation bonds, with the remainder covered by grants. Representatives asked about bond interest rates (estimated around 3-3.25% for 20-year maturity) and whether the school replacement was linked to mold remediation (Labalbo explained it was part of a long-term facilities plan). Both items were approved unanimously.
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Items 5 & 6: DRE Instructor Grant – Grants Officer Anita Carpenter explained that the $41,107 grant from NHTSA funds a Stamford police officer to provide statewide drug recognition training. The resolution authorizes the mayor to sign the agreement. Both items approved unanimously.
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Items 7 & 8: Heat and Air Quality Preparedness Plan Grant – Representative Dela Cruz raised concerns about fragmented air quality efforts, questioning how this $24,500 grant fits with other monitoring initiatives. Carpenter stated it is coordinated through the Health Director and focuses on vehicle-related emissions. Dela Cruz indicated he would submit a request to the Public Health and Safety Committee for a holistic understanding. Both items approved unanimously.
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Items 9: Youth Services Internship Program – $25,000 grant for a seasonal hire and administrative support, funded by internal transfers. Approved unanimously.
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Item 10: Hatchfield Park Improvements – Resolution authorizing agreement with DEEP. No match required. Approved unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (F32.043) – Motion to recommit to Steering Committee passed unanimously.
- Items 2-10 – All approved unanimously.
- The meeting adjourned at 7:38 PM.
Meeting Transcript
It is 7 01 p.m. It is Monday, February 23rd. And this is the fiscal committee meeting of the 32nd Board of Representatives. Present with us this evening are committee members co-chair Andrew Zachary, Representative Tom Bouchard, Representative Virgil Dela Cruz, Representative Kira Dorsey, Representative Parker Johnson, and Representative Noah Lepine. Missing for the moment are Representatives Goldberg and Graham. I don't see any other members of the board who are not members of this committee with us at the moment. So we will get started. Do I have a motion to pass item one, F32.043 for 50,945? Additional appropriation operating law department to appropriate funds from contingency to pay current year wage settlements that were recently agreed upon via a tentative agreement between the city and the attorney's union. Do I have a motion to pass item number one? I so move. And a second, please. Second. Second. Thank you. Chair Merit Morrison. Yes, Coacher Zachary. I see a hand raised from uh Representative Dela Cruz. Yes. I will get to I'm going to call on Representative Della Cruz after I ask um uh Tony Romano if he has anything he'd like to um point out on this item in uh director Russell's absence. Uh yeah, I'm sorry, Eric. I I don't have anything more that I can add to this. Um I can um try to get a hold of uh Paul Russell if there's any questions to be answered. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that. Representative Dela Cruz, you have the floor. Uh thank you, Chair Morrison. Uh I was wondering if this is the same tentative agreement that the personnel committee rejected based on the negative opinion from the Board of Finance. Uh this one apparently says via the tentative agreement between the city and the attorney's union. And it says approved by the Board of Finance. So I'm a little confused. Uh can anyone show clarity on that? Yes, I I spoke with uh the Board of Finance. They issued a negative opinion yet, passed the financing for this by a vote of 420. Um, but as the personnel committee did uh by unanimous vote reject um this uh this agreement. Uh my my thought is we can uh recommit this item or on the chance that our board doesn't listen to the uh vote of the personnel committee and passes it anyway. Uh it would take another month for the uh for us to go ahead and um approve this appropriation. So uh I would say we could pass it. And if the item fails at person uh with the personnel report at our next monthly meeting, the appropriation stands, uh, but it can't be spent until um arbitration takes place and the final number after thereafter is determined. And unless it comes in at exactly 50,945, this item will come before us again anyhow with a corrected number. But on the off chance, it does pass our board. Uh maybe we don't necessarily want to uh not have approved the appropriation. Uh I'll open the floor for further comments and thoughts on this item. Yes, may I uh do I still have the floor? Representative Dela Cruz. Yes. Uh would only be more prudent to wait until the outcome of uh mediation or arbitration, so that then the actual amount of whatever settlement will have will have been agreed to is known, and then we can pass the item with the known amount. Yes, that's uh that's what I was saying. If our board does pass it against the will of the personnel committee, which I don't expect, uh we will have we will have uh passed the appropriation tonight and it goes right through.
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