Windsor Town Council Special Meeting: FY26 Budget Review Presentations, April 9, 2025

The Windsor Town Council held a hybrid special meeting on April 9, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers and via Zoom to receive FY26 budget presentations from the Board of Education, Finance Director, Human Services, Public Works, and the Landfill and Residential Transfer Station enterprise funds. Councillor Armstrong was absent. No final budget votes were taken; council budget deliberations are scheduled to continue on Monday, April 21, 2025.

Board of Education

• Board of Education President Fury, Finance Chair Lockhart, Superintendent Dr. Hill, and Chief Operating Officer Ms. Batchelder presented a $4,961,785 (5.88%) increase, from an $84,313,339 FY25 operating budget to a recommended FY26 operating budget of $89,275,000. They described it as a responsible, bipartisan, maintenance-minus budget after the board cut the superintendent's initial 6.88% proposal by 1%.
• The 5.88% increase was attributed to contractual obligations (about 2.0%), employee benefits (2.35%), technology (0.26%), physical plants (0.52%), transportation and fuel (0.56%), and instructional services (0.16%). Superintendent Dr. Hill stressed that 4.88% of the 5.88% increase is salary and benefits. The $146,000 instructional services increase is tied to a state-mandated reading program that costs over $300,000.
• Reductions include one alternative-education teacher FTE, one school counselor FTE, four pre-K special-education teachers, four pre-K Smart Start paraeducators, one nursing FTE, and one benefits-coordinator FTE. All were described as open vacancies, so no current employees lost jobs. Full-day Smart Start pre-K classrooms are being cut; half-day pre-K special-education services continue.
• The Education Cost Sharing grant has been flat for more than a decade at about $11.5 million. Councillor King estimated the flat grant has shifted nearly $4 million in tax burden to local property owners since 2017 and said the budget increase would be about 1% if ECS had kept pace with inflation; he urged the council to hold state representatives accountable. Other projected school revenues include roughly $46,100 for health services, $1.3 million in special-education excess costs plus an estimated $330,000 increase in the governor's budget, and about $85,000 in DCF-placed special-education tuition.
• Enrollment is projected to drop about 3%, from 3,964 to 3,847, but only 23 of the 117-student decline is in Windsor schools; the rest are magnet or other non-Windsor placements. District enrollment has otherwise been flat.
• In response to council questions, another $1 million cut would likely require about 10-14 positions, depending on the tenure mix. Special-education teaching positions remain hard to fill, with some districts offering $20,000 signing bonuses.
• Council discussion also covered federal education funding uncertainties, technology consolidation and an upcoming AI policy task force, the district's $22,687 average cost per student, and future investment priorities such as physical plants, pre-K-3 interventions, and eliminating student fundraising for band, theater, robotics, and sports.

Revenues

• Finance Director Jim Bork presented the general fund revenue budget. The adopted FY25 budget is $143,315,840; FY25 revenues are now estimated to come in about $670,000 over budget. The proposed FY26 general fund revenue budget totals $152,222,470.
• General property taxes supply about 86% of the proposed FY26 budget and state aid about 10%. FY25 revenues include about $428,000 more than expected in special-education excess costs and $165,000 more from large corporate real estate transactions, while interest income is expected to be about $370,000 below budget due to Federal Reserve rate reductions.
• The FY26 proposal includes no municipal transition grant because Windsor's FY26 mill rate is expected to be below the state motor vehicle mill rate cap; it also assumes no use of opening cash. The building permit fee would rise from $14 to $15 per $1,000 of construction value.
• Council discussion covered Loomis Charter School property tax exemptions under a court ruling, state-owned property PILOT payments estimated around 40% of full tax liability, the 98.8% tax collection rate, zero airport development zone revenue after prior participants completed their five-year benefits, and state veterans exemption changes not affecting FY26.

Human Services

• Social Services Coordinator Jasmine Hall presented the human services budget. FY25 general fund expenditures are expected to be about $6,900 under budget, and the FY26 proposed general fund budget is about $17,550 higher, primarily personnel costs offset by grant funds.
• The department highlighted a community renewal team representative for energy and utility assistance, a new client-choice shopping process at the food bank, and a Hartford Community Court partnership in which a caseworker meets with judges and attorneys twice a month to reduce recidivism.
• FY26 plans include the Hunger Action Team's Longest Table event on the Windsor Town Green on Friday, September 19, and a referral system with Journey Home for unsheltered residents. Casework services are projected to handle about 8,000 walk-in and telephone contacts. Staff said federal grant contacts are advising business as usual while monitoring changes.

Public Works

• Director Mark Goosens, Operations Manager Jesse English, and Building and Facilities Manager Marco Glico presented the FY26 proposed budget. The department maintains 167 miles of roadways, 86 miles of sidewalks, about 6,000 storm-drain structures, 98 miles of storm drainage piping, 27 athletic fields, 855 acres of parks, more than 26 major buildings, 830 street lights, 25 traffic signals, and 132 pieces of rolling stock with 43 FTEs.
• FY25 general fund expenditures are expected to be about $141,000 (2%) under budget due to personnel savings. FY26 priorities include taking on the new Wilson park, completing LP Wilson HVAC and renovation phases, and working with the Public Building Commission and Board of Education on the Clover Street roof replacement, LP Wilson restrooms, and Windsor High School HVAC replacement.
• Council discussion covered veteran cemetery maintenance reimbursements through the VA for stone markers, ClickFix response improvements, and the planned move to a more robust work-order and asset management system that integrates with ClickFix. Paving was a major topic: roughly 6 miles of residential paving were completed in FY25, well below the 15-mile goal, with funding combining the general fund, bonding, and state grants. Staff said the current paving budget is at the bare minimum and will provide estimates of what would be needed to restore more paving.
• The department uses salt and Clear Lane magnesium chloride for snow treatment at about 400 pounds per mile. Council also asked about proactive maintenance and the extra workload from the new Wilson park; staff noted positions were added in anticipation and are exploring partnerships and contract turf management.

Landfill Enterprise Fund

• The landfill enterprise fund no longer collects tipping fees. FY25 revenue includes about $700,000 in interest and $450,000 in state closure and capping reimbursements; total reimbursements received by the end of FY25 are about $1.8 million, with $200,000 projected in FY26 to fully deplete the $2 million state grant.
• Expenditures are primarily for closure and capping work, including stormwater swales, internal and perimeter roads, detention basins, capping of tornado debris, and wetland improvements. The town received concurrence from the Connecticut DEP and U.S. EPA on a modified wetlands approach using native vegetation, with light seasonal work expected for the next three calendar years.
• The impervious cap now covers the entire solid-waste footprint; construction is expected to conclude in the first quarter of FY26, followed by submission to CT DEP for certification and the start of the 30-year post-closure period. Retained earnings at the end of FY26 are estimated at about $18.8 million.
• Councillor Pelkey asked about the approximately $400,000 favorable variance from the FY25 budgeted loss; it remains in retained earnings for long-term post-closure obligations. The town manager noted no Windsor or Bloomfield tax dollars have supported landfill operations since the early 1970s, apart from the original land purchase and startup costs.

Residential Transfer Station Enterprise Fund

• The transfer station is open 32 hours per week for Windsor and Bloomfield residents. FY25 estimates are 425 tons of municipal solid waste and 900 tons of bulky waste; FY26 assumes the same tonnage.
• Recyclable materials include scrap metal, electronics, textiles, appliances, propane tanks, tires, waste oil, leaves, brush, mattresses, paint, and food scraps; the take-or-leave-it reuse area remains popular. The fund projects a net profit of about $7,350 at the end of FY25.
• Because of that projected profit, the proposed FY26 budget recommends no price increases, despite Connecticut's waste disposal crisis and annual vendor price increases.

Key Outcomes

• No final budget votes or formal decisions were made at the April 9 special meeting. The council received all presentations and will continue budget review at the next scheduled meeting on Monday, April 21, 2025.
• Councillor Pelke moved to adjourn, and the meeting adjourned by voice vote.